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Barcelona held 1-1 at home by Espanyol

SMA NEWS – BARCELONA
Barcelona stumbled in their first game since a seven-week World Cup break when they held 1-1 by Espanyol at Camp Nou in a heated Catalan derby that finished with both teams having a player sent off in the final minutes on Saturday.
Barcelona were in control of the Spanish league match from the fourth minute after defender Marcos Alonso scored with a header. But complacency by the hosts and some staunch defending by Espanyol gave striker Joselu Mata the chance to equalize with a penalty in the 73rd after he was fouled by Alonso in the box.
The game then turned testy. Referee Antonio Mateu showed a second yellow card to Barcelona defender Jordi Alba for protesting in the 78th and Espanyol’s Vinicius Souza for fouling a home player on the break in the 80th.
After 15 of 38 rounds, Barcelona will finish the year top of the league, ahead of Real Madrid on goal difference. But dropping points at home against a side just one point above the relegation zone was not in coach Xavi Hernandez’s plans.
“The draw is our fault. It was important to finish the year in the best manner possible,” Xavi said. “Espanyol was thrilled to reach the final minutes with a shot at getting an equalizer. These are games you have to finish off.”
Lewandowski played a part in Alonso’s goal when he got his head on a cross and Andreas Christensen then nodded the ball back for his fellow defender to tap home.
On having to play against a full-strength Barcelona, including Lewandowski for the whole game, Espanyol coach Diego Martínez applauded his players’ toughness.
Joselu had fought a solitary battle trying to win long balls against Alonso and Christensen until it finally paid off when he won an aerial challenge and was fouled by Alonso in the box. Joselu stepped up to the penalty spot and drilled his shot down the middle beyond Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Espanyol goalkeeper Álvaro Fernández, recalled by Martínez to the starting lineup for the first time since October, impressed with key saves down the final stretch. He stopped a header by Christensen and blocked a low shot by Lewandowski as Barcelona pressed for a winner.
“I am very happy for him,” Joselu said of Fernandez. “He has shown his character and that he is a great goalkeeper.”
Mateu handed out 15 bookings, including the two second yellow cards, in the Catalan derby. He also used a video review to withdraw an initial red card he had shown Espanyol’s Leandro Cabrera for a possible foul on Lewandowski in the 80th.

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