The 23rd round of La Liga took place on February 4th, Beijing time. Barcelona defeated Alaves 3-1 in an away game. Brazilian young forward Roque scored consecutive goals, but received a very controversial red card. Barcelona ranks third with 50 points, Real Madrid, which has one game less, leads with 57 points, and Girona ranks second with 56 points.
The traditional giant Barcelona regained the La Liga championship last season, but life is very difficult this season. On January 28, they lost to Villarreal 3-5 at home in La Liga, conceding three goals in a row despite taking a 3-2 lead. The goals conceded due to super low-level mistakes near the end seemed to indicate that the players wanted to win. Coach Xavi was fired, and Xavi announced after the game that he would leave the Barcelona coaching position at the end of this season. After that game, Barcelona won two consecutive games in La Liga, and the talented Brazilian forward Roque, who joined during the winter transfer window, scored consecutive goals.
Roque will turn 19 at the end of this month. Although he has the potential to become a superstar and made his debut for the Brazilian national team as early as March last year, Xavi is very patient with his use. In the last game, a 1-0 victory over Osasuna, Roque came on as a substitute in the 62nd minute and scored the only goal of the game with a header in the 63rd minute. In this game, Roque played slightly earlier and came on as a substitute in the 59th minute to replace midfield star Gundogan.
Roque once again scored a goal shortly after coming off the bench. In the 63rd minute, young left-back Ford made a pass. Roque followed up and shot into the net, giving Barcelona a 3-1 lead. Roque was very excited after scoring and was given a yellow card in the 67th minute for a fighting foul.
A very controversial scene occurred in the 72nd minute. Alaves center back Marin made a tackle. Roque accidentally scratched Marin's leg with his spike while dodging the opponent's "bright spikes". This fight was a foul by Marin. Roque just dodged the opponent's hurtful move, but the referee "confused right and wrong" and showed Roque a yellow card. Perhaps Marin pretended to be injured and rolled on the spot, which was very confusing. Roque was sent off after two yellows and one red. He came on as a substitute for only 13 minutes, scored a goal, but received two yellow cards.
Harvey was very dissatisfied with the referee's decision. He said after the game: "We will appeal against Roque's second yellow card. Obviously it was a mistake, another mistake against us. His sending off was Very unfair."
Barcelona took the lead in the 22nd minute. The former Dortmund team cooperated. Gundogan made a direct pass, and Lewandowski shot to break his goal drought in the past six rounds of La Liga. In the 49th minute, Gundogan expanded the score for Barcelona. In the 51st minute, Omorodion got a goal back for Alaves. Roque then came off the bench to replace Gundogan, and there was a series of dramatic scenes.
Lewandowski is nearly twice as old as Roque, and the old and young strike partners still need to get used to each other. Lewandowski said after the game: "Roque moves a lot. We can discuss who is going to receive the ball and who is going to attack in the second time, so that we will have more opportunities on the offensive end. If I have more choices during the game, this It will bring more help. Roque is very talented, but it also takes time. Everything is new for him, new teammates, new league, and I believe we can play better together."
Yangcheng Evening News reporter Liu Yi