• Classification This is the League

Neither

Robert Lewandowski nor Joselu

.

In the end, the great protagonist of a derby between Barça and Espanyol that ended in a draw was

Mateu Lahoz

.

And not because of the penalty play that allowed the blue and white striker to equalize Marcos Alonso's initial goal.

The referee's attitude, capable of taking

Ansu Fati

to an exaggerated aside to draw his attention, responding with an apparent sweetheart to

Xavi

after a protest and ending up expelling three players, one of them finally saved by the VAR, ignited the spirits of the Camp Nou and ended up scoring a game in which the Catalans, to tell the truth, did not know how to take advantage of their greater control of the duel to get the three points.

[1-1: Narration and Stats]

On the blue and white side, in addition to the claw of their great forward, their goalkeeper,

Álvaro Fernández

, also shone .

Just when that position is still very much in question.

The tie, yes, allows some to maintain the leadership, due to their better overall goal difference with Real Madrid, and others to leave the relegation places.

Barça almost monopolized the ball throughout the first 45 minutes, but that superiority in possession did not show up on the scoreboard.

At halftime, they were leading 1-0, thanks to an action involving

Lewandowski

after a corner in which

Marcos Alonso

he ended up sending the ball into the back of the net with a nearly uncontested header.

The Catalans frequently came to the Espanyol area.

And they found the shot again and again.

Not so, on the other hand, the path of the goal.

On the visiting side, meanwhile, all the lack of forcefulness that, at times, denoted his rear was the opposite in vanguard positions.

There, on time, the blue and white forwards exhibited more bite, either to take advantage of the mistake in the rival's pass or to try to get hold of the ball.

His attempts, however, achieved little reward.


Rapinha

On the other side of the field, the one who appeared the most was

Raphinha

.

Ansu Fati and Lewandowski, meanwhile, despite their efforts, they had more difficulties coming into contact with the ball.

The Brazilian, precisely, with a shot that the blue and white goalkeeper disrupted as best he could, in the final stretch of the first half, and again Marcos Alonso, with a shot from point-blank range after a cross from

Jordi Alba

, when the first 20 minutes had barely been played minutes of the duel, were in fact the ones who signed the clearest actions for a Barça that went to the changing rooms with an advantage, but leaving loopholes so that Espanyol, despite its shortcomings, could still think with the option of ripping something out of its visit to Camp Nou.


After the break, Espanyol sought to take a step forward to take advantage of that breath of air that Barça had insisted on giving them throughout the first half.

And he found his opportunity through a penalty committed by Marcos Alonso on Joselu that the blue and white striker sent into the back of the net to make it 1-1 with just over 15 minutes to go.

The move, much protested by the stands, despite its clarity, inflamed the spirits to the extreme against a Mateu Lahoz who already made it clear in the World Cup that he loves to be the protagonist.

The whistles and screams, perhaps, led him to end up losing his temper.

So much so that he even ended up expelling Jordi Alba for a double yellow, further unleashing the anger of the Barcelona fans.

Cabrera

due to a clash with Lewandowski that would come to nothing in the end after consulting the VAR and the expulsion of

Vinicius Souza

for a double yellow .


Mateu Lahoz expels Vinicius Souza. PAU BARRENAAFP

Barça, with this new panorama, turned to attack, but found themselves at all times with an Álvaro Fernández erected as a wall to keep the tie like gold.

The end of the game, which had up to nine minutes of added time, was a harassment and demolition of the blue and white area by Barcelona, ​​without success, and in which Mateu Lahoz, with decisions strongly protested by both sides, insisted on continuing to monopolize a large part from the limelight and ended up being fired by a loud whistle.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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  • Jordi Alba

  • Ansu Fati