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Barcelona’s lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga was lost after being held to a 1-1 draw at home in a fierce clash with local rivals Espanyol.
Real Madrid took top spot on Friday with a 2-0 win at Real Valladolid, putting pressure on Barcelona to respond to an Espanyol side struggling to avoid relegation.
Defender Marcos Alonso put Barcelona in front at Camp Nou, before Joselu converted a second-half penalty to level the game.
Barcelona started strongly, with Gavi stinging the palm of Espanyol goalkeeper Alvaro Fernandez in the sixth minute, shortly before Alonso glanced a header into the net following a corner.
After going forward, Xavi Hernandez’s side dominated possession with good passing for the remainder of the first half, but struggled to convert one of the many goal-scoring chances that fell.
They continued to press after the break, but all their good work was undone as Alonso was the hero to zero, awarding a penalty after a clumsy mistake on Joselu.
Joselu picked himself up to convert the spot kick, calmly curling it straight into the center to make it 1-1 in the 73rd minute.
Tempers flared after the equaliser, with Barcelona’s Jordi Alba sent off after receiving back-to-back yellow cards for a loud protest against the referee.
Robert Lewandowski couldn’t help Barcelona find a late winner
Espanyol’s Vinicius Souza was then shown a second yellow card for a foul on Robert Lewandowski two minutes later.
Defender Leandro Cabrera was also shown a red card for kneeing Lewandowski in the back after being brought down by Souza, but a VAR review cleared Espanyol.
Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz, who attracted criticism earlier this month after showing 16 yellow cards in Argentina’s quarter-final win over the Netherlands at the World Cup, went to a monitor before reversing his decision.
Espanyol goalkeeper Fernandez kept the team alive with a couple of stops late in the match, keeping out a header from Andreas Christensen and a low shot from Lewandowski, as Barcelona couldn’t find a winner.
La Liga table | result | Schedule
Real Sociedad beat Osasuna to leapfrog Atletico
real society defeat health 2-0 to overtake Atletico Madrid and move back into third place, nine points ahead.
Brais Mendez scored in the first half and Alexander Sorloth put the result beyond doubt in the 64th minute.
Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal made his return in the win against Osasuna after a long-term injury after tearing ligaments in his left knee in March.
Meanwhile, the last goal by Argentine defender Juan Foyth gave Villarreal won 2-1 over Valencia.
Foyth made just one brief appearance to help his country win the World Cup.
He came on as a first-half substitute for Villarreal and ended the deadlock with a header in the 88th minute.
Vinicius Jr attacked La Liga because of racist fans
Real Madrid Brazil advanced Vinicius Jr has accused La Liga of continuing to do nothing about racist fans at matches after videos on social media showed fans shouting and throwing objects at them. The real Valladolid on Friday night.
La Liga issued a statement condemning all forms of hate speech and said it was following incidents of racism at matches.
Vinicius was seen being abused at the Jose Zorrilla stadium in Valladolid as he walked past the fans after being substituted during Real Madrid’s 2-0 win.
“Racists continue to go to stadiums and watch the biggest clubs in the world and LaLiga do nothing,” Vinicius wrote on Twitter.
“I will continue with my head held high and celebrate my victory and that of Madrid.”
In September, Atletico Madrid fans were filmed chanting racist chants at the 22-year-old outside the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium before a match against Real.
The league said in a statement that it was reviewing the events of Friday’s game.
“LaLiga has detected racist insults from the Zorrilla stadium, published on social networks,” the Spanish top league said.
“This fact will be reported to the Anti-Violence Commission and the Public Prosecutor’s Office for hate crimes, as has been done on other occasions,” he said.
The league detailed how it had dealt with incidents of racist abuse towards players in the past and said it would continue to fight the “diseases of violence, racism, xenophobia and sporting intolerance”.
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