Barcelona vs Espanyol summary: Two red cards, goals, stats, highlights | LaLiga 22-23
Barcelona vs Espanyol: as it happened
Signing off...
OK, folks, that's me for the day and for 2022!
Thank you if you have followed any of our coverage of the football this year with AS USA, we've had Premier League, La Liga, Liga MX, Champions League and, of course, World Cup action!
We will have plenty more in 2023, don't worry about that.
Thanks again.
Joe
Things don't seem to have cooled off after the whistle
Have we calmed down yet? I'm still a little shaky...
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Just going to drop this here for no reason at all...
And here's the Sofascore boffins...
Everything was going Barcelona's way, but somehow they only leave with a point. What a crazy game.
"A point of gold at the Spotify"
I suppose a point away at Barça is the perfect place for a cheeky dig, eh!
How Opta saw the game
For all the dominance the home side had, it flipped on a moment of madness. Then the crazy started...
PAU BARRENA / AFP
Mateu Lahoz going out with a bang!
14 yellows and 2 red cards from Señor Mateu Lahoz today - that's a record for him in the Primera División.
So, that's all the football at the Camp Nou finished for 2022.
Barcelona finish the league on top of the table but are now level on points with Real Madrid (38).
GAME OVER!!!!!!!!
FT: FC BARCELONA 1-1 RCD ESPANYOL
And breathe!
Well, where do I start? That had everything: a penalty, a red card, another red card, a rescinded red card, more yellows that a wasps nest, fights...
Corner to Barça!
LEWANDOWSKI JUST WIDE!!!!!!
Barcelona launch one last attack...
Espanyol's manager and his staff are screaming at the referee to blow the whistle...
WHAT A CHALLENGE FROM CABRERA ON DEMBÉLÉ!
He went down in the box and scooped the ball from under his feet!
Into the last minute now...
Barcelona continue to attack; Espanyol are holding on.
Free kick called for a foul by Ferran on Joselu...
Dembélé runs and runs down the wing for what seems like 100 kilometres before Puado fouls him. The Camp Nou whistles like crazy. It's a toxic atmosphere in the stadium!
Busquets fouls Sergi Darder and Raphinha - who is on the bench - gets booked. Just about sums up this game.
Dembélé twists left and right before firing a shot high into the stands. Again.
Balde's cross is launched low but flies past everyone and out for a throw on the other side of the pitch.
Ter Stegen does excellently well to punch the ball away.
An overhead kick from Joselu wins Espanyol a corner.
Espanyol counter and win a throw...
9 minutes added
Balde (who came on during the penalty madness along with Kounde) does well to get into the box and finds Pedri, whose shot goes wide.
Gil and Olivan OFF
AleixVidal and Ruben ON
Dembélé whips a wild shot high and wide from the right.
FERNÁNDEZ WITH ANOTHER SAVE!!!
LEWANDOWSKI ONE VS ONE!!!
I won't lie to you all, I have absolutely no idea how he got there, but he did, and the goalkeeper saved.
Espanyol clear the ball and 90,000 people breathe for the first time in 10 minutes...
WHAT AN AMAZING SAVE FROM FERNÁNDEZ!!!!
CHRISTENSEN SO CLOSE WITH THE HEADER!
Espanyol clear Dembélé's cross...
Corner for Barça.
We're back underway!
CABRERA RED CARD CLEARED!
He can continue!!!
His challenge on Ferran has been deemed as accidental.
Somebody help me breathe....
AND NOW HE'S GOING TO VAR!!!
AHHHH!!!!
Espanyol have NINE players!!!
WAIT!!
TWO RED CARDS!!
CABRERA IS OFF AS WELL!
It's Vini Souza! For the foul on Lewandowski!
Both sides down to ten!
WAIT!
Someone else has been sent off!
Ok, this is madness... Lewandowski down now and there are brawls appearing everywhere like wildfires...
Free-kick swung high over the bar from Espanyol, who now have all the momentum!
It appears Alba said something to the referee. Barcelona with 10 men for the last 10 minutes.
I have no idea why but Mateu Lahoz has just sent off Jordi Alba...
ALBA SENT OFF!!!!
Espanyol have a dangerous free kick on the left...
I'm sorry, everyone, this is all my fault for mentioning how quiet Mateu Lahoz had been...
Vini Souza goes in hard on poor Pedri, and somehow Mateo Lahoz books the Barça midfielder.
Ferran booked for a foul.
Back underway.
And just like that - bam! - football gets you.
TER STEGEN GOES TO HIS LEFT BUT JOSELU STROKES IT DOWN THE MIDDLE!
GAME ON!
JOSELU GOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL FOR ESPANYOOOLLLLLLLLL
MATEU LAHOZ HAS GIVEN A PENALTY FOR A FOUL ON JOSELU
MARCOS ALONSO STANDS ON HIS FOOT!
PENALTY FOR ESPANYOL!!!!!
Close for Espanyol!
Joselu wins the header but Braithwaite can't make anything of the take-down.
Dare I say it? Mateo Lahoz has been fairly quiet today. He's not had too much to shout about, which is always nice. I suppose there'e time yet...
Barcelona feel comfortable in this game, but it's still only 1-0. Anything could happen, and Xavi will know that. They need another goal if they are to get rid of the nerves that may start to creep in.
The Camp Nou don't feel nervous, they're screaming and shouting for their team like they're in the Champions League final
CLOSE!
Ferran heads over from a Barcelona corner.
An unorthodox but useful clearance from Olivan's knee after Pedri effortlessly plucked the ball out of the sky like he just took a can of beans from the shelf and proceeded to jive his way through the challenges.
Big chance wastedfor Espanyol, as Joselu overhits a cross from the right and it flies out of play.
Barcelona looked to be badly positioned tracking back so that could have been a great opportunity to put them under pressure.
Ansu and Raphinha OFF
Dembélé and Ferran ON
Close call for Espanyol as Lewandowski looked to slide a pass through the defence to Rpahinha but it was well blocked.
447 passes completed by Barcelona so far; 104 for Espanyol.
Espanyol penalised for an offside decision in the build up of a good move down the left. It ended in a nice shot that Ter Stegen did well to save.
Álvaro Fernández gets off his line well to clear a ball that was played in behind towards Ansu.
Expósitoand Puado ON
Nico and Calero OFF
LEWANDOWSKI CLOSE!!!
The Polish striker fizzes a header just wide after Marcos Alonso lifted a cross into the box from the right.
Raphinha runs away on the counter, but Cabrera gets back well and funnels him into a corner. Good defending from the Espanyol player. The game has just opened up a little over the past few minutes.
Raphinha defends well as the ball is lofted into the box by Espanyol. Danger averted.
Dennis 'Gavi' The Menace OFF
Sergio Busquets ON
Raphinha takes an age to put a cross in but he does and finds Lewandowski, whose ball in is met by Sergi Roberto's head. Ansu can't get on the end of the ball that is then put back across goal and it bounces across goal.
Lewandowski spins away from Souza and is fouled. He asks the referee for a card for the Espanyol player. A bit cheeky coming from you, Robert!
Ansu with some hopping, skipping and jumping past various challenges, none of them successful.
Barcelona continue to keep the ball.
88,095 people at Camp Nou today...
Espanyol hoof it forward instantly and the ball is back with Barça after 2 seconds...
And we're off!
FC Barcelona 1-0 RCD Espanyol
The players are back out on the pitch! Here we go again!
A nice day so far for Marcos Alonso
His goal is the difference between the two sides at the break!
And that's half-time!
No added minutes here.
HT: FC Barcelona 1-0 RCD Espanyol
Barcelona completely dominant all the way through; the early goal settling any nerves and controlling the Espanyol pressure.
Xavi will be happy with how intense his team look, as well as the fluidity up front. They're not struggling to bring it out from the back and are finding space for the attackers and midfielders to dictate play. At the minute, they're going into 2023 top of the league.
Gavi gets on the end of free-kick, whipped in by Raphinha. He heads over.
Barcelona, despite the scoreline being only 1-0, are very comfortable here.
Calero absolutely wipes out poor Pedri. Legs in the air and all. No booking from Mr Mateu Lahoz.
Barcelona back to probing, like curious space aliens.
Espanyol focussed on trying to keep their shape.
Fernández saves another Raphinha shot, again down low, but a lot weaker than the first.
RAPHINHA!!!!!!!
WHAT A HIT!
He wallops the ball with his left lightning bolt of a leg towards goal. Fernández tries to catch it down low, but fumbles and the ball almost ends up over the line!
It was a great shot, must be that new facial hair he's sporting. Like Samson, but with a beard.
Espanyol almost go close again!
Great work from Darder to spin left and right before playing a wonderful line-breaking pass. The ball gets swung in from the right but nobody can get up high enough to make contact.
Alba, on his 300th appearance for Barça, looks like he's done some damage. Continuing for now.
CLOSE FOR ESPANYOL!
Nico gets the ball from Joselu and smacks a shot from the left to the far corner. Just wide. The best chance by far for Espanyol.
Here he is! Mateu Lahoz has arrived!
Cards for Gavi (obviously, the cheeky little monster) and Olivan.
Ansu and Alba link up well on the left, Gómez does well to defend. Corner.
Barcelona go back to their zippy possession game, the one that makes my eyes feel funny as I try to follow the ball.
Free kick to Espanyol on the right. Superman to take...
Cleared.
OLIVAN SUPERMAN!
Great defending from Espanyol!
Gavi played Raphinha through the defence but his touch took him slightly wide which allowed Olivan to come in and save the day at the last moment with a fantastic sliding challenge inside the box to keep Espanyol just about alive.
Barcelona are currently top of the league on 40 points, 2 ahead of Real Madrid.
CLOSE! Ansu nearly scored with a spectacular flick over his head. Just wide.
I wish I had the confidence of this Barcelona team are showing right now.
Ansu wins a corner, squirming one way then the other before his cross deflects out of play.
MARCOS ALONSO?! HOW DID HE MISS????
Alba sends a cross in from the left and Alonso arrives at the front post but somehow manages to send the ball wide from a yard out!
Cliché incoming... it was harder to miss than score!
Sergi Roberto tries a shot from distance, because why not? Wide.
Espanyol send in a long ball towards the home side's box but they can't make anything of it and the defence clears with ease.
Right now, this game is like me or you trying to punch a professional boxer. We've got no chance. Unless of course you are a professional boxer, then this doesn't apply to you.
SO CLOSE! LEWANDOWSKI HEADS TOWARDS GOAL BUT FERNÁNDEZ SAVES!
Raphinha makes a mazy run down the right wing and Espanyol's defenders can only scramble back to try and block off the goal. There is a sense of fear in their eyes right now. Barcelona have a corner.
Espanyol are suffering here: Pedri plays it to Ansu who fires a shot just wide from the left side of the box.
The Camp Nou is bouncing! And so are the team!
This is a fantastic start for the home side.
Barcelona attack again...
Gavi was played in behind the line and Fernández pulled off a fantastic save to keep the shot out.
The resulting corner was sent to the back post and Marcos Alonso got on the end of Raphinha's header. 1-0!
GOOOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLLLL BARCELONA!!!!
HUGE SAVE!! FERNÁNDEZ!
Gavi and Pedri aren't being given a moment's peace by the Espanyol midfield, who are swarming over them like blue and white bees.
A completely understandable occurrence, of course: once they start to dictate, things go south very quickly for most teams.
Pedri fouled by Vini Souza, who charged in from behind. Barcelona probing with the ball, as they do...
It's a 4-4-2 for Espanyol off the ball, which I suspect we'll see a lot today.
Wow, the Espanyol pressure is very high. Christensen just lost the ball at the back and Espanyol almost got through.
Here we go!
Mateo Lahoz blows the whistle and Barcelona, in their home kit, kick us off!
A minute of silence to remember the death of one of the true icons of sport: Pelé.
Espanyol XI:
Fernández
Olivan - Cabrera - Gómez - Calero - Gil
Darder - Souza - Melamed
Braithwaite - Joselu
Barça XI:
Ter Stegen
Roberto - Christensen - Alonso - Alba
De Jong - Pedri - Gavi
Raphinha - Lewandowski - Ansu
The stadium sings as the players step out onto the pitch for the last game of 2022 at the Camp Nou!
The Camp Nous is looking delightful today.
The winter sun is shining, the grass is looking splendid... and we are about to kick off!
The players are lining up in the tunnel now.
Ten to go!
The players have been in the dressing rooms for a while now and they are just about to come onto the pitch for the game!
Can you remember?
The last time Espanyol beat FC Barcelona was way back in 2009, when Iván de la Peña scored a double at the Camp Nou.
Since then, it's been an uphill struggle for the blanquiazules, who haven't been able to get anything from their all-conquering rivals.
Espanyol have only scored 7 goals against them since then; Barcelona have 58.
(By the way, Barcelona have just come out on the pitch to warm up to an absolutely HUGE cheer)
Barça are in the house!
And Joules Koundé with a very strong choice of trousers. A nice cardigan, too.
Barcelona star in Sofascore young team of 2022
Can you guess who it is without looking?
Of course it's Pedri.
Pedri, Pedri, Pedri. What a player. He tops the Sofascore young player ratings with an average score of 7.35; his closest challenger is Bukayo Saka, followed by somebody called Jude Bellingham.
No Busi for Barça today, but word on Las Ramblas is that he could stay on at the club for another year, putting to bed (for now) those MLS rumours.
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Here's how Real Madrid, Barcelona's title rivals, got on last night against Valladolid at the Estadio José Zorilla, maybe the coldest place on planet earth. OK, except Elland Road the other day against Manchester City.
Here is how Espanyol start the game!
Braithwaite and Joselu are up front; Sergi Darder will look to control things from the middle, with his magic feet.
Team news!
For FC Barcelona, Lewandowski starts, and Alba makes it 300 appearances for Barcelona. What an achievement.
Raphinha is up top with Ansu, which sounds very fun.
Araújo is on the bench.
Mateo Lahoz World Cup 2022 / MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP
Who is the ref?
Remember this guy? Of course you do!
Yes, it's Mateu Lahoz, the referee who made his name famous worldwide after his memorable card-happy performance in the Argentina vs Netherlands World Cup game.
Well he's taking charge of today's already super-heated Barcelona derby. What could possibly go wrong?
Messi wasn't happy with him, that's for sure.
Jordi Alba, FC Barcelona / JOSEP LAGO / AFP
A special day for Jordi
It could turn out to be a special day for Jordi Alba who, if he plays, would make his 300th appearance for FC Barcelona in a career that has seen him wear the azulgrana shirt for over a decade.
Barcelona look to end the year on a high, literally.
It's a different story for Xavi's side, who will finish the calendar year top of the tree if they continue their unbeaten streak against their city rivals, which now stretches to 24 games.
| T | MP | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 38 | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | 37 | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 27 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 26 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 | 25 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 |
Espanyol finish 2022 on the edge
Being level on points with Sevilla is normally something that most teams in La Liga would love to have, but this year it is cause for concern.
Diego Martínez couldn't quite get his side going in the first half of the season, so they'll hope that the World Cup break does the job in terms of finding their feet with his way of thinking.
They've won just two games this season, against Athletic and Valladolid, so we will see if they can turn some of those draws into 3 points.
| T | MP | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 17 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| 16 | 13 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| 17 | 12 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| 18 | 12 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| 19 | 12 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
Want more handbags?
More drama! I suppose Espanyol think it's time they got back at Barça for when Piqué said that they weren't even part of the city of Barcelona. Ouch.
So, Espanyol have been told that any fans wearing club colours won't be allowed in the Camp Nou today. They say "fine, but we're going to do the same when you come to our ground."
It's the football pettiness we all live for. Tuck in.
There won't be much Christmas spirit at the Camp Nou today...
As you might imagine, Espanyol aren't too happy about having to come up against the Polish goal robot Lewandowski, so much so that they have actually refused to send delegate to the Camp Nou in protest.
There he is...
That cheeky number 9, Mr. Lewandowski, makes the start-studded squad list for the game.
You'll notice Ronald Araújo, who has finally (!) been declared fit to play.
This game is usually surrounded by some kind of newsworthy comment, reaction or discussion, and today is no different. Barcelona have had Robert Lewandowski declared available for the game, despite being sent off in Barcelona's last league game before the World Cup, against Osasuna.
Good work from the legal team, I guess.
Well, look at this!
Good morning, afternoon and evening to the final day of the year!
We've got a football treat today, Barcelona vs Espanyol in the Catalan Derby!
It's Joe here and I'll be guiding you through all of the laughter, tears and everything else that happens at the Camp Nou in what should be an absolute cracker of a game.