La Liga champions Barcelona were forced to a 2-2 draw in Catalan derby against Espanyol in RCDE Stadium, when De Jong was shown second yellow of the match.
The hosts – who are at the bottom of the La Liga table – took a surprise first-half lead through David Lopez’s header. Barcelona looked in control after Vidal was introduced in second half. It was Luis Suarez’s first-time finish and Arturo Vidal’s header. But they lost momentum after Frenkie de Jong was sent off for two yellow .
Substitute Wu, who was introduced late in the match by Espanyol, became the first Chinese player to score against Barca. He slotted home from Matias Vargas’ pass.
One point from this draw, takes Barcelona back to the top of the table above Real Madrid, who won against Getafe 3-0 earlier on Saturday – on goal difference.
Espanyol, who have now failed to win a La Liga derby against Barcelona in their past 21 attempts, were much improved from recent weeks in their first game under Abelardo, who is their third manager of the season.
- La Liga
- Real Madrid 3-0 Getafe: Raphael Varane scored double
- Atletico Madrid 2-1 Levante: Atletico won fourth time in a row
- Barcelona 2-2 Espanyol: Barcelona conceded lead after De Jong red
- Serie A
- Juventus 4-0 Cagliari: Ronaldo scores first Serie-A hat-trick
- Milan 0-0 Sampdoria: Zlatan comes as substitute on Milan return
- Inter 3-1 Napoli: Lukaku and Martinez put Inter at the top of Serie-A
They deservedly led at the break but Barcelona appeared to be cruising towards victory when Suarez poked home Jordi Alba’s cross and then crossed for Vidal to head home. Luis Suarez, who turns 33 this month, was involved in Barcelona’s past 10 La Liga goals.
But a De Jong mistake ultimately saw Barcelona down to 10 men late in the match. The Dutch youngster lost possession to Jonathan Calleri and pulled his shirt while trying to win the ball back, getting a second card and a first career red. The substitute Wu made Barcelona pay when he finished with two minutes to go.
