Barcelona have their last important match in 2022 when they face Espanyol in La Liga. In the early match of the 15th round of La Liga, the White Vultures faced many difficulties but eventually defeated Real Valladolid with a score of 2-0 thanks to a double from Karim Benzema.
With Barcelona, they received a boost before the match when the La Liga organizers suspended the suspension of Robert Lewandowski. Therefore, the Polish player was allowed to start from the beginning against Espanyol.

Barca was held to a draw.
With the home field advantage, Barcelona quickly increased the squad. Their efforts were quickly rewarded by Marcos Alonso’s goal in the 7th minute.
From the corner, Lewandowski headed in the far corner, then it was Andreas Christensen’s turn to head the cross for Marcos Alonso to once again head the ball into the visitors’ net.
The Catalan club completely dominated the game, making Espanyol almost suffer. In the first half alone, Barca shot the ball 12 times and controlled the ball 78%. Meanwhile, Espanyol only had one shot on target.
After the break, Barca still pressed the pitch. However, the unexpected happened in the 73rd minute. Espanyol was awarded a penalty after Alonso’s foul. On the 11m mark, Joselu made no mistake to equalize for the away team.
5 minutes later, Jordi Alba argued with the referee and received a direct red card. After 80 minutes, it was Espanyol’s Leandro Cabrera’s turn to be sent off after receiving a second yellow card. In the last minutes, Barca tried to force the field to score more goals but failed.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw. Barca reclaimed the top position due to the difference between Real and Real even though the gap between the two teams was leveled.

La Liga table.
Result: Barcelona 1-1 Espanyol
Scored: Alonso 7′ – Joselu 73′
Squad:
Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Alba, Roberto, Christensen, Alonso, Pedri, Gavi, De Jong, Raphinha, Fati, Lewandowski
Espanyol: Alvaro Fernandez, Cabrera, Sergi Gomez, Brian Olivan, Fernando Calero, Oscar Gil, Darder, Vinicius Souza, Nico Melamed, Joselu, Braithwaite
Xiao Lam | 21:35 December 31, 2022