Espanyol 2-2 Barcelona: 5 Talking Points as Luuk de Jong strike salvages a point for Blaugrana | La Liga 2021-22

#3 Barcelona defence is in shambles

Gerard Pique goes off after seeing red.

Barcelona were abysmal at the back. For Espanyol's first goal of the night, Ronald Araujo could not fend off Raul de Tomas, who went on to set up Sergi Darder.

Following the restart, Eric Garcia replaced Araujo, but had a torrid night. He was also responsible for Espanyol's second of the game. Garcia failed to keep De Tomas in check. The former Real Madrid forward easily skipped past Garcia before finding the back of the net.

Gerard Pique was no better, and was a mess on the night. The veteran defender lost his cool in stoppage time, and got his second yellow of the night. Both Nico Melamed and Pique received their second yellows for going head to head.

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#2 Espanyol impress mightily

Raul de Tomas produced a massive performance.

Espanyol played a brilliant game against their Catalan neighbours. The Parakeets pushed Xavi's men to the edge. But the players who really stood out for them were Raul de Tomas and Sergi Darder. The duo lit up the occasion.

Both of them scored and assisted one apiece. De Tomas won 11 duels, created two chances, completed two dribbles, made four clearances, and recovered the ball thrice. Meanwhile, Darder created two chances, won four deals, made five recoveries and completed two dribbles.

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#1 Barcelona move into top four

Barcelona need to buck up.

The Blaugrana moved above Atletico Madrid in the points table following their 4-2 win over them last weekend. Despite that spectacular showing, Xavi's men have faltered once again, and have given Atletico Madrid some room to breathe.

Diego Simeone's men pulled off a miraculous win over Getafe to stay in the top four race. Barcelona's slip-up at Espanyol means both teams now have the same number of points - 39 after 23 games - but the Blaugrana are ahead because of a better head-to-head. Xavi's men will have to avoid dropping points as the race for the top four heats up.