It took until the 96th minute for Luuk de Jong, who came on as a substitute, to get Barcelona back in the game against city rivals Espanyol in La Liga on Sunday.
Both teams had a player sent off in the last few minutes. Espanyol looked like they were going to beat Barcelona for the first time in 16 years until De Jong scored from Adama Traore’s cross.
Because of this, Xavi Hernandez’s team moved back into the fourth and final spot in the Champions League. They now have the same number of points as Atletico Madrid on 39.
“A good thing at the end. We had a lot of good times in both halves. Espanyol made very little, but they were more careful. It was a hard game. Already, Real Madrid have lost here this season. We could have won if we had tried “I agree with Xavi. “Besides, we could have lost at the end. That would have been unfair. Still, we have to fight for the Champions League.”
When Pedri scored from close range in the first two minutes, it looked like Barcelona would have a very easy night.
On the stroke of halftime, Raul de Tomas set up Sergi Darder, who curled a shot from the edge of the box into the back of the net. Ferran Torres and Traore both had good chances.
Darder then did the same thing. He sent De Tomas away with a ball over the top that looked like it would have won the game for the hosts.
Gerard Pique and Nico Melamed both went to the stands late in the game after getting into a fight off the ball. De Jong’s late goal meant that the two teams split the spoils.
“Luuk de Jong is a good example, and I say that in front of the whole team. This is how it works: He’s a very good person. He is a goal scorer, and that’s why we brought him on as an extra player. He’s had two chances, and then he scored another “Xavi also added.
