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China's Wu Lei strikes late as Espanyol hold 10-man Barcelona

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AFP Madrid
Last Updated : Jan 05 2020 | 9:35 AM IST

Barcelona were pegged back by La Liga's bottom club Espanyol as Wu Lei struck late to secure a dramatic 2-2 draw in a thrilling Catalan derby.

Luis Suarez appeared to have inspired another turnaround at the RCDE Stadium on Saturday after he cancelled out David Lopez's opener with a deft half-volley before digging out an exquisite pass for substitute Arturo Vidal to finish.

But a red card for Frenkie de Jong with 16 minutes left gave Espanyol renewed hope and Chinese forward Wu emerged the hero, firing past stand-in goalkeeper Neto to rescue a point in Abelardo Fernandez's first game in charge.

"De Jong's sending off hurt us," said Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde.

"We could have scored a third and then in one play we conceded. We had the game under control. The red card unsettled us a little."
"This can be a turning-point," he said. "But we have to compete just like today because it won't be easy."
- Defensive problems -
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- Madrid catch Barca -
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First Published: Jan 05 2020 | 9:35 AM IST

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