La Liga 2022-23, Espanyol hold Barcelona to 1-1 draw: Stats
Both Barcelona and Espanyol were reduced to 10 men each as they played out a 1-1 draw in La Liga 2022-23. Marcus Alonso's header garnered a 1-0 lead for Barcelona. Espanyol leveled the scenes after earning a penalty in the second half. Espanyol survived a late scare after rival Jordi Alba and Vinicius Souza were sent off to gain a point in the contest.
Contrasting records for Alonso
As per Opta, Alonso is the first Barcelona player to score and concede a penalty both in the same La Liga game since Ronald Araujo against Getafe in April 2021. Meanwhile, it was his maiden goal for Barcelona in the Spanish top flight.
A look at the La Liga standings
Barcelona are now the table-toppers with 38 points to show (W12 D2 L1). Real Madrid (38) trail them at the second spot. Atletico Madrid (27) and Real Sociedad (26) are next. Meanwhile, Espanyol are seated 16th with 13 points so far (W2 D7 L6).
Alba unlocks this feat
As per Opta, left-back Alba made his 300th La Liga appearance with Barcelona. He has started on 277 occasions. Only 11 players had previously reached this figure with the Catalan team in the competition.
How did the match pan out?
Barcelona were keeping the possessions and clinched a seventh-minute lead through an unmarked Alonso. Espanyol upped their tempo post-half-time, with Joselu scoring off a penalty after conceding a foul by Alonso in the box. Espanyol goalkeeper Alvaro Fernandez then made two stunning saves to keep the score intact. Barcelona failed to dispatch a stoppage-time winner to drop valuable points in the fixture.
