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FULL-TIME, Barcelona 1-0 Espanyol: Hard-fought victory and a poor team performance, but a win is a win to stay alive in the title race. And more importantly, ESPANYOL ARE RELEGATED!!! BYE-BYE, CATALONIA’S WORST!!!
GOAL!!! Barcelona 1-0 Espanyol (Suárez 56’): BARÇA TAKE THE LEAD!!! A really nice attacking move down the left ends with a Messi shot that is blocked but falls right to Luis Suárez for the opening goal!
53min: RED CARD! Now it’s Espanyol’s turn for a sending off as Lozano is given a red for a dangerous tackle on Piqué. VAR came to the rescue again.
50min: RED CARD! Ansu Fati is shown a straight red card for a dangerous challenge on Calero. Ansu was first given a yellow, but after a quick VAR check the color of the card was changed.
SECOND HALF KICKOFF! Barcelona 0-0 Espanyol: Come on, boys! Let’s play better and send them down!
HALFTIME, Barcelona 0-0 Espanyol: Barça started slow, got better as the half went on, but are still struggling to break down a well-organized Espanyol defense. They need more intensity and creativity in the second half.
44min: BIG chance for Espanyol on the counter, and Dídac hits the post. They’re defending well and breaking with danger, and Barça have a tough one to deal with.
30min: Much better from Barça in the last fifteen minutes. The MSG trio is looking for each other and chances are being created.
15min: Slow start from Barça and Espanyol have been dangerous on the counter, forcing a good save from Ter Stegen.
KICKOFF! Barcelona 0-0 Espanyol: Come on, boys! Let’s dominate and relegate them!
LINEUPS
BARCELONA
Starting XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Lenglet, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Roberto; Messi; Griezmann, Suárez (4-3-1-2)
Bench: Neto (GK), Iñaki Peña (GK), Araujo, Cuenca, Morer, Arthur, Vidal, Monchu, Collado, Riqui Puig, Ansu Fati, Braithwaite
ESPANYOL
Starting XI: Diego López; Gómez, Bernardo, Cabrera, Calero, Dídac; Lozano, David López, Roca, Embarba; De Tomás (5-4-1)
Bench: Oier (GK), Naldo, Javi López, Pedrosa, Sánchez, Darder, Melendo, Villahermosa, Wu Lei, Vargas, Campuzano, Ribaudo
WELCOME TO CAMP NOU!!!! The Greatest Stadium on Earth opens its doors once again for a big Barcelona match, this time against city rivals Espanyol for a huge La Liga game. Barça are still trying to fight for the title, but this one is really big for another reason: the Blaugrana can relegate Espanyol to the second division with a win and a draw, and that promises to make this a great game to watch. And you’re welcome to join us to follow and comment all the action. LET’S LIVE BLOG!!!
(Note: the comments will be open only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)
MATCH INFO
Competition/Round: 2019-20 La Liga, Matchday 35
Date/Time: Wednesday, July 8, 2020, 10pm CET (Barcelona), 9pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 4pm ET, 1pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Thursday)
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Referee: José Luís Munuera Montero
HOW TO WATCH, STREAM LA LIGA
How to watch on TV: beIN SPORTS (USA & Canada), LaLigaTV (UK), SuperSport 7 (Nigeria), Movistar LaLiga (Spain), Not Available (India), others
How to stream: fuboTV (USA), beIN SPORTS CONNECT (USA & Canada), Premier Player (UK), Facebook Live (India), Movistar+ (Spain), others
Matchday Thread Rules
We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:
Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, no swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.
Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!