The mess derby

Espanyol-Barça on Sunday was, once again, a controversial derby. The match played at the RCDE Stadium had all the ingredients to be a high tension duel and it did not disappoint. Ronald Araujo sent the parakeet team “to Second”, Gerard Piqué received unpleasant chants and he himself was the protagonist when he was expelled after getting involved in a dispute with Nico Melamed. There are no quiet meetings between the two teams from Barcelona and this was not going to be less.

Controversy, controversy and more controversy. This was the derby between Espanyol and Barcelona. The duel, declared high risk, faced two teams with more urgency than on other occasions and that was noticeable from minute 1. The tension gradually increased until it led to a second half converted into a battle to hurt the rival. Part of the local fans remembered Gerard Piqué and his partner, Shakira, something that was immediately rejected by another sector of the Espanyol stands, tired of some rhymes that always end up hurting the club’s fans as well. implore.

Those songs, not because they were recurrent less reprehensible, were the final spark for the duel to jump into the air on the pitch. With 2-1 on the scoreboard and already in the final stretch, a very Barça footballer and another very Espanyol faced each other. Gerard Piqué and Nico Melamed, academy players from both clubs, got into a dispute over the ball. The Barça center-back ended up on the ground after the parakeet grabbed him, a play that led to an endless brawl and an expulsion for a double yellow card for both players.

The duel between Piqué and Melamed had Ronald Araujo as a secondary actor, who had been on the bench for the entire second half due to injury but was still hot-blooded. The Uruguayan took the opportunity to send the parakeet youth squad “to the Second Division” and further set fire to an RCDE Stadium, which had become a boiler. The words of the charrúa reached the parrot’s heart and had a response after the clash through heavyweights. “Araujo? One or two years ago he was playing in Segunda B », said Sergi Darder, while Vicente Moreno stated:« It’s not that the player slips me, it’s that he worries me about mine ».

At the end of the game, Barcelona tried to reduce the tension. Xavi went to a press conference and was forceful with the words of the Uruguayan center-back. «We have to respect the opponent, the referee and the rival fans. You must always be respectful. The tension can sometimes, but I apologize. If that has happened, it cannot happen, “said the Tarrasa coach in an apology that preceded that of the Uruguayan center-back on social networks. «I want to apologize to all the people of Espanyol for the unfortunate gesture I had tonight. I am not proud of what happened, “concluded Araujo.

Arbitration controversy

It took time to appear, but in the end it did so in all its splendor, the arbitration controversy. It was the 90th minute when the sign appeared with six minutes added, an outrage for the criteria of the RCDE Stadium stands, an extension that was ultimately going to be decisive after Luuk de Jong headed the final tie into the net. the 96′. “In this field they give 100 minutes every day,” said Sergi Darder at the conclusion of the match. His words coincide with those of a fan, the parakeet, who complained in the first leg after a dubious penalty on Memphis Depay and who was outraged on this occasion with an extension time that they considered excessive.