Barcelona held by Espanyol in feisty affair | Football News – Times of India
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Barcelona's lead over Real Madrid atop the LaLiga standings evaporated on Saturday after they were held to a 1-1 home draw by local rivals Espanyol in a bad-tempered clash in which both sides were reduced to 10 men.Madrid had taken top spot on Friday with a 2-0 win at Real Valladolid, putting pressure on Barcelona to respond against an Espanyol side battling to avoid relegation.Barcelona started strongly, with defender Marcos Alonso glancing a header into the net to give the hosts the lead with seven minutes on the clock.After a first half in which Barcelona spurned several chances, Alonso turned from hero to zero as he gave away a penalty following a clumsy foul on Joselu, who rolled his spot kick straight down the middle to make it 1-1 in the 73rd minute.Tempers flared after the...