The Estadi Cornellà-El Prat may never have been louder than it was tonight. RCD Espanyol faced its fiercest cross town rivals FC Barcelona at home, and looked primed for another agonizing defeat at the hands of the Club World Cup Champions. That was, until a late 86th minute equalizer lit a fire underneath each seat in the stadium and saw a lackluster Barcelona fall a devastating five points behind league leaders Real Madrid CF.

In a shocking turn of events, head coach Pep Guardiola decided to repeat a line-up for the first time this season. He chose the same starting eleven that took on Real Madrid in the 1-3 league away win, in what is possibly the line-up he reserves only for arch-rivals: Valdés, Abidal, Piqué, Puyol, Alves, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc, Messi, and Alexis. Unfortunately, this time around these players did not have the same warrior spirit that earned them a come-from-behind win in one of the most intimidating stadiums in the world.

From the very start, the game was intense. Espanyol refused to treat Barcelona as so many other teams did: with deference and fear. The team immediately began attacking the Best Team in the World with a parked bus nowhere in sight. In just the 6th minute, Valdés was forced to make an amazing save where he literally fell backward and pushed the ball out of the net after a header from Verdú. While Valdés was still scrambling to his feet, Verdú rebounded with a strike and the save this time came from the feet of Piqué.

Barcelona’s attacking instinct finally kicked in at the 14th minute mark when Espanyol goalkeeper Álvarez made a terrible give away straight to Messi. Though Messi passed it on to Cesc who had the ball in the back of the net, La Pulga was deemed to have intentionally handled the ball, so the goal was disallowed and a yellow card was awarded.

The drama did not stop Barcelona’s attack, as Álvarez yet again made a defensive error and almost gave a chance away to Alexis a few minutes later. However, it was in the 16th minute when all the effort finally culminated in a goal. Alves crossed in a great ball to Cesc, who free headed it from the edge of the box that Álvarez was unable to catch.

Espanyol fought right back a minute later, when Sergio García tested Valdés with a distance shot that he was able to parry. There was question if Piqué had fouled García on the edge of the box, but no free kick or card was given. Espanyol continued battling for an equaling goal, but all attempts were either blocked or missed the net.

In the 28th minute, Barcelona almost converted its second after Alexis slid an amazing ball into the box for Iniesta, but Álvarez  made up for his previous mistakes with a save. The next real action came in the 44th minute when Cesc tried for his brace after maneuvering around several Espanyol defenders, only to have his shot ricochet off the post, not saved by Álvarez as initially thought.

Just before the halftime whistle, Romaric received a yellow card for elbowing Piqué in the head during an in-air challenge. The first half  was an acceptable display from the blaugrana in what was expected to be a very tough derby by all involved, but improvements and reenergizing needed to occur for the important three points to be sealed in the last 45 minutes.

Espanyol made one change at the half with Weiss replacing Javi López, who may have been injured. Even with the substitution, the first chance of the half fell to Barcelona. Piqué, in an unusually forward position, pulled a pass back to Alves whose distance shot rolled into the possession of Álvarez. Alves was again the player seeking the solidifying goal in the 58th minute, and even had the ball in the back of the net, but was well offside.

In the 65th minute, Álvaro Vázquez was substituted on for Romaric. It was at this point that the game began to turn ugly. After the linesman near Barcelona’s box gave a goal kick to Barcelona instead of a free kick to Espanyol, a Coca-Cola Zero can was thrown at him from the stands. As the head referee retrieved it from him and brought it to the sidelines, some words were exchanged between him and an Espanyol player who is assumed to have made a disrespectful remark.

Once the game had resumed, Raúl Rodríguez brought down Alexis on the edge of the box in the 69th minute, earning himself a yellow card and Barcelona a free kick in a dangerous area. However, Xavi’s attempt sailed well over the bar. Two minutes later, Alexis was returned to the bench in favor of Pedro after a substandard outing from the Chilean who had recently returned from injury. Pedro, for his part, brought in a very fresh attacking energy that was much needed for a team that was starting to become complacent against an opponent that was becoming desperate.

Yet another yellow card was handed out when Álvaro Vázquez caught Alves and tripped him up in the 76th minute. Just two minutes later, disaster struck Espanyol, as ‘keeper Álvarez landed on his left foot wrong while routinely passing the ball out of the box. The extent of the injury is unknown, but judging by the fact that he had to be stretchered off the pitch, the outlook is not good. Backup goalkeeper Casilla entered the match to defend Espanyol’s net in Álvarez’s absence.

The 85th minute saw Barcelona make another change, as Keita came on in his last game with the club, before heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations with Mali, for Cesc, who besides scoring Barcelona’s only goal, had not done much else. A minute after the switch, all of Espanyol’s frustration and Barcelona’s lethargy produced the late equalizer. Raúl Rodríguez created the cross into the box that was flicked on by Thievy for Álvaro Vázquez to head low past Valdés.

Absolute euphoria overtook the Cornellà-El Prat, and Barcelona seemed to finally have realized it was not playing as it usually does. The intensity cranked up as Barcelona aimed to steal back the three points, but Espanyol did not look ready to settle for the draw either. In the 90th minute, Amat was booked with a yellow card for a handball. In the 91st, Forlín was likewise punished for dissent.

The 92nd minute generated the most excitement of the entire game. The tables had turned, and a now desperate Barcelona lusted after the upset winning goal. Piqué smashed a ball into the crossbar from the left of the box, but Pedro was there to hit the rebound. The ball was rocketing straight into the top corner, but a deliberate handball by Raúl Rodríguez  denied the conversion. The ball was again rebounded back to the edge of the box where Iniesta took one final swing, directing the ball wide of the goal.

Barcelona players were furious that a penalty was not given and Espanyol players were likewise trying to argue their points. Casilla was shown the final yellow card of the game for time wasting, and after a last corner for Espanyol, the game ended.

Many culés thought the team was past the days of draws and close losses that encouraged many to lose faith. Unfortunately, football is never that reliable. FC Barcelona is now five points behind league leaders, and sadly, that is a very large gap.

Fans should not lose hope in this team, just as was advised in the review after the Getafe loss, but Barca’s performance in this game was nothing to be proud of. None of the players played well. Yes, there were several calls that did not go the team’s way, but the referee can hardly be blamed for the lifeless cumulative performance of the team. Only waking up and trying to win after the opponent equalizes is no way to play competitively. The game was also dirty. Though it was a derby and tensions were running high, there is no excuse for fans to throw objects on the field or for players to make malicious fouls.

For the first time this season, I was truly disappointed in this team. Will it keep me from believing FC Barcelona can still win the league? Of course not. No matter how insurmountable the gap may seem, I will always support this team, and so should culés everywhere.

No game is perfect. No season is perfect. No team, even FC Barcelona, is perfect. The motto is still “més que un club.” Even if the players sometimes fail to live up to this, culés never should.

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