The emoticon that sums up Barça's discontent with the refereeing

Barcelona"I was one of the first to be sanctioned in the competition and I don't want to be again." Joan Peñarroya dodged criticism of the refereeing during the press conference after the classic against Real Madrid, but Barça ended up very upset. The decisive action in which Belosevic, Ryzhyk and Koljinsac did not whistle a personal foul against Jabari Parker was the straw that broke the camel's back in the Barça dressing room. community managerof the Barcelona club summed it up by posting an emoticon of disbelief.

Two weeks after the defeat in the Copa del Rey, Barça competed well on Real Madrid's court (96-91). A Barça team that gave everything could not avoid defeat against an opponent against whom it has lost the last seven direct encounters. The locals took advantage of their greater number of resources to put an end to a streak of three consecutive defeats in the Euroleague. The visitors arrived in the last minute with the score tied.

"We competed with options to win and I am very happy with the work of the players," said Peñarroya, who had the absences of Nico Laprovittola, Jan Vesely, Kevin Punter and Juan Núñez. The coach from Egar gave debut to Raúl Villar, a young man of only 17 years old. The point guard became the first player in history to complete the path from the mini category to the senior category. The coach also used shooting guard Darío Brizuela as a playmaker.

The extra effort of Jabari Parker, Justin Anderson, Tomás Satoransky and a sensational Joel Parra (20 points) was not rewarded at the Movistar Arena. Chimezie Metu had a prominent role on a night in which Willy Hernangómez once again went unnoticed.

The two teams, who arrived at the classic with as many doubts as emergencies, took a while to get the hang of the game. The first few minutes had more mistakes than successes. Eight consecutive points from Parker opened the first gap in the scoreboard (14-21), but Real Madrid knew how to react well to equal the result at the end of the first quarter (23-25).

Lacking accuracy from the three-point line, Real Madrid struggled to keep up with the scoring pace of a Barça side that followed the game plan designed by Peñarroya with discipline. The white team, too flat, was unable to alter the pace of play during a first half dominated by the visitors. The Blaugrana team had better feelings than reward and went into the break with a lead of just three points (40-43).

Chus Mateo emphasised the importance of Edy Tavares to try to expose the shortcomings of Barça's inside game. Madrid also stepped up its defence against a Barça team that struggled to get good shooting opportunities. The Whites took advantage of the Catalans' offensive problems to speed up the pace of play (69-58). When the visitors were at their worst, they reacted in a partial 1-9 (70-67).

Unable to maintain a regular performance, Madrid did not find the formula to definitively break the game. With more character than resources, Barça clung to its chances of victory at the Movistar Arena. Joel Parra, who took a step forward, and Parker brought personality in a very even final stretch (86-86). The referees ignored a handful of contacts on the American power forward in a decisive action that ended with a divided ball. Lacking accuracy when it was most needed, the Catalan team was one inch away from victory.

White performance

Florentino Pérez took advantage of the match to showcase his football players. Mbappé, Vinícius, Bellingham, Modric, Brahim and Alaba, among others, witnessed the classic live, staging the impressive collection of stars that their president was looking for. Josep Cubells, the director in charge of the basketball section of Barça, watched the match from the box.