A gift from Lenglet compensates for another refereeing show against Espanyol.

BarcelonaEspanyol will need to raise its voice more to gain the respect of the referees. Just days after its CEO, Mao Ye, accepted the explanations from the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) on the controversial refereeing suffered in Son Moix, The blue and whites saw new refereeing errors take their toll against an Atlético de Madrid (1-1) that is moving further away from the fight for the title. One déjà vu, if we take into account that on the Madrid team's last visit to the RCDE Stadium, a ghost goal by Antoine Griezmann was validated without the VAR having any image that demonstrated that the ball had completely crossed the goal line.

This time, it wasn't one, but two controversial moments that hurt Espanyol. And both were decisive, in the closing stages of the first half. First, a stunning goal by César Azpilicueta was awarded, when he hooked a volley from the edge of the box into the top corner. But the incident was preceded by a charge by Alexander Sørloth that unbalanced Marash Kumbulla. The VAR, this time directed by Trujillo Suárez, didn't even warn the main referee, Alberola Rojas, to review the incident. Ten minutes later, in added time, Samuel Lino clearly shoved Jofre Carreras from behind, with no chance of touching the ball, inside the box. A clear penalty that both the referee and the VAR missed.

Two refereeing decisions inflamed the atmosphere at Cornellà-El Prat, which was packed with 30,559 spectators. Espanyol went into the break trailing in a match in which they were holding their own despite Atlético's superiority. The first half was placid for Simeone's men. Marcos Llorente had opened the scoring in the third minute, a move that was ruled out for Griezmann's prior offside. From then on, the Madrid side managed to create opportunities with relative ease, although it's true that almost none of them ended in real danger.

Puado, 200 matches and decisive penalty goal

Espanyol also struggled to attack well. In their own half, they prioritized security, which always allowed Atlético to organize themselves. And when Cabrera or a midfielder found Jofre on long runs, the winger was almost always well controlled by a center back or wing-back. On the other side, Javi Puado suffered from the physical strain of chasing the tireless Llorente up and down the pitch. However, the Barcelona native, celebrating his 200th appearance for Espanyol, made no mistake about the clear and absurd penalty that Clément Lenglet committed to grab Cabrera's shirt in the second half. It was the first shot on target. A goal worth a valuable point and proving that Espanyol is still alive.

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