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La Liga roundup: Wu Lei nets late equaliser as bottom side Espanyol hold leaders Barcelona

La Liga roundup: Wu Lei nets late equaliser as bottom side Espanyol hold leaders Barcelona
© Reuters
Second-half goals from Luis Suarez and Arturo Vidal had put Barca in control.

Espanyol substitute Wu Lei's late equaliser denied 10-man city rivals Barcelona victory in a 2-2 LaLiga draw on Saturday night.

China winger Wu Lei fired home after stepping off the bench midway through the second half to clinch bottom club Espanyol a point in Abelardo Fernandez's first game in charge.

Second-half goals from Luis Suarez and Arturo Vidal had put Barca in control at the RCDE Stadium after David Lopez had given Espanyol an interval lead.

But Barca midfielder Frenkie De Jong's first dismissal of his career, for a second yellow card with 15 minutes left, gave the home side hope and they took full advantage.

The point was enough to lift Barca back to the top of the table, above Real Madrid on goal difference, while Espanyol remain bottom and winless in nine league matches.

Real had briefly leapfrogged Barca into pole position following their 3-0 win at city neighbours Getafe in an earlier kick-off.

Raphael Varane was awarded Real's first-half opener after Getafe goalkeeper David Soria appeared to deflect the ball into his own net when challenged by the France defender.

Varane headed home Toni Kroos' free-kick to double Real's lead early in the second half and Luka Modric added their third in time added on as Zinedine Zidane's side extended their unbeaten league run to 10 matches.

Atletico Madrid remain five points behind rivals Real in third place after securing their fourth-straight win in all competitions with a 2-1 victory over Levante.

All the goals came during a five-minute spell in the first half. Kieran Trippier's cross was turned home by Angel Correa and, although Roger Marti equalised for Levante three minutes later, Felipe headed Atletico back in front.

Correa, Saul Niguez and Joao Felix all threatened to extend Atletico's lead on several occasions, but were denied by Levante goalkeeper Aitor Fernandez.

In a lunch-time kick-off, Maxi Gomez struck the only goal as Valencia beat Eibar 1-0 at home to climb up to sixth.

Eibar defender Paulo Oliveira was sent off in time added on for his second yellow card, while Los Ches have lost only one of their last 12 games in all competitions.

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Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen pictured ahead of a La Liga match in September 2019
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona17122350193138
2Real Madrid16113234132136
3Atletico MadridAtletico16105130111935
4Athletic Bilbao1795326151132
5Villarreal157532725226
6Real Sociedad167361611524
7Osasuna166642225-324
8Mallorca177371620-424
9GironaGirona166462223-122
10Celta Vigo166372527-221
11Real BetisBetis165651820-221
12Rayo Vallecano155461516-119
13Sevilla165471723-619
14Las PalmasLas Palmas165382227-518
15Getafe163761113-216
16AlavesAlaves164391827-915
17Leganes163671423-915
18Espanyol1541101528-1313
19Real ValladolidValladolid1733111234-2212
20Valencia152491323-1010


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