Barcelona avoid 2nd loss to Espanyol with late Pique goal

Gerard Pique scored a late equalizer for Barcelona in a 1-1 draw at Espanyol on Sunday as the Spanish league leader narrowly avoided losing to its crosstown rival for the second time in less than three weeks.

Gerard Moreno put the hosts ahead midway through the second half and Pique equalized with an 82nd-minute header in a heated match at RCDE Stadium.

Pique had previously made comments criticizing Espanyol, and he was jeered nearly every time he touched the ball.

There were shoves and heated discussions throughout the match, which was played under steady rain and on a heavy pitch.

Messi, who provided the cross for Pique’s header, came off the bench near the hour-mark after getting some rare rest time by coach Ernesto Valverde.

Espanyol had ended Barcelona’s 29-match unbeaten streak with a 1-0 victory in the

Yesterday Getafe-Leganes ................................ 0-0 Espanyol-Barcelona ......................... 1-1 Girona-Ath. Bilbao ........................... 2-0 At. Madrid-Valencia ......................... 1-0 Today Las Palmas-Malaga ...............................

Standings

P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 22 18 4 0 60 11 58 At. Madrid 22 14 7 1 33 9 49 Valencia 22 12 4 6 42 26 40 Real Madrid 21 11 6 4 45 21 39 Villarreal 22 11 4 7 33 26 37 Sevilla 22 10 3 9 28 34 33 Eibar 22 9 5 8 31 34 32 Celta Vigo 22 9 4 9 39 32 31 Girona 22 8 7 7 31 29 31 Betis 22 9 3 10 37 45 30 Getafe 22 7 8 7 26 21 29 Leganes 21 8 5 8 20 21 29 Ath. Bilbao 22 6 9 7 24 25 27 Sociedad 22 7 5 10 41 40 26 Espanyol 22 6 7 9 19 29 25 Alaves 22 7 1 14 19 32 22 Levante 22 3 11 8 20 32 20 Deportivo 22 4 5 13 24 51 17 Las Palmas 21 4 2 15 16 50 14 Malaga 21 3 4 14 14 34 13 first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Jan. 17, when Messi missed a penalty kick. Barcelona eventually eliminated Espanyol by winning the second leg 2-0.