Barcelona’s lead over Real Madrid atop the La Liga standings evaporated on Saturday after they were held to a 1-1 home draw by local rivals Espanyol in a bad-tempered clash in which both sides were reduced to 10 men.

Madrid had taken top spot on Friday with a 2-0 win at Real Valladolid, putting pressure on Barcelona to respond against an Espanyol side battling to avoid relegation.

Barcelona started strongly, with defender Marcos Alonso glancing a header into the net to give the hosts the lead with seven minutes on the clock.

After a first half in which Barcelona spurned several chances, Alonso turned from hero to zero as he gave away a penalty following a clumsy foul on Joselu, who rolled his spot-kick straight down the middle to make it 1-1 in the 73rd minute.

Tempers flared after the equaliser, with Barcelona’s Jordi Alba being sent off after receiving back-to-back yellow cards for vociferous protests against the referee. Minutes later, Espanyol’s Vinicius Souza was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Robert Lewandowski.

Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz, who attracted criticism earlier this month after showing 16 yellow cards in Argentina’s quarter-final win over the Netherlands at the World Cup, dished out 15 yellow cards over the course of the match.

Barcelona remain on top of the standings due to their superior goal difference, despite being level with rivals Madrid on 38 points from 15 matches, while Espanyol move up to 16th.

Benzema shines

Playing his first match since his World Cup hopes were dashed by an injury, Karim Benzema came to the rescue of Real Madrid with a pair of goals to snatch a 2-0 victory at 10-man Valladolid.

Benzema had a subdued showing in his first competitive match since November 2 following injuries that had limited his availability for his club and finally sidelined him for France at football’s elite competition. But the Ballon d’Or winner came through in the final minutes on Friday to give Carlo Ancelotti’s side three vital points.

Madrid also relied on goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to keep the score deadlocked as they struggled to create chances in their first game since the league paused for the World Cup. Valladolid defended well and threatened on the break at its Jose Zorrilla stadium until the game finally swung in Madrid’s favour when the video assistant referee spotted a handball in the area by Javi Sanchez.

Qatar coach leaves

Doha: Qatar coach Felix Sanchez will leave his post after Saturday with the country’s football association saying that they had mutually agreed not to renew his contract.

The World Cup hosts lost all of their group games at the tournament won by Argentina earlier this month.

“The past 5-1/2 years with Qatar’s senior national team have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” the 47-year-old Sanchez said.

“Qatar, its people and its football will always be in my heart.”

Reuters