The referee reported: ‘This provoked a confrontation between players from both clubs, which forced security personnel present to intervene, as well as staff from both teams’.
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Meanwhile, a Messi-inspired Barcelona reacted from the shock of conceding early to edge towards the Copa del Rey quarter-finals with a 4-1 win over nine-man Espanyol on Wednesday night.
Espanyol had been walking a disciplinary tightrope all evening, and their luck ran out midway through the second period when two players were sent off in quick succession: Hernan Perez for two yellow cards, and Papakouli Diop for dissent in an argument with Suarez. He put the hosts ahead with an unstoppable free kick just before halftime, and assisted Gerard Pique soon after the interval.
Barcelona’s Luis Suarez, right, fights for the ball against Espanyol’s goalkeeper Pau Lopez during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at Cornella-El Prat stadium in Cornella Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016. That led to his sending-off, according to the referee’s report. “They are responsible for ensuring this is football and not American football”, said Barca boss Luis Enrique of Espanyol’s roughhouse tactics.
Ballon d’Or candidates Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo lead the UEFA.com users’ Team of the Year 2015, having been picked from a shortlist of 40 candidates. “The referees mark the limits, not the players or the coaches”.
Granada were also in Copa del Rey action midweek, however they fared much worse with a 4-0 defeat to Valencia.
Turan, who transferred from Atletico Madrid, and Vidal, who came from Sevilla, were signed last summer, but they had to wait until January to play for FC Barcelona, since the team had a ban for breaching Federation Internationale de Football Association rules in signing underage players, as per SkySports.
Second-half goals from Inaki Williams, Aritz Aduriz and Aymeric Laporte helped Athletic Bilbao come from behind to beat in-form Villarreal 3-2.
But it didn’t take long for Barcelona to level the match.
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Elsewhere, Deportivo La Coruna needed defender Alberto Lopo to head in a late equalizer to take away an away-goal advantage from its 1-1 draw at second-division club Mirandes.
