<p>Barcelona stumbled in the Spanish title race with a 1-1 draw against rivals Espanyol in a bad-tempered Catalan derby on Saturday, levelling Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.</p>.<p>Xavi's side threw away the two-point advantage they had earned before the World Cup break, with Joselu's penalty pegging Barcelona back after Marcos Alonso's opener.</p>.<p>Both teams finished with 10 men as Jordi Alba and Vinicius Souza were sent off, with referee Mateu Lahoz allowing the game to spiral out of control at Camp Nou.</p>.<p>"The draw is our fault, we can talk about the referee and other things but they are our mistakes," said Xavi.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/football/ronaldo-signs-for-al-nassr-in-deal-worth-more-than-200-mn-euros-1176674.html" target="_blank">Ronaldo signs for Al Nassr in deal worth 'more than 200 mn euros'</a></strong><br /><br />"I think Mateu is a referee who controls games but today it got away from him in my opinion, he let the game get totally out of control."</p>.<p>"(But) I don't blame him for anything, the fault is ours. We lowered our intensity."</p>.<p>The teams were at loggerheads before a ball was kicked because Barcelona started Robert Lewandowski, who had been banned before a late court ruling allowed him to play.</p>.<p>The forward, due to miss three league matches, was only allowed to feature thanks to a controversial decision announced on Friday, suspending his punishment.</p>.<p>It greatly angered Espanyol, whose president and directors boycotted the match, while Barca coach Xavi admitted his team had prepared all week expecting to be without the division's top goalscorer.</p>.<p>The Spanish football federation said in a statement on Saturday they could not override the court's decision.</p>.<p>Lewandowski was not at his best but Barcelona took the lead after just seven minutes with Alonso capitalising on shoddy set-piece defending from Espanyol to head home.</p>.<p>The former Chelsea defender, deployed as a centre-back, should have doubled his tally but sent Alba's cross wide from point-blank range.</p>.<p>Espanyol's only chance of the first half came when Nico Melamed had a shot deflected wide of Marc-Andre ter Stegen's far post, with the hosts looking comfortable.</p>.<p>"We wanted to leave with a win, to leave as leaders," said Sergi Roberto.</p>.<p>"We had a very good first half, we lacked the goal to kill the game. In the second half there were a lot of cards, sendings off and the game stopped a lot."</p>.<p>Barcelona faded after the break with wingers Ansu Fati and Raphinha struggling to create danger.</p>.<p>The visitors, 16th, weren't particularly threatening either but won a penalty after Alonso tangled with Joselu in the area, and the forward dispatched it down the middle.</p>.<p>Lahoz, racking up the bookings, sent off Alba for two in quick succession, before dismissing both Souza, for a foul, and Leandro Cabrera for a clash with Lewandowski seconds later.</p>.<p>However he cancelled the latter dismissal after watching the incident again with VAR, and Barcelona could not find a winner in the nine minutes added on.</p>.<p>Xavi also received a booking from Lahoz for complaining from the sidelines late on, and the official left the stadium to jeers and whistles from the home fans.</p>.<p>"These games are very hard to referee, what's important is the result," said Joselu.</p>.<p>"There were a lot of interruptions because there were a lot of fouls, but we had to make sure that we played our game."</p>.<p>Barcelona and Real Madrid, who beat Real Valladolid on Friday, are both on 38 points from 15 games, leaving the title race neck and neck ahead of the new year.</p>
<p>Barcelona stumbled in the Spanish title race with a 1-1 draw against rivals Espanyol in a bad-tempered Catalan derby on Saturday, levelling Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.</p>.<p>Xavi's side threw away the two-point advantage they had earned before the World Cup break, with Joselu's penalty pegging Barcelona back after Marcos Alonso's opener.</p>.<p>Both teams finished with 10 men as Jordi Alba and Vinicius Souza were sent off, with referee Mateu Lahoz allowing the game to spiral out of control at Camp Nou.</p>.<p>"The draw is our fault, we can talk about the referee and other things but they are our mistakes," said Xavi.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/football/ronaldo-signs-for-al-nassr-in-deal-worth-more-than-200-mn-euros-1176674.html" target="_blank">Ronaldo signs for Al Nassr in deal worth 'more than 200 mn euros'</a></strong><br /><br />"I think Mateu is a referee who controls games but today it got away from him in my opinion, he let the game get totally out of control."</p>.<p>"(But) I don't blame him for anything, the fault is ours. We lowered our intensity."</p>.<p>The teams were at loggerheads before a ball was kicked because Barcelona started Robert Lewandowski, who had been banned before a late court ruling allowed him to play.</p>.<p>The forward, due to miss three league matches, was only allowed to feature thanks to a controversial decision announced on Friday, suspending his punishment.</p>.<p>It greatly angered Espanyol, whose president and directors boycotted the match, while Barca coach Xavi admitted his team had prepared all week expecting to be without the division's top goalscorer.</p>.<p>The Spanish football federation said in a statement on Saturday they could not override the court's decision.</p>.<p>Lewandowski was not at his best but Barcelona took the lead after just seven minutes with Alonso capitalising on shoddy set-piece defending from Espanyol to head home.</p>.<p>The former Chelsea defender, deployed as a centre-back, should have doubled his tally but sent Alba's cross wide from point-blank range.</p>.<p>Espanyol's only chance of the first half came when Nico Melamed had a shot deflected wide of Marc-Andre ter Stegen's far post, with the hosts looking comfortable.</p>.<p>"We wanted to leave with a win, to leave as leaders," said Sergi Roberto.</p>.<p>"We had a very good first half, we lacked the goal to kill the game. In the second half there were a lot of cards, sendings off and the game stopped a lot."</p>.<p>Barcelona faded after the break with wingers Ansu Fati and Raphinha struggling to create danger.</p>.<p>The visitors, 16th, weren't particularly threatening either but won a penalty after Alonso tangled with Joselu in the area, and the forward dispatched it down the middle.</p>.<p>Lahoz, racking up the bookings, sent off Alba for two in quick succession, before dismissing both Souza, for a foul, and Leandro Cabrera for a clash with Lewandowski seconds later.</p>.<p>However he cancelled the latter dismissal after watching the incident again with VAR, and Barcelona could not find a winner in the nine minutes added on.</p>.<p>Xavi also received a booking from Lahoz for complaining from the sidelines late on, and the official left the stadium to jeers and whistles from the home fans.</p>.<p>"These games are very hard to referee, what's important is the result," said Joselu.</p>.<p>"There were a lot of interruptions because there were a lot of fouls, but we had to make sure that we played our game."</p>.<p>Barcelona and Real Madrid, who beat Real Valladolid on Friday, are both on 38 points from 15 games, leaving the title race neck and neck ahead of the new year.</p>