Wu Lei's late strike help Espanyol hold 10-man Barcelona

Barcelona remain top of the table but only on goal difference, their two-point advantage removed after Real Madrid earlier clinched an impressive 3-0 win away at Getafe.

Madrid: Barcelona were held by La Liga struggles Espanyol as Wu Lei struck late to secure a dramatic 2-2 draw in a thrilling Catalan derby.

Luis Suarez appeared to have inspired another turnaround at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat on Saturday after he cancelled out David Lopez's opener with a deft half-volley before digging out an exquisite pass for substitute Arturo Vidal to finish.

Frenkie de Jong saw a red card in the 74th minute of the game

But a red card for Frenkie de Jong with 16 minutes left gave Espanyol renewed hope and Chinese forward Wu emerged the hero, firing past stand-in goalkeeper Neto to rescue a point in Abelardo Fernandez's first game in charge.

"De Jong's sending off hurt us," said Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde.

"We could have scored a third and then in one play we conceded. We had the game under control. The red card unsettled us a little."

Barcelona remain top of the table but only on goal difference, their two-point advantage removed after Real Madrid earlier clinched an impressive 3-0 win away at Getafe.

Espanyol hold 10-man Barcelona 2-2

Atletico Madrid moved up to third after beating Levante 2-1.

Espanyol have not beaten their local rivals in the league since 2009 and are still four points from safety, yet this performance should do wonders for morale.

They will be hoping for another rescue mission from new coach Abelardo, who took over Alaves with six points from 13 games in 2018 and led them to 14th.

"This can be a turning point," he said. "But we have to compete just like today because it won't be easy.