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Martin, who was already on a yellow card, was lucky to not have been sent off having committed a challenge on Aspas during Barcelona’s 2-2 draw against Celta Vigo. The decision to not give marching orders to Martin infuriated Aspas who was disappointed with the…Read More
Iago Aspas, Gerard Martin. (X)
Barcelona defender Gerard Martin was involved in a clash with Celta Vigo’s Iago Aspas during a La Liga fixture held at Balaidos. Martin, who was already on a yellow card, was lucky to not have been sent off having committed a challenge on Aspas. Martin was later substituted by Hansi Flick to avoid being down to 10 men.
The decision to not give marching orders to Martin infuriated Aspas who was disappointed with the match officials. Aspas received a yellow card for his protests following the challenge on him from Martin. Aspas was even, reportedly, spotted talking to Martin at the half-time break. The incident was explained by DAZN and it was even revealed what exactly happened between the two players.
It has been claimed that Aspas told Martin, “You stepped on me, and he (Flick) saw it and is going to change you.” Martin, in response, is understood to have said, “It’s a small foul”. This animated Aspas, who shouted back “It’s incredible!”
Barcelona, however, failed to end the game with their 11 players on the field. Barcelona midfielder Marc Casado was sent off with a second yellow card in the 82nd minute of the fixture. Despite securing a two-goal lead, Barcelona conceded twice, late in the game to collect a point against Celta Vigo. The draw with Celta Vigo marked their second consecutive La Liga fixture without a victory.
Barcelona manager Flick felt that they were lucky to return with a point from the away game. “It wasn’t only the last few minutes, we played a really bad game tonight. If you don’t play at 100% you can’t win. That’s just the way it was the whole game. We have to be honest. These things happen. It was a bad game. The players are not happy. Everyone can play better than what we did today. You have to stay focused. Sometimes it may seem that what we do is easy but it is not,” Flick told DAZN, as per Reuters.
Despite dropping points, Barcelona currently finds themselves atop the La Liga standings with 34 points from 14 games. The Catalan giants are four points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who have so far played 13 matches in this season’s La Liga. In their next match, Barcelona will be up against Brest in the Champions League.
