Barcelona holds Sevilla

Kounde sent off with a direct red

December 22, 2021 11:31 pm | Updated 11:31 pm IST - Barcelona

Araujo, who equalised for Barcelona .

Araujo, who equalised for Barcelona .

Sevilla was held 1-1 at home by Barcelona in a match the hosts finished with 10 men after defender Jules Kounde was sent off with a direct red card for throwing the ball into an opponent's face.

Papu Gómez put Sevilla ahead in the 32nd minute as steady rain fell upon the Sánchez Pijuán field. Ronald Araújo headed in Ousmane Dembele's corner kick to equalise for Barcelona just before halftime.

The match was deadlocked in the 64th when Kounde lost his cool. After Barcelona defender Jordi Alba had twice bumped him in the back while disputing a ball going out of bounds, Kounde grabbed the ball and slung it into his face from close range. The referee did not hesitate to show him a red card.

Juventus took advantage of Atalanta's goalless draw at Genoa with a 2-0 win over Cagliari which inched it closer to Serie A's Champions League places, as Salernitana's trip to Udinese became the season's first coronavirus-related casualty.

The results: LaLiga: Villarreal 5 (Gerard 18, 88, Dia 27, 76, Pino 79) bt Alaves 2 (Pons 44, Joselu 65); Sevilla 1 (Papu Gomez 32) drew with Barcelona 1 (Araujo 45).

Serie A: Genoa 0 drew with Atalanta 0; Juventus 2 (Kean 40, Bernardeschi 83) bt Cagliari 0; Udinese vs Salernitana abandoned (Salernitana did not travel after being blocked by health authorities due to COVID-19 cases in squad) .

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