Goals from Luis Suarez and Arturo Vidal had put Barca in the lead at the RCDE Stadium after David Lopez's first half strike, but Wu Lei's goal in the 88th minute equaliser meant the La Liga match between Espanyol and Barcelona ended 2-2.
Barcelona were made to pay for their poor first half display as they dropped two points at city rivals Espanyol. Valverde's men looked comfortable after overturning a one goal deficit, but a red card for Frenkie de Jong 15 minutes from time allowed Espanyol to get back into the game. Wu Lei's late strike means Barca end the weekend level on points with Real Madrid while Espanyol picked up just their third home point of the season.
It was a very quiet opening to a game which was very stop-start. Barca lacked sharpness and they were unable to breakdown a solid Espanyol defence early on. However, 22 minutes in and with practically the first chance of the encounter, they found themselves trailing. Marc Roca's free-kick was headed home by David Lopez at the near post to give the home side a much needed lead.
Not even that goal seemed to spark the away side into life. Messi scuffed an effort which went straight to Diego Lopez, but the Barca front three were quiet for the first 40 minutes. Then, a switch suddenly flicked and first Messi headed a Sergi Roberto at Lopez followed by Luis Suarez hitting the post from the edge of the D after curling his way through the defence.
The half ended with Calleri lucky to avoid a booking for catching Pique in the face, but the second half was a completely different story.
Arturo Vidal was brought on for Rakitic and six minutes after the break, Luis Suarez continued his brilliant La Liga season by turning home a Jordi Alba pass from close range to restore parity. Only Benzema and Messi have scored more goals than the Uruguayan. Abelardo's men were clearly shaken by the goal and seven minutes later, they fell behind when Alba's pass fortuitously found Suarez and then he sent in a looping cross which Vidal leapt to head in.
Barca looked to have the game under control and nearly made it 1-3 when Luis Suarez was denied from point blank range by Diego Lopez. However, Frenkie de Jong was given his marching orders for a second yellow card after losing the ball and bringing down Jonathan Calleri. That gave the home side a new lease of life and they made the extra man count.
Substitute Wu-Lei tested Neto shortly after De Jong's dismissal and the game opened up as the hosts looked for a leveller. The Espanyol keeper once again denied Suarez and then two substitutes, Vargas and Wu Lei, combined to draw Espanyol level. The former spotted the run of the later and the Chinese player hit a shot across Neto into the far corner.
Both teams went to try and find a winner and Calleri came the closest to finding it. In the end, it ended honours even, a result which is not great for either side, but there is no doubt Espanyol will be happier given the circumstances. Frenkie de Jong's first red card of his career was no doubt the turning point in this one and now Valverde's side turn their attentions to the Spanish Super Cup next week.