Six see red as Barcelona win derby
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Kluivert embraces Ronaldinho (right) after scoring his first goal in Barcelona's 3-1 victory.
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BARCELONA, Spain -- Six players were sent off as Barcelona beat city rivals Espanyol 3-1 in a bizarre derby match on Saturday that saw both sides finish the match with only eight men.
Referee Alfonso Pino Zamorano dismissed all six players for separate incidents in just 46 minutes but it was visitors Barca who emerged from Montjuic with three points after scoring a first win in five games.
Espanyol led after eight minutes, but the Ronaldinho and Patrick Kluivert with two goals secured the win.
The home side went ahead when Jordi Cruyff scored against his former club with a diving header but Barelona were level two minutes later when Ronaldinho, back after a four-week injury lay-off, scored with a deflected shot.
Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert grabbed a well taken double to put Barca 3-1 up 10 minutes before halftime but the game quickly degenerated after Pino Zamorano sent off Espanyol midfielder Ivan de la Pena just before the break.
Two minutes after the restart Barca defender Rafael Marquez was given his marching orders for a second booking, while team mate Ricardo Quaresma followed him down the tunnel four minutes later for the same reason.
Espanyol lost Toni Soldevilla on 61 minutes and both sides were reduced to eight players as Barca midfielder Philip Cocu and Espanyol defender Albert Lopo were also shown red cards.
The six sendings off was an unwanted Primera Liga record and to exacerbate the situation a group of Espanyol fans - furious at their team remaining rock bottom - tried to invade the pitch and had to be kept at bay by the police.
