The unusual protest of the Villarreal coach after the brutal kick that Lionel Messi received

Barcelona beat Villarreal 2-1 and remains one of the firm candidates in the fight for the Spanish League title. However, the most commented action of the match was not related to the goals, but the one that led to the expulsion of Manu Trigueros for a violent foul that left Lionel Messi lying in the duel with obvious signs of pain.

The play occurred about 19 minutes into the second half, when the Argentine star went in search of a ball near the middle of the court and Trigueros crossed it with a tremendous kick at the height of his left ankle. Immediately the referee Carlos del Cerro Grande showed the red card to the Villarreal footballer.

Some teammates of the expelled player tried to claim the referee, but they soon gave up. The violence of the play was of such evidence that it did not give rise to major complaints. However, Unai Emery, coach of the Yellow Submarine, made a curious protest once the match was over.

"He (Trigueros) touches the ball, in inertia he slips and he also touches Messi," said Emery, with a rather particular vision of the action that left the Argentine lying on the ground with obvious signs of pain. Later, he questioned: "But the question remains ... If it were the other way around, would it be expulsion?".

The Basque coach also considered that the sanction for his player "was excessive" and that it harmed his team, which was in search of a draw for that part of the game that finally did not happen. "In the second half, the team was better in the containment and we have deactivated them with the pressure and the expulsion limited us to mature the game to tie it and even win it", he said.

The truth is that Barcelona won with the right thing in his visit to Villarreal. Samu Chukwueze opened the account for the local at 26 minutes into the first half, but soon the Frenchman Antoine Griezmann appeared with all his splendor to score twice (28 minutes and 35 minutes) and thus seal the definitive triumph of those driven by Ronald Koeman.