Barcelona players were in full swing with their celebration after the win over Real Madrid on Sunday, but Arnau Tenas’ scrap with Dani Carvajal caught a lot of eyes. Immediately after the game ended up, the Barca substitutes joined the first-team stars to celebrate the major win – which took them 11 points clear at the top of the La Liga table.
Barca did not have it easy in the latest El Clasico but showcased impressive character to bounce back from adversity. Despite going down in the first half to an unfortunate own goal, the players ate up the energy from a raucous Camp Nou crowd and got an equalizer before the end of the half.
The second half was full of drama. Both teams had a number of big chances. It looked like Real Madrid had the game won late into the game, as Marco Asensio scored a goal – but it was ruled out for him being marginally offside. Just as it looked like the game would end as a draw, Franck Kessie scored a winner out of nowhere in added time – giving his side the win.
Who is Arnau Tenas and why did he scrap with Dani Carvajal?
At the end of an intense El Clasico, the Barcelona players were delighted – knowing this win took them a huge step closer to winning the La Liga title. Not only the starting players, but all the ones on the bench stepped onto the pitch to celebrate the win with their teammates and the fans.
That’s when Barca’s reserve goalkeeper Arnau Tenas also stepped onto the pitch to celebrate the win. Tenas has been playing for Barca since joining their academy as a nine-year-old. He’s represented Spain across all their youth level and made over 40 appearances for Barcelona’s B (reserve) side too.
He was named on the bench in the El Clasico, but understandably unused as a goalkeeper. Just as he was about to meet his teammates, Tenas was stopped by Madrid right-back Dani Carvajal.
It appeared that the Spanish defender said something really offensive to the Barca star in an exchange. Tenas was not even looking at Carvajal when the Madrid star suddenly stopped him, went really close to headbutting him, and said some bad stuff to him.
This absolutely infuriated Tenas, who is bulky and really well-built physically. Just as the goalkeeper was about to confront Carvajal and give back some smack to him, Antonio Rudiger and Jordi Alba came to hold him back.
It took the two defenders as well as Barca defender Ronald Araujo, as well as a string of other players to hold back Tenas – who was incredibly livid at what had transpired. Carvajal was asked to make his way into the dressing room before things could boil into a physical fight – with Tenas eventually being calmed down after being held back by multiple guys.
Tenas earns Barca fans praise after squaring up to Carvajal
The 21-year-old goalkeeper has earned a lot of praise and respect for not accepting Carvajal’s disrespect and threatening to batter him during the scrap. He seemingly lost his mind for a little while being calmed down, but fans love his intensity and passion for the club.
Tenas boasts a muscular physique and looks like he can take on multiple players if a tussle was ever to ensue. The 21-year-old still has a long way to displace Marc-Andre ter Stegen from the Barca starting XI, but he definitely seems to have the right character to become a fan-favorite at Camp Nou.