FC Barcelona 3-1 RCD Espanyol: Relentless

Twelve games. Eleven wins. Forty goals. FC Barcelona have continued their relentless form by extending their unbeaten run in the Barcelona derby to an astonishing 27 games.

As in so many matches this season, Barça got the job done quickly. Three goals up after half an hour of play, there was never really any doubt how this one was going to end, but to their credit Espanyol did their best to prevent the inevitable.

Barça eased off in the second half. With good reason, for the job was already as good as done. But that did allow Espanyol chances to get back in the game, and the blue-and-whites actually scored four times. Fortunately, only one of the four passed the VAR test, and although the victory wasn’t quite as comfortable as one might have suspected early on, the three points were never in any real doubt.

Of course, this is the game that members of both teams insisted perhaps should not have been played at all. Given the tragic events of the last few days, football is far from people’s minds in Spain right now. But these matters are beyond the club’s control, and an impeccably observed minute’s silence before the game showed just how much the blaugrana community stands with the victims of the catastrophe. 

But on with the game, and Barça made their superiority tell from the very start. The derby was as good as decided before the half-time whistle had blown.

The home side already led 3-0, with two of the goals coming from Dani Olmo, bvack in the starting line-up today and as insatiable as he was before his injury.

He only needed 12 minutes to get the first. Lamine Yamal flicked the ball exquisitely through the Espanyol defence and Olmo was quicker then everyone to pop it in the back of the net.

And the 26-year-old was on target again just past the half hour mark, collecting the ball on the edge of the area and smartly delivering the most perfect of finishes. His fifth goal of the season, at that point averaging one every 49 minutes.

In between, Raphinha had moved up to joint second in the Liga goalscoring charts with his seventh goal of the season. For this one it was Marc Casadó supplying the through ball, and the Brazilian deftly met the ball to flip it over Espanyol keeper Joan García.

Despite the seeming inevitability of a humiliating defeat, Espanyol refused to go down without a fight. Iñaki Peña was certainly no bystander, and not only Jofe Carreras but also Alvaro Tejedo actually scored, only to be denied in both cases by the narrowest of offside calls.

Moments after the visitors has been scuppered by VAR for the second time, Javi Puado had the ball in the Barça net yet again. It was another close call, but this time there was no let-off and Espanyol had something on the board.

What had started to look like a walk in the park was no longer quite such a gentle stroll. Espanyol then struck once more, but replays clearly showed that ball had gone out of play in the build-up.

But no matter how hard Espanyol tried, the three points always looked safe, and on a day of disallowed goals, there was time for one more before the final whistle, and this time for Barça as substitute Ansu Fati was flagged for offside in the closing minutes.

With Real Madrid not playing this weekend, the win at least temporarily leaves Barça an immense nine points clear at the top of the table. Next up it’s a trip to Serbia and a midweek Champions League date with Crvena Zvezda, AKA Red Star Begrade.