Fresh from their El Clasico victory over Real Madrid last week, Barcelona continued their impressive start to the season with a commanding performance against city rivals Espanyol, widening their lead over Real to nine points. Teen sensation Lamine Yamal stood out again, delivering a stunning outside-foot cross in the 12th minute that Dani Olmo converted off the crossbar to open the scoring.
Eleven minutes later, Marc Casado, another of Barca’s emerging talents, threaded a perfect pass past the Espanyol defense, allowing captain Raphinha to make a well-timed run and finish cleanly. Barca’s aggressive defensive line provided some excitement, as Espanyol had two goals narrowly ruled offside. Jofre Carreras thought he had scored after receiving a pass from Omar El Hilali, but VAR ruled it out. Not long after, Olmo struck again with a powerful shot from the edge of the area, giving Barca a 3-0 lead.
In the second half, Alvaro Tejero’s effort for Espanyol also fell victim to a close offside decision. Captain Javi Puado finally managed to pull one back for Espanyol in the 63rd minute with a far-post finish, but Espanyol couldn’t overcome their poor derby record, now stretching to 27 games without a win over Barcelona and six losses in their past seven La Liga matches.
Under Hansi Flick, Barca has won 11 out of 12 league games, and since their only defeat to Osasuna in late September, they have been on a six-game winning streak in all competitions, tallying 24 goals. They now head to Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League on Wednesday, aiming to continue their exceptional form.
Earlier on Sunday, Atletico Madrid claimed a 2-0 win over Las Palmas, closing the gap with Real Madrid to just one point.