In excellent form since their Clasico defeat at Real Madrid (1-2, October 18), FC Barcelona continues to impress in La Liga , winning their last nine matches. But Real Madrid remains a constant threat, and they needed to maintain their distance from their eternal rivals. To do so, the Catalans had to win this derby against Espanyol, a surprising fifth in the league and on a five-game winning streak. Rashford and Yamal were deployed on the wings of the 4-2-3-1 formation, with Ferran Torres leading the line, preferred to Lewandowski.
It started well for Barcelona in this Barcelona derby, with Ferran missing an early chance (3rd minute). Before long, FC Barcelona lost their rhythm and were content to keep possession, without posing any real threat, despite some moments of brilliance from Lamine Yamal. Espanyol even created the best opportunities, with Joan Garcia missing a one-on-one opportunity (20th minute), before the Spanish goalkeeper made another crucial save against his former club, this time from a powerful Milla header (39th minute).
Joan Garcia saved Barça
Joan Garcia shone, but Barça's attacking play was nonexistent. Hansi Flick then decided to bring on Fermin Lopez in place of Rashford, who had been too quiet at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat. More dangerous, the Blaugrana failed to capitalize, as exemplified by Koundé, whose close-range header lacked power (54th minute). But even during their periods of attacking dominance, Barça struggled and forced Garcia into two more excellent saves against Fernandez (63rd and 69th minutes). The goalkeeper was unbeatable against his former club this Saturday.
And it took this kind of individual performance to get Barça out of this predicament. After frustrating Espanyol's attack, a Barça counter-attack found Dani Olmo on the left wing. Just inside the box, the Spanish striker unleashed a sublime curling shot to finally open the scoring (1-0, 86th minute). A cruel twist of fate for Espanyol, punished late in the game after another counter-attack, led by Fermin and finished by Lewandowski (2-0, 90+1). Barça secured a valuable victory and now have a seven-point lead over Real Madrid . For their part, Espanyol's progress has been halted, but they remain in 5th place.
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