RCD Espanyol 0-4 Barcelona
Not a lot of pundits and punters doubted the result of this La Liga fixture. However, it is still baffling to see a final score such as this.
There were plenty of La Liga 2018 highlights on display as Barcelona completely outclassed Espanyol in a one-sided Derbi Barceloni beatdown. Lionel Messi scored two incredible goals while Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez pitched in to complete the eye-popping final score.
Barca fans must feel good to see their team continuously striving at the top, while the Espanyol contingent must be at a loss as to what their club should do to beat their local rivals.
Highlights of the game
Barcelona may be struggling to keep their place at the top of the Spanish top flight, but no one can deny that they were the biggest favourites to come out of the Catalan Derby as winners. Rubi and Espanyol knew that this was going to be an uphill climb for them in more ways than one and steeled themselves for a long evening.
The first minutes of the game was a stalemate as Barcelona tried to wrestle control of the match in their favour. While the RCDE Stadium wasn’t at full capacity, they were still playing at a hostile ground. Getting an early advantage is of the utmost priority for Ernesto Valverde’s XI.
Both sides have chances to score early, with Luis Suarez, Borja Iglesias, Nelson Semedo and Hernan Perez all making moves to put their teams in advantageous situations. However, it was none other than Lionel Messi who put the first goal on the board.
It was the 17th minute, and the location of the free-kick wasn’t far from the 18-yard box. He took two quick steps and launched the ball to the top-right corner of the goal. There was nothing the Espanyol wall nor Diego Lopez could do about that spectacular goal.
Footballing legend Pele fired jabs towards the Argentine earlier this week, but it seems that the Barcelona ace is taking things with class. And this superb goal proved that he isn’t fazed with the harsh words at all.
Luis Suarez almost doubled Barca’s lead in the 22nd minute, but his low-driven shot was easily saved by Lopez. However, Messi and Ousmane Dembele connected for a fantastic second goal. Messi attracted the defence that left the Frenchman all alone on the left wing. He then made a cutting pass to Dembele, and the 21-year-old managed to lose his marker before taking a curling effort to escape Lopez’s outstretched hands.
Barcelona continued to dominate as Espanyol struggled to keep their neighbours out of their half. While Oscar Duarte and Oscar Melendo managed to make some moves for the Periquitos, they didn’t do much against the strong Barcelona wall that is led by the impressive Gerard Pique.
Just when they thought they’d find relief by the half-time break, Suarez decided to add another notch to their misery. He received a good pass from Dembele and managed to beat two Espanyol defenders and Lopez for the third goal.
The second half saw more of the same action from the two sides as it is obvious to everyone that the La Liga 2018 odds were as correct as they can be. Rubi did everything he could to will his team back into the game, but another superb free-kick from Lionel Messi made the game 4-0 and out of reach for the hosts.
Oscar Duarte scored what was supposed to be a consolation goal as he managed to break free from his marker and tap the ball towards the goal. However, the VAR revealed that he was offside. The decision dejected the Periquitos even further, allowing the Blaugrana to finish the game in dominating fashion.
This dominating score is definitely one of the most impressive Catalan derbies we have seen in recent memory. This is a great pick-me-up win for the league leaders, who are now three points clear of Sevilla and Atletico Madrid in the table.
Key statistics
Barcelona were simply incredible in the way they managed to outplay their city rivals. While they didn’t completely dominate possession at 55%, they managed to produce 17 shots and nine shots on target. They also received 19 free kick attempts, two of which were converted to goals by Messi.
Lopez was clearly beaten by Barca, but that doesn’t mean that he didn’t do his job well. He managed to make five big saves, preventing an even bigger embarrassment for the hosts and the fans that went to the RCDE Stadium.
This isn’t the first time Barcelona beat Espanyol by such a winning margin. In September 2017, Barcelona toyed around with Espanyol at Camp Nou to emerge as 5-0 winners. In April 2017, the RCDE Stadium bore witness to another beatdown as Suarez and Ivan Rakitic combined to win 0-3.
What’s next?
Barcelona have a couple of interesting fixtures to end the year. They will play Tottenham Hotspur in the midweek to end the group stages of the Champions League. They will then play Levante away and Celta Vigo at home to end this year’s league games.
Meanwhile, Espanyol don’t have anything except their league games to look forward to. They will try to steal a win against a middling Real Betis team at home before heading to the Wanda Metropolitano to face Atletico Madrid.
If you want more news and views about La Liga and the other big footballing leagues, remember to keep your eyes on SBOBET.
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