Barcelona are now nine points clear at the top of La Liga after another win at the start of this remarkable season. Hansi Flick's team was destructive once again, securing a 3-1 victory in their derby against city neighbors Espanyol.
It was another flying start from the hosts, since they scored after 12 minutes. It was a wonderful trivela cross from Lamine Yamal, and Dani Olmo slipped before firing at Joan Garcia for the purpose of opening.
11 minutes later, it was 2-0. Marc Casado played a beautiful ball through for Raphinha to run, and he did well to lift the ball over the onrushing Garcia. At half time, Barcelona has its third as Olmo crashed at home from outside the penalty area.
This first half blitz won the game for Barcelona, though Espanyol managed to find a consolation goal from Javi Puado – came after having two previous efforts ruled out by VAR.
The result means that Barcelona extend their lead over Real Madrid, who did not play this weekend because their game against Valencia was postponed due to Storm Dana.
