Returning Hero Clinches Dramatic Derby Win

In a frenetic and intense first Catalan derby of the season, Barcelona showed their championship pedigree and defeated Espanyol 2–0, clinching their ninth consecutive La Liga victory.

Joan García returned to face his boyhood club and, immersed in an increasingly hostile environment, completely stole the show to keep Barcelona in the game as Hansi Flick’s side were vastly outplayed in the second half.

When the night looked darkest, Dani Olmo produced a moment of brilliance in his first appearance in over a month to put the visitors ahead in the dying minutes. Robert Lewandowski doubled the advantage in stoppage time, securing an impressive and vital derby victory for the reigning champions.

Barcelona will spend the night seven points clear of Real Madrid in the title race. Although it wasn’t pretty, the Blaugrana didn’t shrink in the face of adversity and found a way to come out on top, emphatically displaying their unbreakable character.

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Joan García—9.1: Subject to boos and whistles all night, García showed tremendous character and continued his brilliant season with a man of the match performance. It’s hard to pick a better goalkeeper than him in all of La Liga at the moment.

RB: Jules Koundé—8.1: Completely nullified the dangerous Pere Milla with a stout defensive performance, looking comfortable whenever tasked to defend one-on-one.

CB: Pau Cubarsí—7.5: Debuting a brand new shaved-head look, the teenager had one of his best performances this term, completely locking down Roberto Fernández and having a couple of key interventions.

CB: Gerard Martín—6.8: Yet another solid showing from the makeshift center back. Had a couple of nervous moments when Fernández got behind him, but Martín displayed his recovery speed and obstructed the striker just enough to deny him from a clean shot.

LB: Alejandro Balde—7.7: Was one of Barcelona’s most active players as he tirelessly covered ground on the left flank. His speed and ability to take people on was an avenue Barça tried to exploit to carve open Espanyol’s defense. Tyrhys Dolan is still in his pocket.

DM: Eric García—7.8: Inserted himself as an extra center back whenever needed and was a safe option to play out of the back as he put together another quietly solid performance. He’ll surely have a headache tomorrow morning after a nasty collision towards the end of the first half.

DM: Frenkie de Jong—7.5: Quarterbacked Barcelona’s possessions from the middle of the pitch, always being an option to receive and rarely misplacing a pass. Nothing out of this world but he did everything that was asked of him.

RW: Lamine Yamal—7.8: It must be said that Carlos Romero won the individual battle against Yamal for much of the game. Still, the magical teenager had his flashes and was Barça’s most dangerous player on the night.

AM: Raphinha—6.6: It’s starting to become clear that Raphinha and Rashford aren’t as compatible as Flick would hope. The Brazilian hasn’t looked comfortable playing centrally in congested areas all term and he failed to make a significant impact. Even worse. his performance didn’t really improve once he shifted to the left wing.

LW: Marcus Rashford—6.4: A complete non-factor. Rashford was rarely involved in Barça’s attack and was careless with the ball on the few times he had a chance to make something happen. As expected, he was hooked before the restart.

ST: Ferran Torres—6.3: Barely got any service and he looked to be on a different page with the rest of the attackers. He regularly looked to receive the ball in space when others wanted to play the ball at his feet and vice versa. Not his night.

Subs not used: Marc-André ter Stegen (GK), Wojciech Szczęsny (GK), Dro Fernandez, Tommy Marques, Marc Bernal, Marc Casadó, Roony Bardghji.

Espanyol (4-2-3-1)

Starting XI: Marko Dmitrović; Omar El Hilali, Fernando Calero, Leandro Cabrera, Carlos Romero; Urko González, Pol Lozano; Tyrhys Dolan, Edu Expósito, Pere Milla; Roberto Fernández

Subs used: Jofre Carreras, Kike García, Ramón Terrats, Javier Puado.

Player of the Match: Joan García (Barcelona)

As is often the case away at Espanyol, Barcelona had to contain an opening onslaught from the hosts, who opened the game with intensity, fueled by a frenetic crowd at the RCDE Stadium that were eager for a derby win. The Catalans stayed poised, and through long possessions began controlling proceedings after the opening 10 minutes.

But Barcelona’s control over the ball didn’t translate to clear goalscoring opportunities. Flick’s men found out why Espanyol have become one of the best defensive sides in La Liga this season, as they struggled to generate much of anything in the final third.

The game went into a complete lull after the 20-minute mark, with the trademarked intensity and physical battles of the Catalan derby taking center stage. In fact, it was Espanyol who had the best chance to score the opener, but Joan García denied his former team with a sensational acrobatic save from close range.

With the game completely stuck, Barcelona went into halftime needing answers to solve a stout defensive block.

Barcelona looked just as unimaginative after the restart and Espanyol slowly grew into the game. If it wasn’t for Joan García, Koundé and the center back pair of Cubarsí and Martín being in top form, Flick’s men could’ve easily been trailing before the hour mark.

When the game started to get out of hand, Flick looked for answers from the bench, calling upon Robert Lewandowski and the returning pair of Dani Olmo and Pedri to try to turn around Barça’s lethargic attacking display.

Just after the substitutions, Eric García had a dream chance to score the opener against the run of play. After chaos in the penalty area, the ball fell perfectly for the Spaniard to tap in a chance from two yards out. But goalkeeper Marko Dmitrović pulled off a jaw-dropping save to keep the game scoreless.

When Barcelona were against the ropes, appearing happy to escape with a point, Flick’s substitutes stepped up and produced a moment of magic. Fermín López got away from his man with a beautiful turn close to midfield and darted forward before finding a free Dani Olmo standing on the edge of the box. Olmo didn’t hesitate and curled a beauty into the top corner to give Barcelona the lead inside the final five minutes.

Minutes later, López once again made an incisive run into space, got away from his man, reached the byline and set up an incoming Lewandowski. The Pole didn’t have the most orthodox of finishes, but he managed to chip the goalkeeper to clinch all three points for Barcelona in stoppage time.

The final whistle blew and the reigning champions, who were outplayed for much of the second half, escaped with all three points from the Catalan derby and are still yet to lose at the RCDE Stadium since it opened its doors.

READ THE LATEST BARCELONA NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE