Espanyol vs Barcelona LIVE - Scintillating Lionel Messi shines as Barca cruise to victory
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Your support makes all the difference.Barcelona inflicted further misery on Catalan rivals Espanyol when the sides met for their first derby of the season.
Lionel Messi was once again the star of the show, scoring a brilliant solo goal and a wonderful free-kick as Barca proved far too good.
Re-live all the action below.
What time does it start?
Espanyol vs Barcelona kicks off at 7:45pm (GMT)
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on Eleven Sports 1 from 7:40pm and on their La Liga TV channel from kick-off. Fans can also watch the match on Eleven Sports through iOS mobile and tablet apps as well as on Android mobiles.
Highlights will be shown at 10:30pm on Eleven Sports’ La Liga TV channel.
Player to watch
Ousmane Dembele: It was yet another impressive outing for the Frenchman against Villarreal. He was far and away the most potent threat for his side, particularly in the first half when he assisted Gerard Pique for the opening goal. Espanyol will no doubt look to put more behind the ball in this derby, but Dembele’s pace could unpick such a tactic.
Form guide
Espanyol: LWLLLW
Barcelona: DLDWWW
Odds
Espanyol to win: 19/4
Barcelona to win: 13/25
Draw: 10/3
Prediction
Espanyol 1-4 Barcelona
Espanyol 0-0 Barcelona
5 minutes
Nice linkup play on the edge of the box between Messi and Suarez nearly sees the former burst through on goal. But a wall of blue and white shirts stand in his way.
Espanyol 0-0 Barcelona
7 minutes
Dembele intercepts a loose pass and drives forward. He picks out Messi and the Argentine looks to find some space to shoot. He's crowded out again, though.
Espanyol 0-0 Barcelona
9 minutes
A first chance of the game for the hosts. Perez breaks forward and slips a through ball into the path of Iglesias. But Espanyol's top scorer can only drag his shot wide.
Espanyol 0-0 Barcelona
11 minutes
Espanyol's aggressive pressing is proving effective. Barcelona are struggling to play out from the back without giving the ball away, and the home fans are responding to the intensity in their side's game. It's been a promising start for them.
Espanyol 0-0 Barcelona
12 minutes
Crucial defending from Lopez. Semedo finds space on the right of Espanyol's box and looks to pick out a teammate. His cross is cut out well and cleared for a corner.
GOAL! Espanyol 0-1 Barcelona (Messi)
17 minutes
Superb from Lionel Messi! After a good spell of possession for the visitors, the Argentine weaves his way towards goal and wins a free kick on the edge of the box. He picks himself up, lines up the set piece and curls it into the top corner. Lopez was at full stretch, but couldn't get anywhere near it. Barcelona lead.
Espanyol 0-1 Barcelona
20 minutes
Barcelona are taking control of this game now. They've dominated the ball for the last few minutes and are penning Espanyol in their own half..
Espanyol 0-1 Barcelona
21 minutes
That could have been 2-0. Messi feeds Suarez, who goes for goal on the stretch with his left foot. Lopez manages to keep it out.
GOAL! Espanyol 0-2 Barcelona (Dembele)
26 minutes
Another fantastically taken Barcelona goal. Messi beats two players on the edge of the box, goes down under a challenge but picks himself up again and finds Dembele with an inch perfect pass. The Frenchman cuts onto his right foot and curls a delightful shot into the far corner.
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