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 0-2 Barcelona
32 minutes
Espanyol have a couple of corners in quick succession. Barcelona deal with them, but the ball is swung back in towards Duarte. His header, though, is straight at Ter Stegen, who makes a comfortable save.
Espanyol 0-2 Barcelona
36 minutes
So close for Suarez! Messi links up with Dembele and plays a delicate, chipped ball into the path of the Uruguayan. His shot is sliced and comes back off the post. Vidal can't convert the rebound.
Espanyol 0-2 Barcelona
37 minutes
Somehow, it's still only 2-0. This time Messi hits the post with a header, after Suarez had seen his effort saved by Lopez. Espanyol are living dangerously.
Espanyol 0-2 Barcelona
41 minutes
Perez gets on the end of a Vilá cross and heads just over the bar. Espanyol will still feel they can score against this Barcelona defence.
GOAL! Espanyol 0-3 Barcelona (Suarez)
45 minutes
Right on the stroke of half time, Suarez makes it 3-0, and he does it in style. He muscles his way into a shooting position and rolls the ball past Lopez from what appeared an impossibly tight angle. Harsh on Espanyol, but Barcelona's front three have been unstoppable.
Half time: Espanyol have not played badly, but they go in three goals down. Barcelona, and in particular Lionel Messi, are at their brilliant best. They look like scoring every time they go forward.
It looks like another Catalan derby victory for Valverde's side.
Messi continues to set records in La Liga. Only the fifth best player in the world, though, right?
↵Suarez is enjoying himself, too. There could well be more goals for he and his teammates after the break.
Espanyol get us going for the second half. Can they produce an inspired comeback? Or will Barcelona take the game away from them?
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