A delightful double from Lionel Messi saw Barcelona claim the spoils in the Catalan derby as they stepped past Espanyol with a 2-0 victory at Camp Nou.
The hosts were sluggish in the first half with only really Messi effective. Philippe Coutinho was given a chance to impress from the outset, starting on the left of Barca’s 4-3-3 but endured another insipid evening.
Ernesto Valverde had Messi to thank for moving 13 points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid – they travel to Alaves later this evening – as the Argentine chipped in a delicious free-kick from close range on 71 minutes.
A swift counter-attack saw Messi coolly slot home his second 15 minutes later as Malcom squared following a fine release out wide from Ivan Rakitic.
Here, we rate the Barcelona stars.
BARCELONA 4-3-3:
Marc-Andre ter Stegen 6 – May as well moved into midfield such was his light work load, showed he could do as well by taking in a delightful touch from a wayward Semedo pass back.
Nelson Semedo 6 – Valverde’s favourite first substitute. Made away for Roberto on the hour after a fairly ineffective display without his partner in crime Ousmane Dembele.
Gerard Pique 6 – A lot of mouth from Pique before this game but he wasn’t forced back up his words as Espanyol were largely limited. Head juggling in his own box late on showed his ease.
Clement Lenglet 7 – Any joy for the visitors came from Barca’s left when Alba pushed up but the Frenchman blanketed any danger by shuffling across to challenge. Produced a beautiful interception from Javi Lopez’s cross late on.
Jordi Alba 6 – Typical high energy display down Barca’s left but didn’t link with Coutinho quite in the way he usually does with Messi.
Ivan Rakitic 7 – Really tidy performance from Rakitic. Progressive in possession and at least tried to apply some tempo when Barca appeared sluggish. Beautiful sweeping ball to Malcom in the passage leading to the second.
Sergio Busquets 5 – An unusually poor performance from the Barca metronome. Opted for the killer ball when it wasn’t on and seemed to clash with Arthur in the first half.
Arthur 5 – Another one in the midfield who seemed to be lacking rhythm. As mentioned, the Brazilian and Busquets seemed to occupy the same pockets of space and he was brought off.
Lionel Messi 9 – These ratings are taken within the context of this isolated game, rather than what’s come before or what will come, and Messi was brilliant. He’ll play better games and has produced more eye-catching performances but in this contest, he operated on a different level, scoring twice.
Lionel Messi opens the scoring for Barcelona
Luis Suarez 6 – Biggest takeaway from Suarez’s performance is just how he survived injury when clattered into by visiting goalkeeper Diego Lopez. Worked hard but that really is about it.
Philippe Coutinho 6 – Started with confidence oozing out of every touch but after misreading a pass from Suarez, it was soon siphoned out him. Looked a bit better when he dropped into midfield, though.
SUBSTITUTES
Sergi Roberto 6 – Brought on for Semedo on the hour with his cuter passing preferred to the acceleration of the Portuguese.
Malcom 7 – Immediately stretched Espanyol with his vivacity and provided a fine assist for Messi’s second.
Arturo Vidal N/A – Late sub for Coutinho.
For the very latest news, analysis and opinion download the Sport360 app
