Barcelona 5-0 Espanyol LaLiga: match report, goals, action
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Barcelona 5-0 Espanyol: match report
Barcelona's board can't seem to do much right off the field lately but Messi and his cohorts can't put a foot wrong. They have played three games this season in the league, won all three, scored nine and not conceded a goal either on that run.
With their likely rivals for the title dropping points in two of their first three games, Barcelona now sit atop the Liga table until at least Sunday when Real Sociedad play as they have also won their first two.
Lionel Messi scored his 16th goal in 22 Catalan derbies in the 26th minute from a clearly offside position to give Barcelona a lead they would never relinquish. The Argentinian was slowly making his way back towards the ball when Rakitic found him with a lovely defense splitting pass. The whistle never sounded, however, and Messi carried on, driving to the roof of the net to give Barca the lead.
He had his second after a nice move involving Jordi Alba as the left-back poked it towards Messi at the front post and he helped it beyond Pau Lopez as Barcelona were looking increasingly comfortable againt their Catalan neighbours.
Pablo Piatti drove a shot off the post that rebounded back into play and that was as close as Espanyol would come as they were struggling to find the balance between flooding Barca's defense and minding the house to make sure there was something to play for in the second half.
They managed to keep it together until the break but it was more of the same from Barca after it.
They had chances with Messi and Suarez lurking for more goals before Messi did make it 3-0 and sealed his hat-trick in the process. The number 10 started the move with a pass to Suarez and when the Uruguyuan lost out, it fell to Alba and he cut it back to Messi before the Argentinian slotted home to send Barcelone truly on the way.
Ousmane Dembele came on to the cheers of the Camp Nou crowd but at that stage, the three points were in the bag. Paulinho entered the fray too in place of Busquets as Barcelona showed off their summer business with Andre Gomes joining them late on from the bench.
It was one of their stalwarts, however, who added the fourth when Gerard Piqué rose highest for a corner and headed home with just minutes remaining. That wasn't it though as Andre Gomes found Dembele, who must have been keen to score on his debut, but he decided to hit Luis Suarez in stride and the Uruguyuan finished with a lovely left-footed finish to make it 5-0 and turn it into a proper humiliation for Espanyol.
Valverde had the chance to rest Busquets and as they sit and wait for Juventus in the Camp Nou on Tuesday as they try to kickstart their Champions League in the same fashion as they started their Liga campaign. As for Espanyol? That game was never one that had chalked down for a win but the manner of the defeat is troubling considering how little they created and how easily they came undone when Messi landed the first.
Barcelona 2-0 Espanyol live stream online:
Barcelona v Espanyol live stream online: match preview
The Camp Nou is the venue for the first Catalan derby of the season as Quique Sanches Flores tries to get his first win over Barcelona since arriving in Catalonia. Barcelona's perpetual pursuit of Philippe Coutinho was stopped not due to failure or rebuffing but because of time constraints and Barcelona's director have been asked some difficult questions of their disheveled summer.
Neymar is a distant memory but the answers Josep Bartomeu provided have not been sufficient and a run of good results, and then some, are needed to put the nightmare that was this summer's transfer dealing behind them. Espanyol, on the other hand, made little or no noise during the window and for better or worse face into the season with a similar squad to the one they had last season.
Barcelona
Most of Barcelona's headlines have been made off the field since the league started but that could change as the chaos of the transfer window closes and Ernesto Valverde gets to figure out just what sort of Barcelona squad he has at his disposal.
Ousmane Dembele could make his first start for the club having signed for €140 million as he looks to replicate Neymar's form and recreate the fear the Brazilian put in opponent full-backs when he was in the side.
Ivan Rakitic could miss out having been taken off for Croatia against Kosovo due to a hamstring issue and was not risked just days later against Turkey.
Regardless of the issue in the palco, Barcelona are yet to concede a goal this season and have six points from six with wins over Real Betis and Alavés. The closing of the window will help them and they have all eight of their international representatives back for training and in reasonably good health. Gerard Piqué, Jordi Alba, Sergio, Andrés Iniesta and Gerard Deulofeu returned unscathed from Spain duty while Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano returned from Argentina to train on Friday along with Arda Turan, who returned after a spell with Turkey - he has since been linked with a move to Galatasaray but has rejected the chance to leave Barcelona.
Luis Suarez could return having featured for Uruguay during the international break. He recovered from a knee injury that kept him out of Barca's opening two games of the season to play against Argentina before being subbed off with what appeared to be a cramp in his calf.
Rafinha is still recovering from knee surgery and will miss out as his recovery is not going entirely as planned.
Espanyol
A 3-0 loss followed by a 1-4 one was the sum of what Quique Sanches Flores' side could muster against Barcelona last season. The former Atletico Madrid and Watford manager was criticised for having a joke with Lionel Messi after the defeat at the Camp Nou back in December, in which Messi put on a clinic of close control and keeping the ball.
The 0-3 loss at RCDE Stadium was far better from the Blanquiazules and they managed to keep Barca off the scoresheet beyond half-time but a mistake by Jose Manuel Jurado gifted Luis Suarez a goal before they marched to a 3-0 win.
A patchy start to the season for Espanyol started with a 1-1 draw against Sevilla but they failed to build on that positive result when they were beaten by Leganes at home the week after. There was little business done on transfer deadline day by the club and the outgoings were offset by incomings of a similar nature with no real splash made.
There is concern in that for the Catalan side as they failed to consolidate themselves where they needed to be last season and are now faced with an almost impossible task as they face their Catalan neighbours in a season where they will surely have one optimistic eye on Europe.
