Barcelona suffered to win the 'derbi catalán' and increased his lead with Real Madrid

Espanyol and FC Barcelona faced each other in one of the most important derbies in Spanish football. Hansi Flick’s side arrived with a strong historical advantage, having gone unbeaten against Espanyol for 18 years, since Los Pericos’ 2–1 victory at Camp Nou. A trend that once again remained unchanged.

The two teams met on Matchday 18 of LaLiga, with FC Barcelona leading the table on 46 points, keeping the pressure on Real Madrid (42), who are set to face Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabéu the following day.

Both sides came into the match on the back of positive results. Barcelona had secured a 2–0 victory over Villarreal, while Espanyol also claimed a win by the same scoreline against Athletic Club.

From the opening minutes, Barcelona controlled possession under Hansi Flick, exploiting the wings through players such as Marcus Rashford and Lamine Yamal, supported by Raphinha and Ferran Torres. Espanyol, meanwhile, relied on their technical quality to stay competitive and create danger in the early stages.

The breakthrough finally came in the 86th minute thanks to Dani Olmo. The midfielder received the ball from Fermín López in a central area and unleashed a stunning long-range strike from outside the box to open the scoring.

Dani Olmo’s goal against Espanyol

Just four minutes later, Barcelona struck again in Cornellà. This time it was Robert Lewandowski, who capitalized on another assist from Fermín López and calmly finished from close range to seal the three points for Flick’s side.

Robert Lewandowski’s goal against Espanyol

With this result, FC Barcelona extended their lead at the top of LaLiga to 49 points — seven more than Real Madrid, who still had a match to play against Real Betis — and will head into next week’s Spanish Super Cup with at least a four-point advantage, depending on Los Blancos’ result.