Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez were all on the scoresheet as Barcelona recorded a 4-0 win over Espanyol in the Catalan derby on Saturday night.
Messi scored two stunning free kicks to make it 23 derby goals, while Dembele and Luis Suarez also registered at the RCDE Stadium.
The result has seen Barcelona move three points clear at the top of La Liga, while Espanyol, who have lost their last four league fixtures, remain down in ninth.
Read how it all unfolded in Sports Mole's minute-by-minute live commentary of the action below.
Good evening and welcome to Sports Mole's live commentary of the La Liga clash between Espanyol and Barcelona from the RCDE Stadium. Espanyol have lost their last three in the league to drop down to ninth position in the table, while Barcelona currently top the pile on 28 points, level on points with second-placed Sevilla. Stay tuned for live updates from the Catalan derby!
The points were shared in a 1-1 draw when the two teams met at the home of Espanyol last season. That said, Barcelona thumped their rivals 5-0 at Camp Nou towards the start of the 2017-18 campaign. Barcelona's last success away to Espanyol in the league was a 3-0 win in April 2017. Meanwhile, Espanyol last overcame Barcelona in La Liga back in 2009, with that victory occurring at Camp Nou. Espanyol have actually not beaten Barcelona on home soil in the league since January 2007.
Right, without further ado, let me bring you up-to-speed with the all-important team news from the RCDE Stadium. Both managers had injury concerns ahead of the match...
TEAMS!
ESP: Diego Lopez; Javi Lopez, David Lopez, Duarte, Vila; Sanchez, Roca, Darder; Perez, Iglesias, Melendo
BAR: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Vidal, Busquets, Rakitic; Dembele, Suarez, Messi
Espanyol are without the services of key defender Mario Hermoso through injury, meaning that David Lopez drops into central defence tonight. Borja Iglesias is the team's leading scorer this season with eight, and he will again lead the line. Pablo Piatti is left out, however, with Oscar Melendo selected in an advanced position. Marc Roca is also included for the home side here.
As for Barcelona, Luis Suarez is back from a knee problem to lead the attack. Arturo Vidal has also overcome illness to feature for the Spanish champions, while Ousmane Dembele is preferred to Philippe Coutinho in the final third of the field. The absences of Sergi Roberto and Samuel Umtiti mean that Nelson Semedo and Clement Lenglet keep their positions at the back.
Eight wins, four draws and two defeats - that is how Barcelona have performed in La Liga this season. It has brought them 28 points, which is good enough for first position at this stage. Indeed, Sevilla were held by Valencia this afternoon, and therefore stay in second spot.
Dropping points in six of their first 14 league matches of the season is not quite what Barcelona would have had in mind, but it has been a competitive La Liga this term, and they are currently the side at the top of the pile. A win tonight opens up a three-point advantage on both Sevilla and Atletico Madrid, with Diego Simeone's side also on 28 points in third position.
Ernesto Valverde's side took care of their business in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday night, recording a 4-1 win over Cultural Leonesa to secure a 5-1 aggregate victory. The holders will be present in the round of 16, and now their attention switches back to the league.
Barcelona ran out 2-0 victors over Villarreal at Camp Nou last weekend, and will bring a three-match winning run into this contest. They will host Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League next week having already booked their spot in the next round as group winners, before travelling to Levante next weekend. The atmosphere is really building at the RCDE Stadium.
Barcelona's work for 2018 will end with a home game against Celta Vigo on December 22. The year brought yet another La Liga and Copa del Rey double, but the Catalan outfit will be hoping that they can make a serious play for the Champions League this term.
Valverde's team have not exactly been terrific on the road this season, winning only half of their league matches and scoring just nine times in the process. Espanyol have won five of their six in front of their own supporters, meanwhile, which makes this contest extremely interesting.
A certain Lionel Messi loves playing against Espanyol having scored 21 times in his 31 appearances against Barcelona's Catalan rivals, and the Argentine has only ever lost one La Liga game against the White and Blues. Messi has Luis Suarez back in the attack tonight.
A six-game unbeaten run between September 25 and November 11 included four wins, and left Espanyol in the top four. At that point, Rubi's team were showing signs that they could be surprise challengers for a Champions League position in Spain's top flight during the 2018-19 campaign.
Espanyol's last victory in the league was a 1-0 success over Athletic Bilbao at the start of last month, however, and since then they have lost three straight matches against Sevilla, Girona and Getafe. As a result, they currently sit ninth in La Liga on 21 points.
That said, the Catalan outfit are just three points off the top four, and just seven off leaders Barcelona. The likes of Valencia and Villarreal have struggled this season, which could mean that a top-six finish is a very real possibility for Espanyol if their form picks up again.
Periquitos ended last season in 11th spot in La Liga, and they have not actually finished higher than eighth since the 2004-05 campaign, which brought fifth spot. It is important that head coach Rubi steadies the chip following a poor run, but matches do not come more difficult than Barcelona.
Espanyol have a tough finish to 2018 when considering that their three matches before the winter break are against Barcelona, Real Betis and Atletico Madrid. The Catalan outfit only just squeezed into the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey, meanwhile, with an away-goals victory over Cadiz on Tuesday night. Kickoff in this Catalan derby is now less than 15 minutes away!
Espanyol might have only scored 17 times in their 14 La Liga matches this season, but they have conceded just 16 times, which is a better defensive record than both Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Tonight is a huge occasion for Espanyol, and a win over Barcelona would certainly aid suggestions that they should be targeting a top-seven finish this season.
PREDICTION! It is shaping up to be a very interesting battle at the RCDE Stadium. Espanyol have just hit a rocky patch though, and we fancy Barcelona to edge a close match.
Here we go then; both sets of players have joined us on the pitch ahead of kickoff tonight. Can Espanyol overcome the Spanish champions? Stay tuned right here to find out what unfolds.
KICKOFF: Barcelona kick things off here...
... as expected, Barcelona have taken control of the early possession. The visitors are in their pink kit tonight, with Espanyol in their normal blue and white. Here's to an entertaining game.
Not too much to report in terms of attacking football in the early moments, but Barcelona are the team on the front foot. Messi has just had a little run, but Vidal's cross was cleared.
Pass, pass, pass from Barcelona as they look to work a shooting chance. Messi drops his shoulder before embarking on another run, but once again the door is closed by Espanyol.
Dembele has the chance to burst away from the Espanyol defence, but Roca is on hand to make the challenge. Suarez has been bright for Barcelona on his return to the XI.
Messi's latest run in the final third sees him charge along the edge of the Espanyol box, but Duarte makes the clearance. Still goalless with 10 minutes on the clock in this one.
CLOSE! The first half-chance of the match falls to Espanyol, but Iglesias can only turn wide of the post. It was not a clear opportunity, but he might have done a bit better.
Messi is again involved for Barcelona as he dances into a dangerous position before finding Dembele, but the Frenchman's low cross is cleared behind for a corner kick.
All Barcelona in terms of possession and attacking intent at the moment.
Messi dinks another cross into the Espanyol box, and Duarte clears on this occasion. The home side's defence are being over-worked at the moment - they could do with some help.
Barcelona have a free kick outside the Espanyol box as Messi is felled by Duarte...
GOAL! ... ESPANYOL 0-1 BARCELONA (MESSI)
So, so special. Messi bends an absolutely wonderful free kick into the top corner of the net.
Messi's ability to score from free kicks is quite incredible. It is almost as good as having a penalty. Espanyol are really struggling here as Barcelona continue to dominate the ball.
Espanyol, as expected, are playing on the counter-attack. The problem, however, is that Barcelona are not conceding the ball. It has been a very good 21 minutes for the visitors.
SAVE! Good save from Lopez to keep out a Suarez effort from close range.
Pass, pass, pass from a completely dominant Barcelona.
You do get the feeling that a second goal for Barcelona would completely kill the match. Espanyol have shown some moments on the break, but the visitors are so dominant here.
GOAL! ESPANYOL 0-2 BARCELONA (DEMBELE)
Barcelona have their second of the match as Dembele works some space in a shooting position before finding the back of the net with a wonderful strike. Excellent stuff there.
Barcelona have just been miles too good for Espanyol tonight.
SHOT! Darder fires harmlessly over the Barcelona crossbar from distance.
SHOT! Roca sees his long-range strike deflected wide of the Barcelona post.
SAVE! Ter Stegen keeps out a close-range Duarte header from a corner.
Little over 10 minutes of the first period remaining, and Barcelona have been very, very good tonight. Espanyol have been a touch better in the last few minutes, but have a mountain to climb if they are to pick up a positive result. Something has to change for the home team.
Espanyol are a threat from set pieces and crosses into the box, with Duarte making his presence felt. That might well be the home side's best route back into this football match.
OFF THE POST! Suarez hits the post after meeting an excellent pass from Messi!
OFF THE POST! Post again for Barcelona! First, Lopez does well to keep out a header from Rakitic, before Messi heads the rebound against the post! Incredible!
Little over five minutes of the first period remaining here.
It is Espanyol's turn to enjoy a period of possession, but Barcelona hold firm at the back. The home side's best chance of scoring tonight looks to be from a set piece or a cross.
CLOSE! Perez heads over the Barcelona crossbar at the far post.
GOAL! ESPANYOL 0-3 BARCELONA (SUAREZ)
Game, set and match. Barcelona make it 3-0 in the final minute of the first period as Luis Suarez breaks into the Espanyol box before squeezing a low effort through the legs of Lopez!
HALF TIME: ESPANYOL 0-3 BARCELONA
So there we have it. The referee brings the first period to a close with Barcelona leading 3-0 courtesy of goals from Messi, Dembele and Luis Suarez. The Spanish champions were just excellent in the opening 45 minutes, with Espanyol unable to cope with their movement.
STATISTICS! Barcelona dominated the ball with 63% possession, while they had nine attempts, five of which were on target. Espanyol, meanwhile, hit the target with one of their seven attempts in the first period. No yellow cards to report; it has not been that type of match.
BENCH WATCH! Espanyol boss Rubi has a number of attacking options on his bench tonight, with the likes of Baptistao, Sergio Garcia and Piatti all in reserve for the home side here. Barcelona, meanwhile, have options in the shape of Alena, Coutinho, Munir and Denis Suarez.
KICKOFF: Espanyol resume the action here...
... no changes from either side at the half-time break.
It has been a decent start to the second period from Espanyol, with the home side committing more numbers forward, Ter Stegen has not really been worked at all tonight though.
Espanyol continue to enjoy lots of the ball, but Barcelona are defending well, with Rakitic clearing a low cross from Melendo. At least the home fans have something to cheer here.
CLOSE! Darder misses the target with a strike from outside the Barcelona box.
Messi is chopped down once again after being surrounded by three players.
Messi stands over another free kick outside the Espanyol box. This one a bit further...
... Suarez hits it straight into the wall.
SAVE! Super save from Lopez to prevent Messi from making it 4-0 from close range.
SAVE! Smart save from Ter Stegen to keep out a long-range Perez strike.
ESPANYOL SUB! Baptistao replaces Perez for the home side.
Little under 30 minutes of the match remaining, and there is no question that Espanyol have been better in the second period. Shame about those three first-half goals though!
ESPANYOL SUB! Garcia replaces Melendo for the home side.
GOAL! ESPANYOL 0-4 BARCELONA (MESSI)
Barcelona have their fourth of the match as Messi sends yet another free kick into the top corner of the net. It is just stunning from the Argentine once again.
BARCELONA SUB! Coutinho replaces Dembele.
SAVE! Smart save from Diego Lopez to keep out a close-range Messi header.
Possession football for Espanyol at the moment as we head for the final 15 minutes.
GOAL! ESPANYOL 1-4 BARCELONA (DUARTE)
Espanyol have one back as Duarte converts a Sergio Garcia free kick!
ESPANYOL SUB! Granero replaces Darder.
VAR are currently having a look at the Espanyol goal. Possible offside.
DISALLOWED GOAL! No goal! VAR rules out Duarte's goal for offside! Barcelona still lead 4-0.
There might be a clean sheet for Barcelona after all. Little over 10 minutes of this football match remaining, and the Spanish champions lead by four goals to zero.
YELLOW CARD! Vila (Espanyol) is booked for pulling back Messi.
BARCELONA SUB! Munir replaces Suarez for the visitors.
Rakitic has a strike deflected over the Espanyol crossbar for a corner kick.
CLOSE! Victor Sanchez heads over the Barcelona crossbar.
BARCELONA SUB! Denis Suarez replaces Rakitic for Barcelona.
Denis Suarez shows good feet inside the Espanyol box before delivering a low cross, but Duarte is on hand to make the clearance. Little over five minutes of normal time remaining here.
CLOSE! Baptistao sees his strike deflected just wide of the post.
Espanyol deserve a goal for their second-half efforts, but Barcelona continue to resist the pressure. I should not imagine that there will be too much added time here.
SAVE! Comfortable for Ter Stegen to keep out Baptistao's header.
We are into the second of five additional minutes here.
Espanyol continue to search for a goal, but Semedo makes a great block before Vila fires wide of the post. It just has not happened for the home side in the final third tonight.
Vidal and Busquets are both in the wars for Barcelona, but both will continue.
FULL TIME: ESPANYOL 0-4 BARCELONA
So there we have it. Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez are all on the scoresheet as Barcelona record a 4-0 win over Espanyol in the Catalan derby. Messi scored two stunning free kicks to make it 23 derby goals, while Dembele and Luis Suarez also registered at the RCDE Stadium. Thanks for joining Sports Mole for our live coverage once again!
So there we have it. Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez are all on the scoresheet as Barcelona record a 4-0 win over Espanyol in the Catalan derby on Saturday night. Messi scored two stunning free kicks to make it 23 derby goals, while Dembele and Luis Suarez also registered at the RCDE Stadium. Thanks for joining our live action once again!
