Barcelona made it six wins from six and extended their lead at the top of La Liga to nine points with a comfortable win over Catalan rivals Espanyol at their temporary home, Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
Dani Olmo opened the scoring after just 12 minutes, clinically finishing off a smart Barcelona move. Captain Raphinha doubled their lead shortly after with a clever dink over the keeper.
Espanyol had the ball in the back of the net but VAR called it back for offside – and seconds later Olmo hit them with a third to make it 3-0 at half time.
Hansi Flick will be disappointed with Barca’s second-half dip. Espanyol pulled one back with a neat finish from Javi Puado and remarkably had two more chalked off, before Ansu Fati also had an injury-time effort ruled out for offside.
Barcelona’s fourth consecutive win, and 11th win in 12th, puts them in a commanding position in the league. The 27-time Spanish champions face two road trips before the international break – first heading to Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League, before returning to the league at Real Sociedad.
It’s six defeats in seven for Manolo Gonzalez’s Espanyol, who will be fearing another relegation battle, having only just returned to the top flight through last season’s Segunda Division playoffs. Next up in the league they face fellow strugglers Valencia in a huge game at the bottom.