Barcelona made it five consecutive derby victories over Espanyol on Saturday, brushing aside their city rivals 4-1 at the Spotify Camp Nou in matchday 31 of LaLiga.
The result moved Hansi Flick’s side nine points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table, with seven games remaining.
What made the win all the more impressive was the context surrounding it. Sandwiched between two Champions League quarter-final legs against Atletico Madrid, Flick showed little interest in rotation.
He fielded a near full-strength side and demanded maximum intensity throughout. The dressing room’s reaction at full-time said everything about how much this group, stacked with homegrown talent, cares about derbies.
Lamine Yamal’s dig at Espanyol
Nobody embodied that more than Lamine Yamal. The teenage sensation was the game’s standout performer, contributing a goal and two assists in a display that was full of energy from start to finish.
Hours after the final whistle, he made his feelings known on social media.
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“Barcelona is blaugrana!! It’s time to swallow, as always,” Yamal wrote on Instagram, accompanying the message with a photo of him celebrating his goal.
The post drew responses from fellow academy graduates Marc Bernal, Marc Casado and Fermin Lopez, all of whom replied with emoticons.
Gavi, another product of La Masia, also took to social media after the final whistle and quickly pivoted to Tuesday’s task at the Metropolitano.
“One more year the derby is Barca! Now all together for Tuesday’s comeback, we will give our lives, that’s for sure!”
Barca head to Madrid needing to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg to reach the Champions League semi-finals. The league, for now, is firmly in their hands.
