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Two goals from Ferran Torres, a Lamine Yamal goal and masterclass and a neat Marcus Rashford finish helped Barcelona put four past Espanyol last night in the Catalan derby.
Hansi Flick surprised the world with a strong lineup on the night, making it clear that he sees no excuse to lose any game at this point in the season, and thus even put the reverse fixture against Atletico Madrid out of the picture with his selection.
In the end, it proved to be decisive as Barcelona held on to a 2-1 lead until late in the game when two quick-fire strikes helped build the gap and solidify the result. With Real Madrid dropping points against Girona, the result is monumental for the title race.
Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Barcelona 4-1 Espanyol.
Nine points clear
The Catalan derby was always going to be an important game for Barcelona’s season, not only in terms of the historical significance but also the fact that Real Madrid dropped points earlier in the match day.
Handed a chance to go two further points up by their arch-rivals, Barcelona needed a win on Saturday to ensure they capitalise and they dished out a performance that secured just that.
With a 4-1 win on the night, the Catalans extended their dominance in the league standings further and are now on 79 points after 31 games. With Real Madrid sitting on 70 with as many games played, Barcelona have a clear nine-point lead with eight games to go.
Barcelona in a prime spot to secure the league title. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
At this point in the season, such a massive lead is worth its weight in gold and virtually wraps up the league title in their favour, although it is never really over until it is in football.
If Barcelona continue to win their games, they can wrap up the league title against Real Madrid in El Clasico in what would be a monumental moment. Yet, Flick and Co. will take it one step at a time and celebrate the nine-point lead for the time-being.
The rest vs continuity debate
Hansi Flick and Diego Simeone both headed into the current match-day knowing full well that the Champions League game midweek is where the priority lies.
For one, the league game was inconsequential because his team was out of the running, while for the other, even a poor result would be tolerated because even Real Madrid dropped points to Girona.
Yet, the approaches Simeone and Flick took could not be more radically different. While Cholo rested every single starter for midweek except the goalkeeper, Hansi Flick started his two biggest stars in Pedri and Lamine Yamal alongside the likes of Eric Garcia, Gerard Martin and Ferran Torres, who all may also start.
Simeone, for his part, prioritised having his men well rested for the battle on Tuesday night, while Flick focused on asking his team to play, albeit with a reduced tempo, to keep the momentum and stay in touch and synchrony with each other ahead of the big game.
Only time will tell which approach proved to be better, but Flick was confident even in his post-match press conference that his side did not tire themselves in the derby and played on a lower gear and that they would be ready for the UCL challenge.
Yet, one can only help but wonder at first glance if it would have been a safer plan to hand the likes of Yamal and Pedri at least some time off on the night.
It’s like Gavi was never gone
Gavi only recently returned to the team dynamics from his long layoff, which has kept him out from close to the beginning of the season.
Gavi’s performance against Espanyol was inspiring. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
He returned to the squad in Barcelona’s game against Newcastle United away from home, then made his on-field return for a few minutes against Sevilla.
After warming the bench for two more games, Gavi was handed 12 minutes in the league game against Atletico Madrid and jumped up to 45 minutes in the UCL quarterfinal.
Last night, he already racked up his first start post-injury and played over an hour against Espanyol in a high-tension derby, and it is ridiculous how quickly he is integrating himself back into Flick’s dynamics with no signs of being rusty.
Gavi not only started but took up a prominent role in last night’s match, right from his distribution, ball retention, combination play, movement in spaces and his work-rate off the ball.
At no point in the game did he look like a player who had barely played in two years. On the contrary, he looked supremely confident, in impeccable physical shape and was moving sharply, all of which was not expected from him so soon after his return.
In 64 minutes, he completed 98% of his passes, made one key pass and had 53 touches of the ball. He won a staggering seven out of eight attempted ground duels and 100% aerial duels in addition to having three direct defensive contributions.
Hansi Flick has always shown himself to be a manager who is cautious in managing minutes of players who are coming back from injury, as was evidenced in the case of Marc Bernal. For him to back Gavi for such a quick ascent, needless to say, shows that the youngster is well and truly back.
