La Liga Santander Olmo Stars As Barca Thrash Espanyol To Remain Atop La Liga

La Liga leaders Barcelona defeated Espanyol 3-1 in the Catalan derby on Sunday, thanks to goals from Raphinha and Dani Olmo in the first half.

This victory extended Barcelona’s winning streak over their local rivals to 27 games.

After their match was postponed due to the disastrous floods in the area, Real Madrid did not play against Valencia this weekend, so Barcelona now leads them by nine points.

Read Also:Flick Thrilled With Barca Big Win Against Real Madrid

One point above the relegation zone, in 17th place, is Espanyol.

Last Saturday, Barcelona crushed Real Madrid 4-0, and they had a chance to keep another clean sheet, but Javi Puado scored for Espanyol, who were unfortunate to have two goals disallowed by VAR for minor offsides.

Barcelona controlled the ball from the start and came close to scoring with a deft pass, but Espanyol was saved by Olmo’s header from the middle of the box.

Olmo opened the goal with a first-time shot after 17-year-old Lamine Yamal played him through with a beautiful pass with the outside of his left boot.

Marc Casado’s lob over the defence found Raphinha, who chipped his shot over the onrushing keeper to give Barca their second goal, completing another brilliant assist from close to the centre circle.

When Jofre Carreras scored from a counterattack, Espanyol believed they had cut the advantage in half, but VAR disallowed the goal because right defender Omar El Hilali had gone offside.

After an unmarked Olmo got space outside the area, Barca added salt to the wound by firing, beating keeper Joan Garcia’s extended arm to score his fifth La Liga goal in five games this season.

Ten minutes into the second half, Hansi Flick pulled Olmo, denying him a chance to score a hat-trick. Espanyol was denied another goal as Barca’s well-practiced offside trap saved them once more.

However, Carlos Romero found Puado, who beat Inaki Pena in Barca’s goal after Espanyol eventually beat the trap.

Olmo’s removal made Barcelona’s offence less successful in the second half, but Flick’s team still managed to secure the three points.


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