FC Barcelona is more of a leader in LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26 thanks to a huge away win against Espanyol (0-2). In a derby in the rain in Cornellà, the 'pericos' managed to put the blaugrana team in serious trouble. However, the quality and hierarchy of the culé squad made the difference at the end to ratify Barça's hegemony.
Hansi Flick kept his J17 XI almost intact against Villarreal, except for the presence of Marcus Rashford instead of Fermín López. With Raphinha as an attacking midfielder and Ferran Torres again as '9', Barça struggled to gain control of the midfield, suffering from the absence of Pedri González.
The '8' was a substitute after being injured for a day and, along with Dani Olmo, came on in the 64th minute to unlock a lackluster Barça until then. The man from Terrassa, with a spectacular goal to remember, opened the scoring in the 86th minute.
Towards the end, Robert Lewandowski scored the second, both assisted by Fermín López on a brilliant night for Joan García, who with 6 saves kept the Catalans in Cornellà. The goalkeeper's reflexes and the substitutions in the second half were the key to the Blaugrana victory.
Espanyol bothered a sluggish Barça in the opening minutes
As expected, Espanyol came out pressing Barça hard on the build-up. The 'pericos' forced three consecutive corner kicks in the opening minutes, although they failed to trouble the goal defended by Joan García.
For their part, Barça maintained balance in midfield thanks to **Eric García's good work as a pivot**. The player from Martorell was attentive in recovery and secure in distribution, although the team had problems with delivery efficiency in the initial minutes.**Lamine Yamal**, on the right, was the most inspired player in the Barça attack, creating danger by forming an effective partnership with Jules Koundé. However, the first clear chance fell to the home team. In the 20th minute, a through ball from **Edu Expósito** left **Roberto Fernández** one-on-one with Joan García, but the '9' shot directly at the center of the goal, right where the Barça goalkeeper was positioned.The rebound, however, went long and Pere Milla was close to taking advantage of it, but Gerard Martín, in a spectacular fashion, managed to block the midfielder's shot in an action where he had to put his body on the line
Joan García, key to keeping the clean sheet at halftime
Barça reacted after a spark from Lamine in the 28th minute. The '10' left his marker trailing with a roulette and was close to scoring a screamer after shooting slightly wide, with a tight angle, a ball that grazed the base of the post. Ten minutes later, Ferran missed a header from a perfect free-kick served by Raphinha, after a foul on the wing caused by Yamal.
Two minutes later, Joan García reappeared with **a saving swat against a point-blank header from Pere Milla**, after a good approach by the 'pericos' down the right. **Leandro Cabrera** warned again with a header on the subsequent corner, straight into the hands of the Barça keeper. The Uruguayan center-back hurt himself on the header, after colliding with Eric.Lamine tried again in stoppage time, with a shot from the right that Dmitrovic easily gathered. After 50 minutes (including added time), the zero remained intact on the scoreboard, just as it had been on Barça's last visit to Cornellà.
Flick had to call on Pedri and Olmo to unlock Barça
At halftime, Hansi Flick brought on Fermín López in place of Marcus Rashford. The Englishman had little involvement in attack and made several errors in possession, making it a logical substitution. Raphinha moved to the wing, where he is usually much more effective, after a rather dull 45 minutes playing behind Ferran.
Barça, lacking ideas, managed to create danger from set pieces. **Koundé came close to scoring with a header** in the 53rd minute, but Dmitrovic prevented his goal from falling with a good save. Joan García did the same with a shot from Roberto after a quick local counter-attackManolo García's men once again caused problems, stifling the build-up play of **an imprecise Blaugrana side that, at times, was struggling in the rain** in Cornellà. Roberto almost found himself alone in front of goal in the 59th minute, but the forward fumbled his control and Cubarsí appeared in time to clear.The '9' missed another one-on-one against Joan García in the 64th minute, with a notable reaction from the Sallent keeper to swat away the forward's attempt to dribble to his left. Flick didn't wait any longer and brought on **Pedri, Dani Olmo, and Lewandowski** for Gerard Martín, Raphinha, and Ferran.
Fermín's inspiration and Olmo's magic settled the derby
Eric García dropped back into defense, while Frenkie played as a pivot and Fermín as a left winger to free up space for Dani. Nevertheless, the clearest chances continued to be for Espanyol. Koundé, on the goal line, and Joan, with another spectacular save, prevented the first 'blanquiazul' goal after headers from Cabrera and Roberto.
Dmitrovic also shone, preventing a sure goal from Eric in the 70th minute, after a corner from the left and a fortuitous pass from Pedri. The '8', a minute later, almost caused a penalty from El Hilali when contesting a divided ball inside the boxManolo González brought on experienced player Kike García for Roberto Fernández, and in the 76th minute, Romero again tested the reflexes of the undisputed MVP of the match, Joan García, with a shot from the left.
The match seemed to be heading towards an unprecedented 0-0 since Flick's arrival at Barcelona. However, in the 86th minute, a brilliant play by Fermín after a quick Barcelona counter-attack allowed the player from Huelva to thread a pass to Dani Olmo. The Terrassa native set his sights on the right-hand corner of Dmitrovic's goal and, with a first-time shot, unleashed a well-placed right-footed strike to leave the Serbian goalkeeper standing.
Three minutes later, a recovery by Pedri and another notable run by Fermín allowed Lewandowski to make it 0-2 with a flawed, but effective, finish. The Barça team completes a remarkable first half of the season with 49 points and wins a derby resolved by pure hierarchy.
Espanyol ran into **a wall named Joan García**. Barça, on the other hand, found solutions on the bench, taking advantage of the depth of a squad far superior in quality. Now, the Catalans pull away again to 7 points from Real Madrid, who host Betis on Sunday
Match Report: RCD Espanyol 0-2 FC Barcelona
- RCD Espanyol, 0: Dmitrovic; El Hilali, Calero, Cabrera, Romero; Pol Lozano, González, Expósito (Carreras, min. 60); Pere Milla, Dolan; Roberto Fernández (Kike García, min. 75).
- FC Barcelona, 2: Joan García; Koundé, Cubarsí, Gerard Martín (Pedri, min. 64), Balde; Eric García, Frenkie de Jong; Lamine Yamal, Raphinha (Olmo, min. 64), Rashford (Fermín, min. 46); Ferran Torres (Lewandowski, min. 64).
- Goals: 0-1, Dani Olmo (min. 86); 0-2, Robert Lewandowski (min. 89).
- Referee: Víctor García Verdura. Booked Pol Lozano for Espanyol.
- Stadium: RCDE Stadium, Cornellà-El Prat.
- Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 18 of LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26.