Barcelona win derby, beat Espanyol to stay top of LaLiga | OneFootball

Barcelona suffered, but managed to defeat Espanyol 2-0 at the RCDE Stadium on matchday 19 of LaLiga 2025/26. The Catalans won the Catalan Derby and now have a 7-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who will play against Betis on Sunday.

At 19 minutes, the home team was very close to opening the score: Roberto found himself one-on-one with his former teammate Joan García, who reacted in time, decisively closed down the angle, and kept Hansi Flick's team in the game. 20 minutes later, Roberto once again challenged the Barcelona goalkeeper with a powerful header, but García responded again with a crucial save to keep the score at zero.

In the second half, Espanyol maintained their dominance against the league leaders Barcelona and continued to create danger. At 63 minutes, they had another one-on-one, but García made another memorable save to keep it 0-0.

Flick's Changes

Looking to change the course of the match, Hansi Flick brought on Fermín, Pedri, Dani Olmo, and Robert Lewandowski. At 72 minutes, Eric García came very close to scoring with a point-blank shot, but Marko Dmitrović responded with a great save, in a match marked by the high level of both goalkeepers.

The changes took effect 5 minutes before regular time. Fermín combined with Olmo, who placed it in the top corner with a stunning goal in a very hard-fought derby for Hansi Flick's team.

In the 89th minute, Robert Lewandowski scored the 2-0 to end Espanyol's hopes. Once again, Fermín was key, breaking down the right and passing to the Polish player who finished brilliantly to seal the final score.

With this victory, Barcelona extends their lead to seven points over Real Madrid, who will play against Betis on Sunday.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.