The Espanyol presented to the Camp Nou to defend and shut to the 11 players in his own field to expect to the FC Barcelona. The culés had many more difficulties that in Villarreal in the first-half and not even the 4-3-1-2 by which went back to bet Quique Setién prevented that the Barcelona were something more uncomfortable. In fact, they went the parakeets those that had the first big oportunidade of the meeting after a big connection between Marc Rock and Adri Embarba.
The Catalan midfield player found in long to the ex of the Ray with a big pass to the back of the defence blaugrana, and the Madrilenian remained hand manually with Marc-André ter Stegen. The leading second espanyolista drove during quite a lot of metres and arrived almost to the small area of the Barça pursued by Gerard Hammered and Sergio Busquets. The German archer covered well his goal and took out a perfect foot to avoid the target of an Espanyol that out of nowhere took out a played of goal.
The Barcelona dominated the possession to his antojo, but cost him arrive to dangerous zones by fault of the populated defence perica. The ones of Rufete defended with tarpaulin and when they could tried to go out touching. In one of these few actions that hilaron went back to warn with a good played choral that finished Pol Lozano against a defender barcelonista from the frontal of the area. It was another dangerous arrival that the ones of Setién had to answer so that his rivals did not grow even more.
Luis Suárez was the protagonist of the first and only opportunity to mark of the Barça in the first 45 minutes. In the 25, the charrúa received a good pass of Antoine Griezmann and encaró put it of Diego López pursued by a central of the Espanyol that refused the ball after his shot. The rebound was about to to surprise to the guardameta Galician, that had luck that the balloon finished in corner. After this approach seemed that the culés went to enchufarse at last, but the crash did not change of dynamics.
Ante of the rest, in fact, the Espanyol had the one who was the best occasion of the first part in the feet of Dídac Vilà. Raúl of Tomás found to the left-handed side with a glorious pass in long and the carrilero, with a lot of metres by in front to run, finished centring and causing an almost autogol of Clément Lenglet. Ter Stegen Took out almost without wanting the clear of the French and the own Dídac finish commanding it to the stick after a good left of David López in the rebound of the played.
Two expulsions and a goal in ten minutes
After a first disappointing time, Setién decided to play it all taking out to Ansu Fati by Nélson Semedo. The Cantabrian prescidió of the luso and planted of carrilero to Sergi Roberto, leaving alone in the half to Rakitic and Busquets. The technician was to by all and did not go out him too well. The Hispanic-guinean did not carry neither five minutes in the field when in a dispute put him the swearwords in the leg to Calero and finish in the previous street review of the VAR. The referee had taken him out yellow, but after seeing it in the screen did not doubt and changed it by the red.
The Espanyol had 40 minutes by in front to try surpass to a Barcelona with a man less, but Pol Lozano wrapped it a pair of minutes afterwards and also went to the street. The same that as with Ansu, the referee had taken him out yellow, but after the warning of the VAR was to see the entrance to the screen and changed the colour of the cardboard. The canterano of the pericos also stepped of imprudent form to Gerard Hammered and was expelled with all merecimiento. The Barça saved by a hair's breadth and besides took advantage of the embarrassment to advance in the marker.
Only two minutes after all the wrap, Griezmann took out a rabbit of the basket with a taconazo spectacular inside the area that Messi tried colar inside the goal. The shot of the Argentinian refused it a footballer of the Espanyol, but the rebound arrived him to Suárez, that to few metres of put it did not fail and put the 1-0. Segundo so much consecutive of the Uruguayan after the that enchufó in Villarreal to give him advantage to the Barça in a party that was costing him a lot of and that it could put very slope up after the red to Ansu.
The Barça commanded to Second to the Espanyol suffering
In spite of the momentary victory, the Barcelona did not finish of carburar. But Messi always appears when more lacking does and in the 69 brushed the 2-0 with a voleón that took out 'in extremis' Diego López with a big unemployed. Only some minutes afterwards, the rosarino went back to warn with a centre-kick of fault that did not arrive to finish any Barcelona and strolled by the area of the Espanyol. That was the last arrival with some danger of the culés in a second so just part at stake like the first.
The Espanyol tried to go to by the tie to prolong his agony in First, but did not attain atinar in the few approaches that had to the area barcelonista. A far shot of Of Tomás that took out to corner Ter Stegen was the best occasion of the pericos. Besides, the ones of Cornellà asked penalti in the discount by a shot of Darder that cleared with the shoulder Vidal. The VAR reviewed it and communicated him to the referee that the Chilean in any moment touched it with the arm.
The ones of Rufete needed the victory to follow with life in First a week more, but minute-by-minute saw as it turned off an impossible dream. Nevertheless, Bernardo remained to centínetros to attain the tie with a head butt in the last minute that was was. At the end, the blaugrana held the result to the end to win a crash that perhaps did not deserve to win, but that with job and suffering attained to win to command to his eternal rival to Second. Three points without shine, but necessary to be still in the fight by LaLiga.
Technical index card of the party: FC Barcelona-RCD Espanyol 1-0
- FC Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Semedo (Ansu, min 45), Hammered, Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, S. Roberto; Messi, Griezmann (Vidal, min 71) and Luis Suárez (Braithwaite, min 82).
- RCD Espanyol: D. López; Víctor, Bernardo, Cabrera, Calero (Darder, min 66), Dídac; Lozano, David López, Marc Rock (Wu Lei, min 85); Embarba (Campuzano, min 75) and Raúl Of Tomás.
- Referee: José Luis Munuera Montero.
- Incidences: corresponding Party to the day 35 of LaLiga Santander 2019-20.
- Goals of the party: 1-0, Luis Suárez (min. 56);