Barcelona faced off against Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium earlier tonight as they hoped to secure a good result in the Catalan derby. Hansi Flick’s men made a good start to the game but were held to a scoreless draw at the half-time interval.
Lamine Yamal broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute before Leandro Cabrera was sent off by the referee in the 80th minute. Fermin Lopez ended up killing the game off in injury time when he got his name on the scoresheet. Barcelona ended up securing a solid 2-0 win in the derby.
Let’s take a look at how each Barcelona player fared during the clash against Espanyol.
GK: Wojciech Szczęsny – 7/10
He made one solid save at the back and earned an easy clean sheet tonight.
RB: Eric Garcia – 7/10
Garcia performed his defensive duties well and was tidy with his passing.
CB: Ronald Araujo – 6.5/10
He dealt with the danger when needed and was a strong presence in the air.
CB: Andreas Christensen – 7.5/10
Christensen gave a good account of himself on the defensive end of the pitch and was good on the ball as well.
LB: Gerard Martin – 7/10
He made some important interceptions in the first half and was replaced at half-time.
CM: Frenkie de Jong – 7/10
De Jong anchored the midfield with conviction and made one decent chance in the final third.
CM: Pedri – 7/10
He caught the eye at times on both ends of the field.
RW: Lamine Yamal – 9/10
Yamal caused all sorts of problems for the opposition defenders and ended the derby with a goal and an assist to his name.
CAM: Dani Olmo – 7/10
He was a constant menace in the final third and has got an assist to show for his efforts.
LW: Raphinha – 7/10
Raphinha proved his worth at times on the left flank but there was no goal for him.
ST: Robert Lewandowski – 6/10
He struggled to impress during this time on the field and was substituted after the hour mark.
Substitutes:
LB: Alejandro Balde – 7/10
He was solid at the back and made one good run with the ball.
CB: Pau Cubarsi – 7/10
Cubarsi hardly put a foot wrong defensively.
CAM: Fermin Lopez – 7.5/10
He managed to put the match to bed in injury time.
CB: Hector Fort – 6/10
His impact on the game was minimal.
CM: Gavi – 6/10
He made one decent chance going forward.
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