Barcelona moved one step closer to claiming La Liga with a professional 2-0 victory away to Espanyol in the Catalan derby.
Espanyol
Kiko Casilla – 6: Neither great nor poor performance from Casilla, could do nothing about either Barca goal.
Arbilla – 4.5: A poor outing from the full-back, displaying poor positional sense for both Barca goals and offering little going forward.
Alvaro Gonzalez – 4.5: At fault for Messi’s goal, stepping out at the wrong time and allowing Suarez to find the space to pick out the Argentine.
Hector Moreno – 4: Regularly caught out of position and offered very little confidence and security to his goalkeeper. Loss of concentration allowed Neymar to sneak past for the opening goal. Sent off late for a second bookable offence.
Lucas Vazquez – 6: Was generally unaccountable as Jordi Alba had a free reign down Espanyol’s right side and rarely protected the right-back Arbilla. Did offer some attacking quality, however.
Jose Cañas – 5: Failed in his primary responsibility of providing cover for his back four.
Abraham – 6: Solid outing displaying some creativity, though run out of legs early in the second period to the disappointment of the home fans.
Victor Alvarez – 6: Steady performance, nullifying the threat of Dani Alves, without proving to be an attacking threat himself.
Sergio Garcia – 5: Ineffective performance from the forward, unable to offer any creativity and failed to take his only chance.
Caicedo – 6: Did not see enough of the ball though did show glimpses of his quality. Worked hard away from the ball.
Substitutes
Salva Sevilla – 6.5: Added much needed energy into the midfield as a substitute.
Paco Montañes – 4: Offered very little in a short cameo.
Christian Stuani – 3.5: Had one chance and made a meal of it.
FC Barcelona:
Claudio Bravo – 7.5: Had very little to do and may have been excused for having a cup of tea mid-match. Solid when called upon.
Dani Alves – 7: Not at his damaging best yet still managed to be an attacking threat on the right flank. Defended smartly enough.
Gerard Pique – 6: Rather lazy, possibly bored performance from the Spaniard who made some interesting runs with the ball. Steady in defence.
Javier Mascherano – 8: Excellent performance from the Argentine, constantly winning tackles and nullifying the threat of Caicedo.
Jordi Alba – 6.5: Was having a blinder until his brain fade, getting sent off on 54 minutes. At his marauding best prior to that, including an assist for Neymar.
Rafinha – 6.5: Solid, unspectacular performance which at least allowed the Catalans to keep Ivan Rakitic and Xavi fresh for midweek fixture at home to Getafe.
Sergio Busquets – 8.5: A master class by the world’s premier holding midfielder. Expertly shielded his back four, got stuck in with some superb tackles and played exquisite passes all over the field.
Andres Iniesta – 8: Quality outing from the legendary playmaker, showing sublime skills in the build up to Messi’s goal and linking brilliantly with Barcelona’s front three.
Lionel Messi – 9: Typically supreme performance from the world’s most supreme player. Heavily involved in the first goal before clinically scoring the second. Proved a constant threat to Espanyol with the quality of his passes and intelligent forward runs.
Luis Suarez – 9: Another excellent showing from the Uruguayan, linking beautifully with Iniesta throughout the match and providing the assist for Messi.
Neymar – 8: Good outing from Brazil’s captain, scoring a quality goal and causing headaches for the defence. Needs to improve on his decision making, which remains his achilles heel.
Substitutes
Jeremy Mathieu – 7: Provided solidarity in defence for the last half an hour as Barca were reduced to ten men.
Ivan Rakitic – 6: Buzzed around with energy for the last ten minutes.
Xavi – N/A: Came on for his 500th appearance on 88 minutes.
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Harsh on Pique , at least 7