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Barça may have dominated the possession of Derbi Barcelonés on Saturday, but it was a long time before finally finding a way out of the strong defense of Espanyol. However, they came to the end and it is still Leo Messi who put the ball at the bottom of the nets. Two times!
The first was another free kick to add to his collection, the second was the fatal blow to a visiting team that, for most of the match, seemed rather confident to escape the Camp Nou with his first point in the league in ten years.
Tactical battle
The game took the form that everyone expected, FC Barcelona taking all the initiative and Espanyol looking for solutions on the counter. They did not find much, but they got the position of defender and the real chances of Barça were rare and spaced in the first 45 minutes.
As usual, Messi was at the heart of almost every major attack, but the tight defense of Espanyol and Barça's lack of punch in the last third meant that a surprising first half-time without a story ended without marking.
Stunner free kick
The restart did not bring any major changes in the story. Barça was still in command but Espanyol contained all the attacks. It was only at the precise moment that Barça finally reached the target. Diego Lopez made a nice stop to prevent the substitute in Malcom.
Just 20 minutes from the end, the game needed some magic. And the greatest conjurer of all was the man who was to bring him.
He scored two direct free kicks against Espanyol when the teams met earlier this season, which was at the origin of the first game of this afternoon when he finally got place.
And what a delivery! He gently slapped the balloon as if the wall did not even exist. Defender Victor Sánchez and goalkeeper Lopez found themselves facing the ball without being completely sure of his origin.
It was 40 goals for Messi in all competitions for an incredible tenth season in a row!
Still Messi
The Espanyol Dam had finally been broken, but although this often led to the opening of the gates during the recent derbies, none of that this time around.
In defense, including two superb interventions by Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet, he has no chance to return to Espanyol, whose attempts to stealth were finally defeated by the second Messi.
Malcom was just as grateful for this one, making a wonderful descent on the right before delivering the killer pbad to the Argentine to sneak quietly home.
The game is over and Barça has 13 points ahead of the standings, with Atlético Madrid having not played yet, this weekend.
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