LATEST: The Lamine – Ferran connection shines in the derby against Espanyol and Barça leaves La Liga sentenced with a new victory
Sources confirm that the following story has emerged from the international scene.
Barça is already practically celebrating the League title and, once again, they are doing so against their eternal rival. Espanyol has witnessed a great performance by the Barça team, which is nine points above Real Madrid with seven games still to play [Narración y estadísticas con la victoria del Barça ante el Espanyol]. Hansi Flick’s men did not blame the tiredness from having played in the Champions League on Wednesday. Barça surpassed the parakeet team in all facets of the game and in the victory there were two players who mainly took center stage: Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal. ‘El Tiburón’ scored 14 games later and did so twice. In the second half he even scored the goal that would have meant his hat-trick, but the lineman raised the flag for offside by Eric García. Ferran Torres and Lamine celebrate one of the goals in the victory against Espanyol. Reuters Ferran vindicated himself and sent a clear message to his coach: he can be the reference in Barça’s attack in the second leg of the tie against Atlético de Madrid. While Barça’s ‘7’ scored a double in goals, Lamine scored in assists. The winger was sweet and gave a performance on the right side, being a real headache for Carlos Romero. Everything was going against the Barça team. Added to the success of their two forwards was the level of intensity that Fermín and Gavi showed in a team that was far superior to Espanyol. The hunger of ‘El Tiburón’ Manolo González’s team suffered excessively throughout the game. Although in the first round the pillars on which victories were achieved were strategy and defensive solidity after loss, in the Spotify Camp Nou he was not correct in either situation. The first goal of the game, by Ferran Torres, came in the ninth minute from a set piece. Corner kicked by Lamine that Dmitrovic ate when he collided with his teammate El Hilali, leaving the ‘Shark’ completely alone to push the ball into the back of the goal. It was his first goal since January 31 against Elche, 14 games later. The Barça striker thus put an end to his worst streak without scoring under Hansi Flick. Ferran Torres celebrates the first goal of the game scored against Espanyol. Reuters Nothing had happened until that moment and Barça was already ahead in the derby. The parakeet team tried to react through Kike García, but his cross shot was blocked by Joan García. After the midway point of the first half, the score was 2-0 also thanks to the work and grace of Ferran Torres. Lamine gave him a magnificent pass with the outside of his boot to find the unmarked Ferran Torres, who defined with a subtle touch to overcome Dmitrovic’s exit. Espanyol could have gotten into the game on the next play, but a cross-shot from Dolan hit the crossbar. It was the clearest chance for the parakeet team in the entire first half. Gerard Martín set off the alarm after suffering a slip on his own that not only required medical assistance, but, as a precaution, Flick replaced him at half-time thinking about the match against Atlético de Madrid. He was able to send Barça to rest on a double occasion. First in a right hand from outside the area by Eric García that ran into Dmitrovic. The Espanyol goalkeeper, precisely, repelled an almost point-blank shot from Fermín on the rebound. And the Serbian was the best on his team despite the goals conceded. The final sentence After passing through the locker room, Espanyol tried to be more offensive by bringing on Roberto for Dolan. Lamine Yamal continued doing what he wanted and the third goal was a matter of time. It came, from Ferran, but Eric García was offside and he did not get on the scoreboard. The one that did go up, against all odds, was one from Pol Lozano to get Espanyol into the game. Manolo González’s men took advantage of the fact that Barça had lowered their intensity and Flick reacted by bringing out Rashford and Cancelo. Lamine celebrates the goal scored against Espanyol. Reuters The Englishman, as soon as he came out, had the option of sentencing the crash but he was slow and Dmitrovic. The Portuguese also tried it with a shot from afar. The 2-1 meant that the game remained open, but Barça did not suffer too much despite the slight improvement in the second half. A bad pass from Cancelo led to the visitors’ best option with a ball that Roberto narrowly missed. The last few minutes gave a lot of play as they saw De Jong’s reappearance, Lamine’s 3-1 to close his great game and there was time for Rashford’s fourth from a pass from De Jong. Match score: 4 – Barcelona: Joan Garcia; Araujo, Cubarsí, Gerard Martín (Casadó, min.46), Balde (Cancelo, min.64); Pedri, Eric, Gavi (Rashford, min.64); Lamine Yamal, Ferran (Dani Olmo, min.74) and Fermín (De Jong, min.84). 1 – Spain: Dmitrovic; Omar El Hilali, Calero, Cabrera, Romero; Ngonge (Rubén Sánchez, min.64), Pol Lozano (Pickel, min.80), Urko, Dolan (Roberto, min.46); Kike García (Pere Milla, min.71) and Edu Expósito (Terrats, min.71). Goals: 1-0: Ferran, min.10. 2-0: Ferran, min.25. 2-1: Pol Lozano, min.56. 3-1: Lamine Yamal, min.87. 4-1: Rashford, min.89. Referee: Alejandro José Hernández (Las Palmas Committee). He gave a yellow card to the locals Gavi (min.32), Eric (min.45+3) and Casadó (min.49), and the visitors El Hilali (min.32), Edu Expósito (min.34), Ngonge (min.45), Pol Lozano (min.58), Calero (min.83) and Urko (min.90+2). Incidents: Matchday 31 of LaLiga EA Sports played at the Spotify Camp Nou in Barcelona before 60,736 spectators. Before the starting whistle, both teams posed in a joint photo in support of the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2026
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Source: This article was originally published in another language by El Español – Home and has been translated and adapted for our global English-speaking audience. Read the original article here.