April 11, (THEWILL) — Goals from Ferran Torres and a late brace sealed a 4-1 win for Barcelona over city rivals Espanyol on Saturday, extending their lead at the top of LaLiga to nine points ahead of Real Madrid.
Torres opened the scoring after just nine minutes, directing an unchallenged header into the net from Lamine Yamal’s corner after a costly error from Espanyol goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic. The pair combined again in the 25th minute on the counter-attack, with Yamal’s precisely weighted pass releasing Torres into space to roll the ball calmly past the stranded Dmitrovic.
Barcelona pressed for a third before the interval. Yamal struck the outside of the netting from a free-kick, while Eric Garcia tested Dmitrovic from range. A goal from Garcia and Torres was subsequently ruled out for offside, denying the hosts a more commanding cushion at the break.
Espanyol reduced the deficit in the 56th minute when slack defending inside Barcelona’s box gave Pol Lozano the freedom to direct a low finish into the bottom corner. The visitors’ revival proved short-lived, however, as Dmitrovic’s poor handling gifted Yamal a simple close-range finish in the 87th minute to restore the two-goal advantage.
Substitute Marcus Rashford applied the final touch, collecting a precise delivery from Frenkie de Jong before turning sharply to drive a low finish into the corner and complete a convincing victory for Barcelona.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
