Espanyol vs. Barcelona: Score, Grades, Reaction from Catalan Derby

Neymar and Lionel Messi were on target as 10-man Barcelona extended their lead at the top of the La Liga table to five points with a 2-0 win over Espanyol at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat on Saturday.

Luis Enrique's team were imperious in the first period as their forward triumvirate of Neymar, Messi and Luis Suarez threatened to overrun their neighbours.

Neymar opened the scoring in the 17th minute before Messi struck from a tight angle eight minutes later. Those goals were to prove vital in the second period, though, as Jordi Alba was shown two quick yellow cards to earn a red one.

Real Madrid will now face Celta Vigo on Sunday knowing that defeat will effectively end their title hopes this season.

The visitors also made history, as Xavi Hernandez replaced Andres Iniesta two minutes before the end to become the first Barcelona player to reach 500 appearances for the club.

The first-half display particularly was a fine tribute to former Barcelona head coach Tito Vilanova, who died a year ago Saturday.

Enrique made two changes to his lineup, with Claudio Bravo and Rafinha replacing Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Ivan Rakitic from the team that beat in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The combination of Neymar, Messi and Suarez almost opened up Espanyol in the second minute, but the final ball for the former Liverpool striker was just short.

The visitors were clearly determined to make an early impact, though Espanyol goalkeeper Kiko Casilla, who raced from his line to cut out Neymar's through ball, denied Suarez.

The Brazilian was next to go close for Barcelona when he fired just over the crossbar from a clever Messi ball, before an offside call saw another strike ruled out.

Barcelona's dominance was frightening, and it seemed only a matter of time before the goal would come. And sure enough, it arrived in the 17th minute. Messi found Alba with a superb pass out wide, and Neymar smashed home the defender's first-time cross into the area after a Suarez dummy.

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Gooool de Neymar #genius pic.twitter.com/KiNX0uHtmH

— FCB (@Emenderk) April 25, 2015"

Eight minutes later, Barcelona went further ahead, with Messi adding his name to the scoresheet. 

Iniesta placed a perfect ball for Suarez, whose cross found the Argentina international on the left side of the Espanyol area, and after an excellent first touch, Messi fired home from an acute angle.

"

Gooool de D10S #genius pic.twitter.com/R0cIiyOntl

— FCB (@Emenderk) April 25, 2015"

Barcelona were looking simply magnificent in the first half, and their performance must have sent a shiver down the spine of former head coach Pep Guardiola after his Bayern Munich side were paired with the Catalans in the Champions League semi-finals.

Bravo finally had a part to play in the 35th minute, but even that was just to collect the ball after a heavy touch from Sergio Garcia.

Casilla produced another fine save to deny Neymar in the 41st minute after great buildup play between Suarez and Sergio Busquets.

Espanyol opened the second period by applying pressure where they could on their visitors, but Felipe Caicedo should have done better with a shooting chance in an early attack.

But it was not long before Barcelona were back on the attack, and Casilla delivered another fine save to deny Neymar in the 51st minute.

However, Barcelona were dealt a blow in the 54th minute, as they were reduced to 10 men. Alba was initially shown a yellow card for kicking the ball away, but his complaints then saw the referee issue a further caution to make it red for the defender.

It was a needless red card as Barcelona enter the crucial run-in to the end of the season.

The dismissal did not halt Barcelona's attacking intent, though, and Messi struck the post moments later.

Dani Alves was shown a yellow card for protesting a challenge on Messi before Neymar missed a glaring chance to make it 3-0 when he fired a Suarez cross over the bar with Casilla missing from his goal.

Enrique made his first change of the game in the 65th minute, with Jeremy Mathieu coming on for Rafinha.

Neymar almost turned provider for Messi with a tricky run, which ended with the Argentinian having his shot blocked by Casilla.

Espanyol should have taken advantage of the extra man, but Barcelona's passing game thwarted those hopes, and Suarez was brought off for Rakitic in the 80th minute.

Espanyol substitute Christian Stuani missed a gilt-edged chance to haul his team back into the game in the 74th minute when he skied his effort over the crossbar from 12 yards out.

Xavi replaced Iniesta for his 500th appearance for the club with two minutes remaining.

It was a nice ending to a game Barcelona had effectively wrapped up long before Alba's dismissal.

Selected Player Ratings

Lionel Messi: A+

The Barcelona talisman was simply sensational in the opening period of the game. He provided a glorious pass for Neymar's opener before adding his own strike.

Luis Suarez: A+

And to think people once questioned whether Suarez would work alongside Neymar and Messi? This was another fizzing display for the Uruguayan as part of Barcelona's forward triumvirate.

Neymar: A+

We just could not separate the three Barcelona forwards after that display, so Neymar gains an A+ mark as well. Superb running and smart play as well as the opening goal contributed just as much to this grade as his colleagues' work.

Post-Match Reaction

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Alba: "I accept the first yellow, but the second one wasn't a yellow. I just walked back and said 'always to me', not even in a bad way."

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) April 25, 2015"

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Busquets: "Red card Alba? Second yellow is ridiculous. But we know this ref. He wants to be in the spotlights and he achieved his goal."

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) April 25, 2015"

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Iniesta: "Ovation by Espanyol fans? Grateful." *iniesta showed shirt with tribute to espanyol captain jarque after scoring at 2010 world cup

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) April 25, 2015"