Barcelona vs. Espanyol: Score and Reaction from 2016 La Liga Match

Barcelona emerged victorious from the Catalan derby on Sunday, beating rivals Espanyol 4-1 in La Liga.

Luis Suarez opened the scoring after 18 minutes and added a second goal after the break. Jordi Alba also got on the scoresheet, while David Lopez added a consolation goal for Espanyol. Lionel Messi put the final score on the board in the closing minutes.

As Barcelona's official Twitter account shared, manager Luis Enrique made a big call by including Denis Suarez in his starting XI:

Espanyol entered the derby in excellent form, and fans from both sides were anticipating a tough and spectacular match. Both teams showed attacking intentions early, with possession going Barcelona's way.

The first chance of the match fell to the Blaugrana, with Suarez and Neymar combining before Messi fired wide. Jose Manuel Jurado and Pablo Piatti were active for the visitors, but their looks on goal were limited.

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Gerard Moreno beat Alba in the air but missed with his header before the hosts took the lead. Andres Iniesta lofted a great pass over the Espanyol defence, and Suarez took a touch before beating goalkeeper Diego Lopez.

As Bleacher Report UK tweeted, Suarez scoring isn't a rarity:

Espanyol improved after the setback, with Barcelona happy to cede a little more possession and aim for the counter. Messi tried his luck with a free-kick from 25 yards out, but the Argentina international couldn't clear the wall.

Diego Reyes only just managed to clear yet another great ball into the box from Iniesta ahead of Suarez, who was lurking and ready to double his tally.

There was a bit of controversy when Lopez went down holding his face during a free-kick, with the official not signaling a foul. Barcelona played on and hit their opponents on the counter, with Messi firing a deflected shot wide. Replays confirmed Sergio Busquets grabbed Lopez by the face to set off the incident, per AS' Ivan Molero:

The away fans were furious Barcelona didn't kick the ball out of touch while Lopez was down, and Espanyol's players responded, taking the aggression up a notch. Felipe Caicedo made a hard tackle on Busquets, and while the midfielder was down, Javi Lopez aimed a volley over the crossbar.

There would be no more chances in the half, with Espanyol matching Barcelona's intensity but trailing at half-time. ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan enjoyed the action:

Barcelona started the second half on fire, with Messi putting a shot narrowly wide and Lopez making a last-minute block to deny Suarez. The Uruguayan accidentally caught his ankle in the process, and the goalkeeper was unable to continue.

Neymar was determined to shine in the second half, but he tried to do too much and wasted several good chances. He fired a free-kick over the heads of everyone before missing the target after a nifty dribble.

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The Blaugrana eventually found their second and third goals in the span of two minutes, however. First, Messi worked his way past four players before firing a shot, and Suarez was there to bury the rebound.

As football writer Sid Lowe indicated, Alba's goal was also mostly Messi's doing:

The two quick strikes effectively took away all of the momentum Espanyol had built, and the hosts took full control of possession, hoping to pass the ball around until time expired.

Lopez had other ideas, though, finishing off a superb team move to pull one back for the visitors. Lowe loved it:

Messi deserved a goal for his efforts and came close in the final minutes, skipping past two defenders before missing the goal. He had more luck shortly after, with Suarez turning provider.

After the match, Iniesta admitted it wasn't the easiest derby:

Barcelona's next outing will be against Hercules in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, while Espanyol will host Alcorcon the following day in the same competition.