After Real Madrid were held to a draw by Girona on Friday, Barcelona capitalised in style, securing a 4-1 win over local rivals Espanyol to move nine points clear at the top of LaLiga.

Espanyol arrived hoping to end a long wait for victory at Camp Nou, stretching back to 2009, but they struggled to get a foothold early on as Barca dominated possession in the opening stages of the Catalan derby.

The breakthrough came when Ferran Torres rose at the back post to meet a corner from Lamine Yamal, heading home his first LaLiga goal since late January.

Barcelona’s control was overwhelming, with their possession peaking at around 85%, though a brief lapse in concentration hinted at a possible Espanyol response. However, it didn’t lead to an equaliser.

Instead, Barca doubled their advantage midway through the half. Yamal produced a superb outside-of-the-foot pass to pick out Torres, whose clever touch guided the ball past Marko Dmitrovic and into the net.

Dmitrovic then kept the scoreline from becoming more damaging before the break, producing an excellent double save to deny Eric Garcia and Fermin Lopez, ensuring Espanyol remained within touching distance at half-time.

The referee disrupted the rhythm early in the second half with frequent whistles, breaking up the flow of the game. Espanyol still posed little threat going forward, with Cyril Ngonge often brushed aside too easily — a reflection of their overall struggles.

Barcelona thought they had added a third when Ferran Torres completed his hat-trick, but the goal was disallowed due to Eric Garcia being caught offside in the build-up.

However, Espanyol quickly found a way back into the match. Pol Lozano was given far too much space outside the box and unleashed a powerful right-footed strike that left Joan Garcia with no chance.

That goal briefly lifted the visitors, but Barcelona soon regained control, even though Marcus Rashford missed a golden opportunity to increase the lead.

Espanyol then enjoyed a spell of pressure, pushing the hosts back for extended periods, but their momentum was halted when Lamine Yamal raced onto a through ball, beat Marko Dmitrovic, and calmly finished into an empty net.

By that stage, Espanyol appeared eager for the final whistle, yet there was still time for Rashford to make amends by adding a late goal to round off the scoring.

The result leaves Espanyol winless in their last 14 LaLiga matches (D5, L9), while Barcelona have now stretched their unbeaten head-to-head run against their city rivals to 30 games (W23, D7).