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FULL-TIME, Espanyol 0-4 Barcelona: Lionel Messi is the greatest player ever, and his team just destroyed their local rivals. What a performance from Leo. And the team. Wow. Just wow.
GOAL DISALLOWED BY VAR!!! Espanyol thought they had scored through Óscar Duarte, but the defender was offside when the free-kick was taken and it’s still 4-0 Barça!
GOAL!!!!!!!! Espanyol 0-4 Barcelona (Messi 65’): IT’S FOUR FOR BARÇA!!!!!! It’s another spectacular free-kick from Lionel Messi, and the show continues!!!
SECOND HALF KICKOFF! Espanyol 0-3 Barcelona: We don’t need to suffer here. Let’s just keep the clean sheet and maybe score once or twice more.
HALFTIME, Espanyol 0-3 Barcelona: Lionel Messi is currently having one of his best performances in recent times, and the entire team is benefitting from it. Incredible football from minute zero to 45. Just awesome.
GOAL!!!!!! Espanyol 0-3 Barcelona (Suárez 45’): IT’S THREE FOR BARÇA!!!! Dembélé plays a wonderful through ball, Luis Suárez uses his body to shield the defender and then nutmegs the goalkeeper. And this game is probably over already.
GOAL!!!!!!! Espanyol 0-2 Barcelona (Dembélé 26’): BARÇA DOUBLE THE LEAD!!!! After more than a minute of pressure inside the Espanyol box, Messi finds Ousmane Dembélé who cuts to his right foot and fires a rocket into the top corner. Another great goal, and Barça are in full control.
GOAL!!!!!!!! Espanyol 0-1 Barcelona (Messi 17’): BARÇA TAKE THE LEAD!!!!!! Lionel Messi wins the free kick and scores it BRILLIANTLY!!!!! WHAT A GOAL!!!!
KICKOFF! Espanyol 0-0 Barcelona: Come on, boys! Don’t give me a heart attack. Please.
LINEUPS
BARCELONA
Starting XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Lenglet, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Vidal; Messi, Suárez, Dembélé
Bench: Cillessen, Vermaelen, Miranda, Aleñá, Denis, Coutinho, Munir
ESPANYOL
Starting XI: Diego López; Javi López, David López, Duarte, Dídac; Sánchez, Roca, Darder; Pérez, Iglesias, Melendo
Bench: Jiménez, Naldo, Granero, Rosales, García, Piatti, Baptistão
Welcome to the Catalan Derby!!! Barcelona and Espanyol meet for the first time this season in what promises to be a high-quality match. The Blaugrana are top of the table and will stay that way with a win, but it won’t be easy. Their rivals are having a strong season and always raise their level when facing Barça. This should be fun, so let’s all follow along with a LIVE BLOG!!!
(Note: the comments will be open only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)
MATCH INFO
Competition/Round: 2018-19 La Liga, Matchday 15
Date/Time: Saturday, December 8, 2018, 8.45pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 7.45pm GMT (UK), 2.45pm ET, 11.45am PT (USA), 1.15am IST (India, Sunday)
Venue: RCDE Stadium, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Referee: Carlos Del Cerro Grande
HOW TO WATCH, STREAM LA LIGA
How to watch on TV: beIN SPORTS (USA & Canada), Eleven Sports 1 (UK), SuperSport 7 (Nigeria), others
How to stream: beIN SPORTS CONNECT (USA & Canada), others
Matchday Thread Rules
We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:
Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, no swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.
Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!