They will face tougher opposition – starting with Juventus on Tuesday – but after recent off-field turmoil, Barcelona can enjoy this result. Lionel Messi was as unplayable as ever, scoring his 27th La Liga hat-trick, and late goals from Gerard Piqué and Luis Suárez – the latter set up by Ousmane Dembélé – added gloss to the scoreline. Barcelona are top of the league, which puts their crisis into perspective. Thanks for joining me. Bye!
Full time: Barcelona 5-0 Espanyol
The final whistle goes, and Barcelona have won the Catalan derby in some style.
91 mins: Three added minutes. All things considered, this has gone very well for Barcelona.
GOAL! Barcelona 5-0 Espanyol (Suárez)
Ousmane Dembélé makes his mark on the game, racing onto Gomes’s through ball and playing a terrific first-time cross to Suárez, who finishes with his left foot!
88 mins: Didac’s cross evades two team-mates in the area as Espanyol try and get something out of this.
GOAL! Barcelona 4-0 Espanyol (Piqué)
From the corner, Gerard Piqué climbs above Hermoso and powers a header into the corner!
86 mins: ...he pings an effort towards Lopez’s top left corner, it deflects off the wall and flies wide of his top right corner.
85 mins: Dembélé plays a pass to Suárez, who is upended by Diop. No second yellow, but a free kick in a very presentable position for Messi...
84 mins: Messi accelerates from a standing start, forcing Diop to clip his heels. The midfielder becomes the latest visiting player in the referee’s book.
83 mins: From nowhere, a terrific fizzing shot from Didac almost catches Ter Stegen out, but he flings out an arm to turn it over. From the corner, Moreno stabs the ball into the net, but the whistle had gone for a foul on the goalkeeper.
82 mins: ...who battles to win the ball back outside the area and swings it back in to – who else – Paulinho. He gets ahead of his marker but can only prod the ball wide!
81 mins: Alba and Suárez link up delightfully down the left, but the full-back’s cross just evades Suárez...
80 mins: There’s not much spice left in this one, to be honest – although Baptistao tries a shot which is promptly closed down.
78 mins: André Gomes is on in place of Iniesta.
76 mins: Didac provides another body upfield for Espanyol, and Ter Stegen has to look lively to palm the ball away from him in the area. Corner, handball, free kick to Barcelona.
75 mins: Final change for Espanyol as Darder is replaced by Didac.
74 mins: Frustration gets the better of Aarón Martin, who lunges in on Dembélé with the ball long gone. He’s booked.
73 mins: Dembele gets involved with a run down the right, but Semedo sneaks offside on the overlap. Another new recruit is on for Barcelona – Paulinho, who replaces Sergio Busquets.
71 mins: Messi’s hat-trick takes his total goals against Espanyol to 17 – he’s the all-time top scorer in the Catalan derby. It’s also his 27th hat-trick in La Liga. Just the 27. Ronaldo’s on 32.
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70 mins: Things get a little heated as David Lopez is penalised for handball, and Sergi Darder gets booked for complaining about it. Replays show it was harsh, and the referee just looks silly now.
68 mins: Dembele does come on now, for the impressive Deulofeu. For Espanyol, Navarro replaces Victor Sanchez.
66 mins: A long spell of possession lulls Espanyol into a trance, before Messi and Suárez combine in the area. Suárez is closed down and passes to Alba, whose low cross is dispatched into the far corner by Messi. Lovely goal, and game over.
GOAL! Barcelona 3-0 Espanyol (Messi hat-trick)
Before Dembélé can even get on, Messi gets his third!
64 mins: Dembélé is coming on. What a weird situation for a 20-year-old to be in: the second most expensive player of all time, but also second best in terms of who he has replaced, and who else Barcelona were hoping to sign. Good luck to him.
62 mins: Suarez prods the ball beyond the midfield to Messi, who tries a diagonal through ball to Deulofeu, who is offside.
60 mins: Brilliant block by Umtiti to deny Baptistao! Moreno knocks the ball left, Fuego drills it in and the Brazilian takes a touch, but sees his goalbound shot deflected behind!
58 mins: Semedo spots Deulofeu’s run and lifts the ball down the right flank, but Hermoso is across to clear. Dembélé is warming up on the touchline.
56 mins: Piatti, who has passed up two chances to reduce the deficit, gets the hook. He’s replaced by Sergio García – not that one, obviously.
54 mins: Glorious, intricate stuff from Barcelona here, as Messi links with Alba, whose angular pull-back is flicked up in the air by Rakitic, back to Messi, whose cross is toe-poked over the bar by Suárez! Another chance missed, but you sense it won’t last.
52 mins: Deulofeu has drifted from the left flank to the right but is still causing problems, his cross picking out Messi whose half-volley flies a foot wide. It’s been lively in the second half so far.
51 mins: Eesh, Jordi Alba is let off the hook here – his attempted pass back to Ter Stegen loops into Piatti’s path, but with the goalkeeper stranded, he puts his shot wide! Sanchez Flores looks furious, in a handsome way.
48 mins: Big chance for Suárez! Semedo strides forward and feeds Deulofeu, who scorches past Aaron on the left and cuts it back to Suárez. He miscues but it falls to Rakitic, who lifts a lovely pass over the defender and into Iniesta’s path. He pulls it back to Suárez, who backheels it towards goal, but Pau Lopez denies him!
Peep!
We’re back under way, with Espanyol’s front three straight back into pressing the Barcelona defence.
The players are back out on the pitch. Barcelona have a home game against a little-known Italian outfit named Juventus on Tuesday, so may want to wrap up victory sooner rather than later.
Half time: Barcelona 2-0 Espanyol
Barcelona have been below their best, but still lead 2-0 thanks to a dodgy offside decision, a helpful ricochet and the brilliance of Lionel Messi, who is phenomenal even in second gear. To paraphrase one A.G. Partridge, you know where you are with Messi – he’s good.
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44 mins: Suarez has looked a little rusty but he does well to bring down an arcing Messi cross – but he runs out of space as Lopez darts out to collect the ball.
42 mins: Espanyol hit the post! A scrappy spell of play is rescued by an excellent cross from deep, which Piqué gets to ahead of Moreno. The ball bounces kindly for Piatti, who takes it down and leathers a shot against Ter Stegen’s left-hand post!
40 mins: Another cheap free kick conceded by Espanyol, but Messi’s attempted cross drifts out of play.
38 mins: Messi is in his element now, hooking a beautiful diagonal pass from the centre circle and into the path of Suárez, who hits it early and sends it high and wide.
37 mins: Rakitic has a free header from a corner, but sends it straight at Lopez! Could have easily been three.
35 mins: The corner fell to Fuego, whose overhead kick threatened to cause trouble – but once it was cleared, Messi looked a threat and raced to the edge of the area. Espanyol looked to have closed him down but a ricochet fell to Deulofeu, who smartly turned and whipped in a low cross. Messi, three yards out, wasn’t going to miss.
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GOAL! Barcelona 2-0 Espanyol (Messi)
And from the Espanyol corner, Lionel Messi scores his and Barcelona’s second.
34 mins: Still plenty to do here first, of course, and right-back Semedo has to be sharp to cut out a cross aimed in Piatti’s direction. He has looked good so far, and might prove a useful signing in what was a problem position last season.
32 mins: Barcelona’s next four league games are against Getafe, Eibar, Girona and Las Palmas. There’s a decent chance the crisis club will start with seven straight wins.
30 mins: Oof! It’s driven into the area and pings around but Espanyol clear, but Barcelona come again and Rakitic evades a chasing pack of defenders, plays a one-two with Messi and fires a shot to Lopez’s left. The keeper does very well to get down and deny Barça a second.
28 mins: David Lopez is booked for a handball that looked a little harsh, adding to Sanchez Flores’s chagrin on the touchline. Free kick to Barcelona, near the corner of the area...
26 mins: Rakitic was the architect, picking out Messi with a slide-rule pass. Standing in an offside position, he finished it very nicely, weaving past a defender and firing into the top corner. That won’t make Espanyol feel any better, though.
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GOAL! Barcelona 1-0 Espanyol (Messi)
Barcelona lead through Lionel Messi, but it shouldn’t have counted – he was a yard offside!
23 mins: Baptistao runs at Pique and ventures deep into the Barcelona area, but his pass it straight at Rakitic. The hosts move upfield and Jordi Alba gets into space on the left, but loses the ball with a lack of options in the middle.
20 mins: Sergio Busquets is booked for a none-more-Busquets cynical tug on Leo Baptistao’s shirt. The Brazilian had picked his pocket and was threatening to motor into the Barcelona half.
18 mins: Free kick to Barcelona, some 30 yards out – and Messi leaves it for Suárez, who belts it at goal! It’s hit hard enough to worry Pau Lopez, but the former Spurs keeper gathers at the second attempt.
17 mins: Baptistao almost breaks through down the left, but is flagged offside. It’s a close call, but a correct one.
15 mins: At the other end, Messi is given too much space and lifts a cross with the outside of his boot towards Suárez at the far post. He heads it back across goal, but Rakitic can’t connect with an acrobatic effort.
13 mins: Espanyol win a corner, and after Moreno and Umtiti get acquainted with some prolonged pushing and shoving, Barcelona clear. The visitors keep pressing, and Semedo is forced to hoof upfield. The shame!
11 mins: Espanyol aren’t staying deep – all three lines in their team are shuttling up and down, their front trio causing problems as Barcelona try to play it out from the back. It’s working, but will surely wear them out.
9 mins: Victor Sánchez, sporting the armband and slotting in at full-back like a grizzled James Milner, tries to pick out Piatti with a diagonal ball, but it’s overhit.
7 mins: Dembélé watches on intently as Barcelona’s front five scurry around in the Espanyol half. The visitors are playing 4-3-3 on paper, but in reality, all eleven players are sitting very deep.
5 mins: The hosts have started at a decent tempo, pinging the ball from left to right and back again before Deulofeu is battled off the ball by Aarón. Corner, but Rakitic is penalised for a shove on Javi Fuego.
“Quick, name a manager who is more handsome than Quique Sánchez Flores,” says Gustav Björklund. “You can’t.”
He’s right. As ever, suggestions welcome.
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2 mins: The ball breaks to Deulofeu early on, but his cut-back misses Suárez. Barcelona get a corner, from which Messi shimmies into the area, trying to draw a foul before firing wide.
Peep!
Let’s do this!
Thirty seconds until kick-off, and the players are ambling out onto the pitch. You’ve got to love La Liga’s laid-back vibe.
Earlier on, Real Madrid were held by Levante at home – Ivi gave the promoted visitors a shock lead, before Lucas Vazquez equalised before half-time. The champions couldn’t find a winner though, with Gareth Bale missing chances before Marcelo got his marching orders late on.
Atlético also failed to win, drawing 0-0 at Valencia, while Sevilla went top (albeit probably not for long) after a 3-0 win over Eibar. Ganso, Wissam Ben Yedder and Nolito got the goals.
Team news
Barcelona have spoiled everyone’s fun by naming Dembélé on the bench. Gerard Deulofeu will start alongside Messi and Luis Suárez, who is fit again after a knee injury.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Semedo, Umtiti, Piqué, Alba; Busquets, Iniesta, Rakitic; Deulofeu, Messi, Suárez.
Espanyol (4-3-3): Pau López; Sánchez, David López, Hermoso, Aarón; Darder, Diop, Javi Fuego; Baptistão, Moreno, Piatti.
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Preamble
Barcelona are back in action after the international break, seeking to pick up the pieces after a bad transfer window for the ages. Neymar’s shock departure rocked the club from top to bottom, and his £198m fee had to be spent urgently to save face.
Barça brought in Ousmane Dembélé, Paulinho, Gerard Deulofeu and full-back Nelson Sémedo and burned through the lion’s share of that record windfall in no time. Suddenly tales of transfer blunders are everywhere and the future of everyone at the club, from president José Maria Bartomeu to Lionel Messi, is under question.
Still, there’s two sides to every crisis. New coach Ernesto Valverde has secured two league wins from two, and Real Madrid’s iffy start means victory over their cross-city rivals today would see them top of the table and four points clear of Zinedine Zidane’s all-conquering side.
Espanyol haven’t beaten Barcelona in the league since 2009, when Mauricio Pochettino was in charge. If they do so today, there really will be a crisis. So far this season, they have drawn at Sevilla and lost at home to Leganés. Having spent around £5m this summer, they would probably also love to have their neighbour’s problems. Kick-off is at 7.45pm BST, 8.45pm local.
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