Barcelona have regained second position in La Liga and moved to within three points of leaders Real Madrid after recording a 4-1 win over rivals Espanyol in Sunday night's Catalan derby at Camp Nou.
Luis Suarez netted a brace for Luis Enrique's side, while Jordi Alba and Lionel Messi were also on the scoresheet against an Espanyol team that entered the match off the back of a nine-game unbeaten run in Spain's top flight and having kept a clean sheet in their last four on the road.
Barcelona came close to taking the lead in the seventh minute when Suarez raced away from two defenders before feeding Neymar, who delivered a super cross into Messi at the far post, but the Argentine just missed the target as Espanyol survived their first dangerous moment of the match.
The away side's first half-chance of the match arrived in the 16th minute when full-back Aaron Martin raced down the left and delivered a cross onto the head of Gerard Moreno, but the striker's effort was wide of the post.
Less than two minutes later, Barcelona took the lead as a sensational pass from Andres Iniesta sent Suarez through on goal and the Uruguay international made no mistake as he slotted the ball past the onrushing Diego Lopez.
The home side might have had a second just before the 30-minute mark when Neymar found Messi just inside the Espanyol box following a quick counter-attack, but the Argentine's deflected effort just missed the far post.
Espanyol remained a threat on the break and had a half-chance of their own in the 37th minute when Javi Lopez broke forward, but the away side's skipper missed the target from a wide position and Barcelona led at the interval courtesy of the first period's only attempt on target.
Messi came close to doubling Barcelona's lead early in the second period after finding a pocket of space outside the Espanyol box and releasing towards goal, but the ball just flew wide of the post, before Diego Lopez made a wonderful save to keep out a low strike from Suarez.
Espanyol had to change their goalkeeper in the 53rd minute after Diego Lopez picked up a knee injury saving from Suarez, which led to Roberto Jimenez being introduced between the sticks. Chances, however, were few and far between in the period that followed as the visitors struggled to make inroads.
Barcelona finally doubled their lead in the 67th minute when Suarez converted from close range after Messi had shown sensational feet to dance through the Espanyol defence and test Roberto with a low drive. Less than 60 seconds later, it was 3-0 and again Messi was involved but this time it was Alba that struck into the corner from inside the box.
From being in the match entering the final 25 minutes, Espanyol were in danger of taking a hiding from their rivals as Messi absolutely bamboozled the away side with his close control and movement, while Neymar also showed his incredible ability down the left for the home side.
Espanyol actually had one back in the 79th minute when David Lopez curled the ball into the top corner after a super cushioned pass from Moreno, but it proved purely a consolation and Barcelona scored a fourth in the 90th minute when Messi combined with Suarez before poking the ball through the legs of Roberto.
Matt Law
