Barcelona beat Espanyol 4-1 in the Catalan derby on Saturday at Camp Nou, and Lamine Yamal finished it with the kind of late strike that made the scoreline look even more convincing. Ferran Torres scored twice before halftime, Marcus Rashford added a volley and Barcelona moved nine points clear of Real Madrid with seven league games left.
Torres opened with a header from a corner and then struck again after redirecting a trivela pass from Yamal, who was central to the decisive moments all evening. Pol Lozano pulled one back for Espanyol in the second half, but Yamal restored Barcelona's two-goal advantage in the dying minutes to end any doubt.
The win left Barcelona within touching distance of consecutive La Liga titles, with only seven games remaining and a cushion that gives them room to breathe. It also came with a concern that could matter more than the points: Gerard Martín did not come back out for the second half after receiving medical attention for an apparent non-contact injury late in the first half, and Marc Casadó replaced him after the break.
That injury will be watched closely because Barcelona still need a much sharper performance in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal against Atlético Madrid on Tuesday. The derby was a statement in the league, but it also showed how quickly the mood can shift when a player leaves the field in pain and the calendar does not slow down.
