Hansi Flick, playing in his first Catalan derby, kept the team pretty much the same after their great result. Héctor Fort came in at right back, replacing Koundé, while Dani Olmo, who'd recovered from injury, was back in the starting line-up. The forward line was rock solid. There wasn't much history between the two teams, and it was clear that there was a big difference between them.

Barça were already in the lead after 11 minutes thanks to a great assist from Lamine Yamal with his left foot. Dani Olmo beat Kumbulla and then beat Joan García for the first time. That was a great goal.

After the goal, Espanyol pulled away a little, and Puidá, who has become a symbol of this team together with Joan García, almost equalised the score, but the shot flew out of the goal. But it was just a false sense of security because in the 23rd minute, the score became 2-0.

If Lamine's assist to Dani Olmo for the first goal was a miracle, then Marc Casado's assist to Rafinha to make it 2-0 was equally wonderful. The Brazilian, who always loves to score, saw that Joan Garcia was going to leave and beat himself with a clever touch. Despite being in a tough spot, Manolo Gonzalez's team kept fighting. Joffre managed to score when VAR ruled that Omar El Hilali was offside, but the goal was disallowed.

This season, Barca's attacking power means they could achieve some great results. They score almost four goals per game. After half an hour, Dani Olmo shot from outside the penalty area and made it 3-0. He's a great fit for Barca and has really adapted well. He's the best addition to the Barca trident. This Barca team is used to ending the game before halftime, and the match against Espanyol was no exception.

Espanyol started the second half with a renewed sense of purpose. Perico had a chance to score, but the goal was disallowed due to an offside call on No. 17 Blanquiazur after he received a pass from Joffre. A few minutes later, Puado scored after being passed by Romero. Espanyol stuck with it and it paid off when Barca brought on De Jong and Fermin. Barça's combination gave Espanyol the boost they needed to go for a 3-2. They managed to score through Puado, but the ball went out of bounds after a previous cross from Joffre.

In the second half, Perico upped their game, but the gap in attacking power between the two teams was still too big. While Barca had most of the chances, Espanyol – who played well despite the result – had bad luck. Some of their goals were ruled out and other methods didn't work.

The result was fair, and the game ended at halftime, but Flick's men relaxed and almost let themselves back into the game. Barça won again, but the news that Lewandowski didn't score made headlines. Flick's team are nine points ahead of Real Madrid, although the Reds have a game in hand, which was postponed this round.