Lionel Messi scored his 38th Barcelona hat-trick as Ernesto Valverde’s charges were victors in a one-sided Catalan derby Saturday against Espanyol at the Camp Nou.
Club-record signing Ousmane Dembele made his Barcelona debut coming on in the second half for Gerard Deulofeu, and the French winger registered an assist on Luis Suarez‘s stoppage-time tally to cement the 5-0 drubbing.
16 – Lionel Messi (16) is the all-time Catalonian derby top scorer in La Liga. Protagonist. pic.twitter.com/oXMNBBLRNt
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) September 9, 2017
A slow start saw Barcelona ease it’s way into the match, and it wasn’t until Ivan Rakitic found Messi on the edge of the area in the 26th minute that the host flexed its superiority on its regional rival.
Rakitic was notably outstanding for Barcelona, and with the victory, a two-point gap atop the Spanish table was maintained on Sevilla, as both capital clubs Real Madrid and Atletico failed to keep pace courtesy of drab draws Saturday.
Valverde and Co. will now prepare for Tuesday’s Champions League visit from Juventus in the group stage opener for both …read more