The champions, who started the game level with Sevilla and Atletico Madrid on 28 points, swept to victory in Cornella as Messi put on a sublime show in the week he was ranked the fifth best player in the world at Monday's Ballon d'Or awards. The Argentine whipped a free kick into the top right corner in the 17th minute before brilliantly setting up Ousmane Dembele to double Barcelona's lead. Luis Suarez added the third just before halftime with a shot from a tight angle that deflected in off goalkeeper Diego Lopez. Messi completed the rout with another special free kick in the 65th minute and VAR ruled out a consolation from Oscar Duarte for offside at the other end. Espanyol's fourth consecutive league defeat left them ninth in the standings.

Source: bd News24 December 08, 2018 21:45 UTC