Messi shines in the Catalan derby

There was plenty of tension, excitement and passion in a derby that RCD Espanyol controlled early on with a goal from Sergio García and that FC Barcelona ended up winning 5-1 thanks to a hat-trick from Lionel Messi, a goal from Piqué and another from Pedro.

Espanyol settled into the match a lot quicker than Barcelona and it showed in the chances they created in the opening minutes, which led to a goal from Sergio García, his first against the Azulgranas. Barcelona, persistently tried to take the initiative but were met time and time again by the structured rear-guard of Sergio González's men. On the verge of the break, Lionel Messi found a crack in their defences and, after feigning to shoot, he fired home from the edge of the box to level the score before the half-time whistle.

After the restart, it would be the Argentinian player once more who changed the match. After a pass from Luis Suárez, and a piece of individual brilliance, he made it 2-1 with his right. Immediately afterwards, Piqué increased the lead by nodding home from a corner. With the match tied up and Espanyol's heads down, Pedro Rodríguez made it 4-1. Luis Enrique's men did not back off though, and Messi finished off the 5-1 thumping with a superb one-two. The result means that Barcelona stay two points behind Real Madrid CF, the Liga BBVA leaders, while Espanyol stay in twelfth place.