Barcelona took a significant stride towards the LaLiga title, defeating city rivals Espanyol 4-1 on Saturday. This victory propelled them nine points clear of second-placed Real Madrid.
Ferran Torres netted a brace in the first half, both assisted by Lamine Yamal. Torres opened the scoring with a header from a corner in the 10th minute and added his second in the 25th after a sweeping pass from Yamal.
Espanyol managed to pull a goal back in the 56th minute through Pol Lozano. However, Lamine Yamal reasserted Barcelona's dominance in the 87th minute with a swift counter-attack goal. Marcus Rashford sealed the 4-1 victory with a fourth from a Frenkie De Jong cross. Barcelona now sits on 79 points with seven matches left in the season.
Real Madrid, currently second, had previously dropped points with a 1-1 draw against Girona.