Who has kicked the most in the hottest Barcelona derbies?

BarcelonaWhen this year's LaLiga schedule was released, Espanyol fans were somewhat wary of the fact that the second of this year's derbies was scheduled with just three rounds remaining. This meant it could be a key match in the fight for survival. Some Barça fans, meanwhile, dreamed of the possibility of winning the title again at their city rivals' ground, as happened in 2023.

All of them were on the right track. This Thursday's derby (9:30 p.m., Movistar LaLiga) will have an extra prize for whoever wins, as the three points mathematically seal both teams' objectives for this season: LaLiga for Barça and survival for Espanyol. And, in turn, a win allows them to turn things around. A hypothetical draw, on the other hand, would force both teams to finish the job in the final two matchdays.

This, however, will by no means be the first derby in which important objectives will be at stake. Throughout history, Barça and Espanyol have faced each other 33 times in a La Liga match in the last five matchdays. Tense matches that often decided league titles, European qualification, relegation, and survival. Barça has come out particularly well in 14 of these clashes, and Espanyol in eight. In the remaining matches, the derby had no direct impact on the final position.

Espanyol-Barça: when what matters is kicking your opponent.

Both fans are well aware of the last two precedents, as they are quite recent and have had opposite results: Barça smiles and Blue and White tears. The 2022-23 season, the Barça mathematically sealed the League in Cornellà-El Prat in a derby that ended with a Barça sardana on the pitch and a subsequent pitch invasion by a large group of Espanyol fans. Espanyol had confirmed at Camp Nou a relegation announced months beforeNow, five years later, Hansi Flick's side are two points behind in La Liga, and Manolo González's side are five points clear of relegation.

Espanyol's fight to stay in the First Division has seen a number of derbies played in the final stages. The 1943-44 and 1950-51 seasons saw the Espanyol side secure their place in the league after beating Barça. In the second of these seasons, they also achieved their biggest win, a 6-0 victory. The Blaugranas, in turn, made life quite difficult for their rivals in the 1963-64 and 2003-04 seasons: Espanyol needed a promotion to stay in the league and an epic goal from Ferran Corominas, respectively, to finally escape.

Espanyol has kept Barça out of some league titles.

Barça has emerged victorious in most of the decisive derbies played in the 21st century. In the 2010-11 and 2015-16 seasons, they achieved two victories that helped them maintain their lead and ultimately celebrate the title. This was a repeat of what they achieved in the 1948-49, 1952-53, 1959-60, and 1991-92 seasons, in which various victories against Espanyol preceded major celebrations. They also had a similar outcome in 2007, the year of the tamudazoBarça were leading 2-1 thanks to a Messi double when, just seconds before the end, Raúl Tamudo made it 2-2. This goal, combined with Real Madrid's subsequent equalizer in Zaragoza, allowed the Whites to go into the final matchday as leaders. However, it wasn't the first time they had deprived their rivals of the title. They had done so twice in the 1950s (1953-54 and 1956-57): Barça entered those derbies two points behind the leader and ended up four points behind with one matchday remaining, thus leaving them mathematically out of contention.

The same thing had happened in 1930-31, when Josep Besolí, scoring 4-4 with ten minutes left, snatched a point from Barça that would have secured them the league title. Espanyol, on the rebound, were saved by that point. The following season, in 1932-33, Espanyol became the first Catalan club to surpass Barça in the final standings. They did so thanks to a 2-1 derby victory on the penultimate matchday thanks to a Salvador Pueyo double.

The device to avoid altercations in case of a Barça victory

Exactly two years ago, Barça beat Espanyol in Cornellà-El Prat, securing the La Liga title with the victory. Espanyol defeated Espanyol in Cornellà-El Prat, and the Mossos d'Esquadra have prepared a large-scale operation, doubling the number of officers deployed.

high-risk, and that already implies additional security measures. For example, this Thursday, no Barça symbol will be allowed to enter Cornellà, as Barça fans do not have tickets.

The invasion

The main person in charge of security for the match is a commander who observes the match from a raised room in the stadium, supervising that everything follows the planned order and viewing most of the security cameras. the operation would have been resized.

Following recent developments, Salamaña points out that to prevent or attempt a pitch invasion, "proportionality" must be taken into account. "The objective of the operation is not to prevent a pitch invasion, but rather the reason why it occurs." He gives the example of a pitch invasion last year due to Espanyol's promotion, yet virtually no one remembers it.