Dani Olmo and Lewandowski shatter Espanyol's dream

Cornellá de LlobregatThe football year in Catalonia began with a high-voltage RCD Espanyol – FC Barcelona match decided by Joan Garcia. The Bagenc goalkeeper's derbyThe most evenly matched encounter in recent years, like those of yesteryear, was decided by goalkeepers, with prodigious saves against Pere Milla, Roberto Fernández, and Carlos Roberto that thwarted Espanyol's first league victory against their eternal rivals at their stadium, inaugurated in 2009, and with two goals from Dan. Despite the defeat, and the fact that it has been 17 years since the Espanyol team last beat Barcelona, ​​their fans left with their heads held high, proud of their team and frustrated because they were closer than ever to achieving it.

From the outset, Barça struggled to dictate the tempo of the game; without Pedri, who was reluctant to start, everything is much more difficult. However, Lamine Yamal was in the starting eleven, having missed Thursday's training session due to illness. Even so, Espanyol's high press and organization, one of the great strengths of the league's surprise package, didn't help the undisputed league leaders, who were forced to look for openings in the middle to hurt Manolo González's men, who were almost invincible with crosses. Leandro Cabrera and Fernando Calero were constantly clearing balls, and Roberto Fernández, as always, battled for them. The Andalusian striker had a golden opportunity to put Espanyol ahead. The man from Puente Genil received a magnificent through ball from Edu Expósito and, having outpaced Pau Cubarsí, found himself one-on-one with Joan Garcia in the middle of the box. Already inside the area, looking tired, he shot with little power, and the goalkeeper from Sallent, who was booed every time he was called into action, easily parried the ball away. A serious warning from the home side, who had a very clear game plan: steal the ball and exploit the space behind the Barcelona defenders. Espanyol has been perfecting this recipe for a long time.

Joan Garcia's derby

Lamine Yamal responded with a solo effort that nearly made it 0-1. The Rocafonda native, in one of his trademark diagonal runs, executed a roulette turn on the edge of the box and fired a shot towards the far post with a twist. His effort went just wide of Marko Dmitrovic's top corner, the last goalkeeper in La Liga to keep a clean sheet against FC Barcelona – it was in a Barça 0-1 Leganés victory in December 2014.

But Joan Garcia wanted to steal the spotlight from his Serbian counterpart and, immediately after, immediately after, immediately after; Expósito opened up play for Carlos Romero, and the Valencian laid it off perfectly for the iconic Pere Milla, who headed it point-blank and, as the 36,283 spectators gathered at Cornellà-El Prat – the fifth-best attendance in the stadium's history – shook their heads with an extraordinary save. One of the saves of the season. No Espanyol fan, accustomed to seeing them week after week, was surprised by the intervention of the player from Bages, the hero of a Barça side short-circuited by the Pericos' tactics. Hansi Flick wasn't entirely convinced, and at halftime he substituted the Englishman Marcus Rashford, who had been invisible in the first half, with Fermín López. The player from Huelva moved Raphinha, ineffective as an attacking midfielder, to the wing, intending to solve his team's problems in the final third. However, the first chance after the restart fell to Pere Milla, who fired a free kick over Joan Garcia's crossbar. The other Garcia of the derby, the referee from Maresme. Victor Garcia VerduraThe first Catalan referee to officiate a Barcelona derby since 1947, and the one who broke the territoriality rule of the Technical Committee of Referees, went largely unnoticed; so much so that he didn't show his first yellow card until the 75th minute. In a tight match like yesterday's, strategy is a valuable asset; even more so when Espanyol and FC Barcelona are the two teams in La Liga that score the most goals from set pieces (11). Jules Kounde almost made it 12 from a corner, but his header, inside the six-yard box, went straight into the hands of Dmitrovic, who also made a crucial save from an Eric Garcia shot minutes later. It was the prelude to another miracle from Joan Garcia, who with his fingertips snatched the ball from Roberto as he tried to dribble past him near the penalty spot.

And he repeated it, also with shots from the Andalusian and Carlos Romero, both powerless against the Catalan goalkeeper's reach. Beyond the 85th minute, Dani Olmo made good on his teammate's saves with a pass into the net, a chip into the top corner, after a quick Barça counter-attack led by Fermín López. Lewandowski, who had also come on as a substitute, finished it off by tapping in a back pass from the player from El Campillo, the catalyst for the victory of a pragmatic Barça side that further solidified their lead in La Liga with the win in Joan Garcia's derby.