Xavi already said it and now he is Flick's darling: the hot notes of the derby

BarcelonaBarça is now close to winning the League with a nine-point lead over Real Madrid after beating Espanyol (4-1) in a derby in which the white-and-blues did not give up despite the good first half from the blaugranas. Below are the hot takes from the derby.

Gavi, the soul of the team. Not even five minutes had passed when Gavi, after fighting for a loose ball and forcing a throw-in, raised his arms high, spurring on the fans. Few players live this sport with the same passion as him, and few footballers feel the derby like he does. His energy is contagious. After demanding the support of a fanbase that had a great time after the defeat against Atlètic, it was Lamine who rallied them. Both shone in a match in which Gavi - who played as a false left winger - started again almost a year after the last time (May 25, 2025). He is one of the footballers Flick cares about the most: for example, he attended the pre-derby photo with his jersey. Xavi already said it: "He is the soul of the team." The fans chanted his name.

Ferran ends the ghosts. If Gavi felt like a starter again almost a year later, Ferran Torres saw the goal again after more than two months since the last time, against Elche, on January 31st, when he had scored his last goal. The forward from Foios, who had not started for four games, opened the scoring with a header and completed his brace by expertly finishing a delicious assist from Lamine Yamal. It was his 18th goal of the season. Here he left a slightly ugly scene when, after celebrating the goal, Lamine grabbed him to celebrate even more, and Ferran made a gesture to the fans with his hands, implying that he is criticized, but he acts as if he doesn't hear anything. Unnecessary. Let's focus on the fact that Barça is regaining firepower for the crucial match at the Metropolitano.

Taking pride in homegrown players. The glory of the derby is also explained by homegrown players. Some, like the already mentioned Lamine or Gavi and many more (Cubarsí, Balde, who also played in Espanyol's youth academy)... have had their fill of playing derbies in lower categories. Also Pol Lozano or Omar, in the white-and-blue squad. Both teams continue to keep alive a brutal statistic that ARA had published in the preview. and that ARA had published in the preview. Since April 6, 2002, Barça has always had at least one homegrown footballer for all minutes. And Espanyol, in the entire 21st century, has only had two short spells (against Elche, 11/18/23 and against Alavés, 1/30/26) without anyone from the academy on the pitch. Furthermore, Barça this season even started with a lineup of nine Catalans -Joan, Eric, Cubarsí, Gerard, Balde, Casadó, Bernal, Olmo and Lamine- on matchday 14.