Barcelona took care of business on Sunday afternoon at the Camp Nou, disposing of derby rivals Espanyol 3-1 in a match that was far more exciting in the first half than in the second.
Here are the player ratings as the best team in La Liga extended their lead over Real Madrid at the top with another hard-fought win over their local rivals.
GK Inaki Pena, 6.5: An assured performance in goal. Didn’t have much to do in this one but was good when sweeping to protect the high line and made a couple of nifty saves. He could do nothing about Espanyol’s goal.
LB Alejandro Balde, 5.0: Credit for the “assist” with an easy, tapped pass to Dani Olmo in the middle of the pitch. Otherwise a nondescript game for the starting left back, who hasn’t looked like the player he was in the 2022/23 season.
CB Inigo Martinez, 8.0: Attempted well over 100 passes on this day and completed well over 90 percent of them. Inigo Martinez has been world-class this season and should be on everyone’s shortlist as one of the best center backs in the world for 2024/25.
He’ll probably never get that credit from the mainstream, but at least Barcelona fans know that the Basque star is vital to their success. Martinez put out fires, read the game superbly, and didn’t put a foot wrong for the Blaugrana in their derby win.
CB Pau Cubarsi, 8.0: Cubarsi plays the game like a 30-year-old veteran. The young man doesn’t even have to make an intervention defensively because his marking and positioning off the ball are so astute.
On the ball, Cubarsi is even better than Martinez at passing, as he completed around 98 percent of his own 100+ attempts, ruling the roost like he was a prime No. 6 dictating play.
RB Hector Fort, 5.0: Teased a couple of decent deliveries in the first half hour but faded badly later in the game with some puzzling decisions and technical failures. Fort is very promising but still a long way away from being the finished product at 18 years old.
CM Pedri, 6.0: Although he was accurate with his passing and active defensively in midfield, it was only an average day at the office for Pedri, whose touch in the final third let him down. He didn’t make any sort of an impact in the attack for Barcelona against a well-organized Espanyol defense.
CM Marc Casado, 8.0: The new midfield metronome for Barcelona, Marc Casado had a beyond brilliant assist for Raphinha to make it 2-0, finding the tiniest of windows to hit the former Leeds star in stride in the heart of the box.
In addition to the assist, he led Barcelona with three tackles despite playing less than an hour of the match, and he completed nearly 97 percent of his passes in another close to perfect defensive midfield display.
AM Dani Olmo, 8.0: Two quality goals and a whole lot of brilliant movement off the ball in another display typical of the Spanish international. Olmo is one of the best playmakers in the world, and he’s found another level since joining forces with Hansi Flick at Barcelona.
You could tell without Olmo’s movement in the hole to create progressive passing lanes at the heart of the Espanyol defense, Barca were half as threatening in this derby.
LW Raphinha, 6.0: Showed plenty of heart again by finishing acrobatically in a tight space, as it was not easy to latch on to Casado’s deep ball, brilliant as it was struck.
Raphinha has been a Ballon d’Or candidate this season, but, in truth, he was less than spectacular despite the goal. His one-twos didn’t come off, as he lost possession too easily and didn’t truly threaten Espanyol in one-on-ones.
ST Robert Lewandowski, 6.5: Had no service and played a lot deeper than a striker usually does, as Lewandowski spent more time facilitating play to move forward for the wingers, especially Raphinha, and Olmo in the first half.
RW Lamine Yamal, 7.5: One of the best players on the pitch and easily Barca’s best in one-on-ones, Yamal created the opener with one of the assists of the season, hitting Olmo in stride in the heart of the box with a world-class trivela that he simply had no business even attempting. Olmo could not miss.
Although Yamal didn’t have his shooting boots in this one, he was unstoppable in tight spaces with a few highlight reel dribbles, including a nasty roulette in his own half in the opening minutes.
Yamal is the best player in the world right now, and the only people who disagree are either extremely biased or simply not paying any attention to La Liga.
