FC Barcelona emerge as the victors in a historic clash against RCD Espanyol, which has now crowned La Blaugrana as La Liga champions. In a game where the Catalans dominated from start to finish, there were some very applaudable performances from multiple players on the night.
Here is how the Barcelona players fared in this derby:
Player Ratings:
Marc Andre Ter Stegen: 8.0
An iron wall in between the goal, the German adds yet another impressive performance to his already impressive tally. Step-by-step the goalkeeper makes his way towards the all-time record current held by Paco Liano, with just two more clean sheets in his way, as he was unable to keep one this time around.
Alejandro Balde: 9.0
Scoring a goal and assisting the opener, Alejandro Balde had a massively clutch performance for Barcelona in this game. The young Spaniard is surely earning his right towards a potential golden boy shout the next time the award is presented.
Andreas Christensen: 7.5
Elite positional awareness and acute passing range are simply not enough praise for the Danish defender. Like his other compatriots in defense, he had a massively important performance for FC Barcelona.
Ronald Araujo: 8.5
Until Araujo’s substitution, Barcelona remained impenetrable. His absence and the consequent deterioration it brought to the defensive structure of the team is a testament to his unshakeable presence and undeniably rigid defensive abilities while he was on the field tonight.
Jules Kounde: 8.0
Grabbing a goal which marks his first in the league this season, Jules Kounde was as reliable in offense as he was in defense. Brilliant performance from the Frenchman.
Sergio Busquets: 7.5
The veteran may be soon to leave the club in the summer, but he surely finished his final season in style. Winning the 8th La Liga of his career, the captain will have this season as one to remember.
Frenkie De Jong: 8.0
The Dutchman oozed confidence and quality as he made his way through the Espanyol defense and managed to ensure Barcelona retained control throughout the game.
Pedri: 8.5
Simply unplayable with his brilliant touches in between the lines and his quick changes of tempo that confused and perplexed Espanyol all night long. Also managed to record his first assist of the La Liga season.
Gavi: 7.5
The youngster was quite simply at his own best today. Tenacious, energetic, and always willing to win the ball, Gavi was constantly a nuisance for Espanyol to deal with throughout the 90 minutes.
Robert Lewandowski: 8.5
With an immaculate brace against Espanyol, the forward’s predatory movement and elite positional awareness were both at full display as the Polish striker takes his goals tally for the season to 21, moving beyond Karim Benzema’s reach for the Pichichi award.
Raphinha: 8.0
The Brazilian had a performance to remember. With one assist to his name as well, the winger had a strong performance even apart from that throughout the game.
Substitutes:
Ousmane Dembele: 7.5
Looked dangerous throughout his time on the field, but unfortunately could not end up with any goal involvements as he ideally seemed to be aiming for.
Ansu Fati: 6.5
More or less just there, the youngster could not find much involvement in any regard during his time on the field.
Jordi Alba: 6.0
Lethargic in terms of work rate and poor with his crossing quality, the veteran was frustrating to watch while he was on the field following his substitution.
Franck Kessie: N/A
Not enough time or influence to warrant a rating.
Marcos Alonso: 5.0
The Spaniard was present in both chances for Espanyol which resulted in their two goals during the game. Possibly could have done better in terms of positioning.
