La Liga week 29
FC Barcelona won the derby against Espanyol 2-0 with two goals from Leo Messi. The game was pretty tied until the 70th minute when the Blaugrana were awarded a dangerous free-kick just next to the penalty area.
Leo Messi took it and scored an amazing Panenka free-kick, a surreal touch to lift the ball pass the wall. For the 10th consecutive time, the Argentine scored 40 goals in a season. This is a remarkable stat that speaks volume about his continuity and impact on the game with FC Barcelona.
https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/videos/1151829/highlights-barca-2–0-espanyol#t=0:48
With 9 games left, FC Barcelona have a strong 10-point lead over Atlético Madrid and should be crowned champions over the couple games or so. They led from start to finish this season and still in course to win Champions League and Copa del Rey as well.
Coach Valverde knew his team had to be patient:
“Espanyol were defensive, they did not give us much space. It was difficult to get through them. We had to have patience. We had to be careful they do not catch us on the counter-attack.
Once we had the first goal, it became easier than we scored the second and get the three points.”
