Messi draws blank again but Barca gets derby win
Print Edition
Barcelona extended its near-perfect start to the season when Alexis Sanchez tapped in at the far post from Neymar’s clever assist to seal a 1-0 win at home to city rival Espanyol in La Liga on Friday.
The biggest surprise of the night was that Barcelona’s World Player of the Year Lionel Messi failed to score for a fourth straight league match in which he played the full 90 minutes, the Argentina forward’s worst run in almost six years.
Victory in the Catalan derby, the 21st consecutive league triumph for the champion at the Nou Camp going back to last season, put Barcelona four points clear of Atletico Madrid with 34 out of a possible 36 after 12 matches. The only game it failed to win was a 0-0 draw at Osasuna on October 19.
Atletico hosts Athletic Bilbao today after Real Madrid, five points behind in third place, visits Rayo Vallecano yesterday.
In-form forward Alexis, who scored brilliantly in last week’s 2-1 ‘Clasico’ win at home to Real, grabbed his seventh league goal of the season in a match against eighth-placed Espanyol that Barcelona dominated without creating many chances.
Brazil forward Neymar somehow managed to thread a cross from the left through the legs of two defenders after 68 minutes and Alexis pounced to earn his side victory.
“It was a very tough, physical match for us,” Alexis told Canal Plus TV. “We are going home satisfied because they were three very important points.
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