Barcelona vs Espanyol, La Liga: Match Thread, Live Updates

SECOND HALF KICKOFF! Barcelona 3-0 Espanyol: Back underway in Montjuïc!

HALFTIME, Barcelona 3-0 Espanyol: A dominant opening period for Barça, who took control from the very beginning and had very little trouble creating chances and scoring goals against a poor Espanyol defense. The win is almost guaranteed, but another goal or two in the second half would surely be nice.

31’ GOAL!!!!!!! Barcelona 3-0 Espanyol (Olmo): IT’S THREE!!!!! Barça take a huge step towards the three points as Raphinha wins the ball high up the pitch and Alejandro Balde finds Olmo, who fires a rocket from the edge of the box into the bottom corner to double his tally on the afternoon!

27’ GOAL DISALLOWED: Jofre gets one back for Espanyol but the goal is ruled out for an offside on right-back Omar El Hilali in the buildup.

23’ GOAL!!!!!!! Barcelona 2-0 Espanyol (Raphinha): BARÇA DOUBLE THE LEAD!!!! Marc Casadó plays a wonderful ball over the top and Raphinha gets to it before the goalkeeper to lob it home!!!

12’ GOAL!!!!! Barcelona 1-0 Espanyol (Olmo): BARÇA TAKE THE LEAD!!! Lamine Yamal plays a SPECTACULAR pass into the box with the outside of his left foot to find the run of Dani Olmo, who beats the keeper and puts the home team in front!!!

KICKOFF! Barcelona 0-0 Espanyol: And we’re underway in Montjuïc!

WELCOME TO THE MONTJUÏC OLYMPIC STADIUM!!! The beautiful temporary home of the world’s greatest football club in the capital of Catalonia is the site of the first Barcelona Derby of the season between visitors Espanyol and leaders Barça, who look to open up a nine-point gap at the top of the table and get the better of their local rivals in their first meeting of the season. This should be fun, and you’re welcome to join us to follow and comment all the action. Vamos!

(Note: the comments will be opened only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)

BARCELONA

Starting XI: Peña; Fort, Cubarsí, Iñigo, Balde; Olmo, Casadó, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha (4-3-3)

Substitutes: Szczesny (GK), Astralaga (GK), Domínguez, Kounde, Martín, De Jong, Gavi, Fermín, Torre, Fati, Víctor

ESPANYOL

Starting XI: García; Tejero, El Hilali, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Romero; Král, Aguado, Bauza; Jofre, Puado (5-3-2)

Substitutes: Pacheco (GK), Fortuño (GK), Gómez, Veliz, Milla, Oliván, Cheddira, Cardona, Roca, Ünüvar, Almansa, Justin

Competition/Round: 2024-25 La Liga, Matchday 12

Date/Time: Sunday, November 3, 2024, 4.15pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 3.15pm GMT (UK), 10.15am ET, 7.15am PT (USA), 8.45pm IST (India)

Venue: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Montjuïc, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Referee: José Luis Munuera Montero

VAR: Jorge Figueroa Vázquez

On TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), SuperSport (Nigeria), Premier Sports 2 (UK), others

Online: ESPN+ (USA), LaLigaTV (UK), GXR World (India), DAZN (Spain), others

We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:

Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, watch the swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.

Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!