• Source:JND
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Barcelona solidified their position atop the La Liga standings with a convincing 3-1 victory over Espanyol in the highly anticipated Catalan derby on Sunday.

The triumph was fueled by a sensational first-half display, spearheaded by Dani Olmo's brilliant double and complemented by Raphinha's clinical finish.

Barcelona's 3-1 win over Espanyol extended their lead at the top of the La Liga table, opening up a nine-point gap over arch-rivals Real Madrid.

However, Real Madrid's absence from action this weekend was due to unfortunate circumstances, as their scheduled match away to Valencia was postponed due to the severe floods affecting the region.

Meanwhile, Espanyol's defeat left them languishing in 17th position, precariously perched just a single point above the relegation zone.

Barcelona dominated possession from the outset and Olmo was busy in the first half, scoring two sublime goals after finding space in and around the box, while Raphinha also scored to give the hosts a 3-0 lead at the break.

After VAR disallowed two Espanyol goals for offside, they finally beat the offside trap when Javi Puado scored to deny Barcelona another clean sheet but the home side took the three points and claimed bragging rights once again.

(Inputs from Reuters)