FC Barcelona beat Espanyol for derby win in La Liga

Madrid: La Liga leader FC Barcelona rode its luck before two late goals from Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski assured a 2-0 win away to local rivals Espanyol.

Barcelona’s other hero was goalkeeper Joan Garcia, who joined from Espanyol over the summer and was greeted with boos and whistles every time he touched the ball.

Garcia made a series of impressive saves to keep Espanyol at bay as the home side looked for a sixth consecutive league win with some aggressive football, creating six good chances, all of which were frustrated by its former goalkeeper.

Olmo put Barcelona ahead in the 86th minute with a curling shot into the top of the net, and Lewandowski made the points safe with a smart finish after work from Fermin Lopez in the last minute.

Villarreal moved back into third with a 3-1 away win over Elche.

The visitors quickly took a 2-0 lead with goals from Alberto Moleiro and Georges Mikautadze and although Martim Neto pulled a goal back after half an hour, Elche was unable to find a way back and Alfonso Pedraza sealed three points for Villarreal with seven minutes left to play.

Borja Iglesias scored twice as Celta Vigo sailed past struggling Valencia 4-1 at home in Saturday’s opening match.

Osasuna and Athletic Bilbao played out a 1-1 draw, with Ruben Garcia’s long-range free kick giving Osasuna a deserved first-half lead, before Gorka Guruzeta leveled with 20 minutes remaining as Athletic improved after the break. IANS

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