Barcelona 4-1 Espanyol—Player Ratings

6. Had so little to do, and can’t be faulted for the Espanyol goal. Still, will be unhappy not to have earned a clean sheet.. GK. Barcelona. MARC ANDRE TER STEGEN

RB. Barcelona. SERGI ROBERTO. 6. Sergi Roberto continues to fill in well at right back. He’s by no means out of his depths as a midfielder pushed back and wide, but he still has a moment where he is uncomfortable or unaware of what he should be doing. Still, it didn’t hurt Barcelona, so no harm, no foul.

JAVIER MASCHERANO. 7. Mascherano was in the thick of things whenever Espanyol were attacking, although it wasn’t all that often. Still, he made some tackles, won some aerial duels, and passed well from the back. A solid day from the Argentine.. CB. Barcelona

6.5. Slightly less involved than his partner Mascherano, but Pique was his usual self—composed, intelligent, and strong when needed. He completed 97 percent of his passes in a fine performance.. CB. Barcelona. GERARD PIQUE

7.5. Alba’s presence was missed when he missed a chunk of time through injury this season, and he is always a positive player when on the pitch. He did his defensive duties, and contributed well going forward. Was the beneficiary of a brilliant Lionel Messi dribble and layoff, which the Spaniard finished well for Barcelona’s third goal.. LB. Barcelona. JORDI ALBA

6.5. Busquets was not at his best, but still did his job. His passing wasn’t as crisp as usual, but he picked up a knock in the first half, and playing through it may have affected his touch. Still, he managed to go nearly 75 minutes, and did a fine job connecting the back four to the forwards.. CDM. Barcelona. SERGIO BUSQUETS

Solid, unspectacular day for Suarez, who was replaced by Rafinha in the second half. In Ivan Rakitic’s role, he provided a good deal of running and industry, letting Busquets and Iniesta do much of the passing and link-up play. Suarez never put a foot wrong.. CM. Barcelona. DENIS SUAREZ. 6

ANDRES INIESTA. 8.5. If not for Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi’s exploits, Iniesta would have been a lock for man of the match. The maestro was back at it again, providing world class passes and linking up the attack in impressive fashion. Barcelona are such a different team with him on the pitch, and it has shown since his return from injury.. CM. Barcelona

LIONEL MESSI. 8.5. Messi displayed his usual brilliance on the ball, and displayed his ridiculous dribbling skills on the way to having his saved shot rebound to Luis Suarez for his second goal. Another lovely run had the ball fall to Jordi Alba, and then Messi capped off a great day with a wonderful run, one-two with Suarez and finish. Normal day at the office for the world’s best.. LW. Barcelona

9. Quite simply back to his best. Suarez’s two goals were of usual styles for the striker, one a great finish from an intelligent run, the second a true poacher’s goal. He ran ragged all match, and showed why he is one of the best strikers in the world. His lovely assist for Messi was just the icing on the cake.. ST. Barcelona. LUIS SUAREZ (MOTM)

7.5. Neymar went about his business as usual, with some flare and intelligence mixed with work rate. Though some of his efforts didn’t quite come off as planned, he did his part and helped pin Espanyol in their own defensive third for the majority of the match.. RW. Barcelona. NEYMAR

RAFINHA . 6.5. Rafinha came on for Denis Suarez to add a little more attacking edge to Barcelona’s game, and did a solid job. He didn’t get on the scoresheet, and won’t be recognized in the way Suarez and Messi will, but his presence certainly didn’t hurt the winners.. CM. Barcelona

Barcelona. SAMUEL UMTITI. 6. Umtiti came on for Busquets to shore up the match, and make sure the defense didn’t leak. Though Espanyol scored immediately after his introduction, Umtiti did fine for himself.. CB

Barcelona. LUIS ENRIQUE. 9. It’s easy when guys like Iniesta, Messi and Suarez are doing what they always do, but Enrique got it right with his setup in the derby. He put a team on the pitch that can dominate anyone in the world, and they did just that.. Manager