Barça 7-1 Espanyol: Late goal rush wins the derby

Espanyol may have scored first, and also defended their lead strongly, but Barça came to life in amazing fashion in the final minutes of this game and ended up claiming a monster win at the Estadi Johan Cruyff, with no fewer than seven goals to celebrate in the city derby.

There was much interest in the renewed rivalry between the sides, now that Espanyol are back in the top flight, and the blue-and-whites drew first blood from a set piece on 20 minutes.

It wasn't until the second half that Barça finally got things moving. Ewa Pajor came off the bench to head in on 58 minutes and then the final half hour saw a total switch in the dynamic. From not being able to score anything, Barça now couldn't stop scoring.

Alexia nabbed a quick brace to put Barça ahead and then further ahead. Clàudia Pina joined the party with 19 minutes remaining, Aitana then converted a Graham cross, and to finish off the day, Pajor grabbed two late ones to complete her hat-trick.

Considering where we had been with half an hour to go, and where we were when the final whistle blew, this was a quite remarkable final score. And the 100 per cent record in Liga F play continues.

MATCH STATS

BARÇA, 7
ESPANYOL, 1
 
Barça: Cata Coll, Jana Fernández, Mapi León (O. Batlle, min. 73), Irene Paredes, Esmee Brugts, Aitana Bonmatí, Keira Walsh (Patri, min. 65), Claudia Pina, Vicky López (Alexia, min. 45), Kika Nazareth (Pajor, min. 45), Fridolina Rolfö (Graham, min. 45)
 
Espanyol: Salvador, Simona, Amaia, Mar, Pablos, Paula, Carol, Ainoa, Guerra, Caracas, Aparicio
 
Goals: 0-1, Simona (min. 20); 1-1, Ewa Pajor (min. 58); 2-1, Alexia (min. 61); 3-1, Alexia (min. 64); 4-1, Pina (min. 74), 5-1, Aitana (min. 79); 6-1, Pajor (min. 85), 7-1 (Pajor, min. 87)

Referee: Elena Peláez Arnillas