Barcelona needed a dubious penalty decision six minutes before half-time to overcome city rivals Espanyol in the Catalan derby this evening.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic rifled home the spot-kick after Xavi had gone down far too easily in the area, and the Swede’s strike proved enough to give Pep Guardiola’s side all three points against a limited Espanyol outfit.
Barca dominated virtually from start to finish, but were missing their usual attacking verve in the absence of the injured Lionel Messi.
Guardiola’s side were otherwise full-strength for the derby.