Barcelona 2-0 Espanyol: 3 things we learned | LaLiga 2018-19

#2 Barca attacked more in the second half

Ivan Rakitic in action on the night

Barca went all-out for a victory after the half-time. They took Arthur off and introduced Malcom to the attack. Coutinho was pushed back to the midfield. Rakitic, who took some good shots at the Espanyol goal, also had a decent match, and kept troubling the Espanyol defenders.

Malcom’s introduction meant that Barca went more frequently into the attack and had around 6-7 players in the final third at times. They also started playing a high line and had all 10 of their outfield players in the opposition half at times. Jordi Alba made some probing runs through the left flank.

Espanyol finally buckled under the intense pressure and conceded a free-kick at the edge of the penalty box, which led to the opening goal. However, Suarez was off-color today and could not contribute much to Barca’s victory.