Barcelona needed a dubious penalty decision six minutes before
half-time to overcome city rivals Espanyol 1-0 in the Catalan derby.
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.
Espanyol, though, had a host of players sidelined, notably Raul
Tamudo, Ivan De La Pena and Moises Hurtado.
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