Barcelona 1-0 Espanyol: Suarez strike earns 3 points and relegates local rivals

Espanyol's 26-year stay in LaLiga is over after they suffered a 1-0 loss to Barcelona in a derby that saw both teams reduced to 10 men.

Match Reports

Luis Suarez's second-half strike consigned Barcelona's rivals Espanyol to a 1-0 defeat and relegation from LaLiga in a match that saw two red cards.

Espanyol knew anything but a derby victory at Camp Nou on Wednesday would relegate them to the second tier for the first time since 1994.

They were given hope when substitute Ansu Fati was sent off five minutes after coming on at the start of the second half, only for the numbers to be swiftly evened up when Pol Lozano was also dismissed.

La Liga Standings

Match Events

22' CLOSE! Messi's free-kick inches wide

Cabrera and Lozano combine to take out Griezmann. Barca have a free-kick in a right-sided position 25 yards from goal, and there is only one candidate to take it on. Messi's effort is decent, with the ball skimming the roof of the net on its way over.

25' CLOSE! Suarez's lob denied

Griezmann delays the pass to Suarez but when it arrives it is perfectly weighted. The angle is slightly against Suarez and his shot deflects off Calero for a corner.

50' Red Card! Fati sent off

BARCA DOWN TO 10! Both of Fati's feet are off the ground as he launches himself at Calero. He catches his opponent on the shin and is initially shown a yellow card, but the referee rightly changes that to a red when reviewing the incident.

53' Red Card! Pol Lozano sent off

ESPANYOL DOWN TO 10 MEN! Lozano follows through on Pique and is shown a yellow card. However, like the Fati decision a couple of minutes ago, the referee checks the pitchside monitor and changes his initial decision.

56' GOAL! Barcelona 1-0 Espanyol (Suarez)

Barca have the breakthrough and it is a well-worked goal for the hosts. Griezmann is played in down the left and back-heels the ball into the path of Messi, whose shot is blocked. Suarez gets on the end of the loose ball and guides it past Diego Lopez.

90' SAVE! Ter Stegen denies De Tomas' effort

Espanyol are putting Barcelona under some pressure late on. The ball drops to Darder on the edge of the box and his shot hits Vidal on the shoulder. The visitors want a penalty but the referee - having checked in with VAR - waves away those appeals.

Line-ups

Barcelona XI: Messi, Suarez, Pique, Rakitic, Alba, Busquets, Griezmann, Ter Stegen, Roberto, Lenglet, Semedo

Subs: Vidal, Neto, Braithwaite, Arthur, Pena, R. Araújo, Jorge Cuenca, Dani Morer, Monchu, Riqui Puig, Álex Collado, Fati

Espanyol XI: Diego Lopez, Espinosa, Dídac , Cabrera, D.López, Raúl de Tomás, Adri Embarba, Roca, Pol Lozano, Calero, Víctor Gomez

Subs: Victor Sanchez, Javi Lopez, Naldo, Wu Lei, Oier, Darder, Vargas, Campuzano, Pedrosa, Melendo, Melamed, Dani Villahermosa