Ferran delighted to silence external noise with derby day brace

Ferran Torres expressed his delight at being able to silence some of the "external noise" as he scored a brace in Barcelona's 4-1 win over rivals Espanyol.

The striker's first-half double was followed by goals from Lamine Yamal, who became the youngest player in LaLiga history to make 100 appearances (18 years, 272 days), and Marcus Rashford.

Only Yamal (15) has scored more goals for Barca in the Spanish top flight this season than Ferran (14), who scored for the first time since January 31 (against Elche).

It was also the former Manchester City man's first brace in the league since December 6, as he ended his scoring duck at a crucial time in the season.

Ferran revealed his celebration after scoring was aimed at those speaking negatively about him, despite the hard work he puts in.

"It's clear that a striker is always judged by goals. I hadn't scored in a while," said Ferran.

"I always believe in hard work and that it pays off.

"There's always external noise around me. A lot of bad stuff and less good stuff. It p***** them off.

"Sometimes things don't work out, but it's not for lack of work."

The victory moved Barca nine points clear of Real Madrid, who drew 1-1 with Girona on Friday, at the top of LaLiga.

The Blaugrana are aiming to win back-to-back league titles for the first time since doing so in 2017-18 and 2018-19, but Hansi Flick believes the title race is not over just yet.

"It's not done. We have to do our homework. We can't say it's already done," said the Barca boss.

"This attitude is wrong, and I won't accept it. Until it's all tied up and secure, we'll have to play our best football.

"The important thing is this team's mentality, and we'll keep at it."