Laga Pertama Dibawah Pelatih Xavi, Barcelona vs Espanyol Menang Tipis 1-0

JAKARTA - Barcelona started Xavi's coaching era with a narrow 1-0 win in the Catalan derby against Espanyol in the 14th jornada of the Spanish League, at Camp Nou on Sunday morning WIB, according to the official LaLiga website.

Barca's winning goal was scored by a Memphis Depay penalty in the second half.

These three points make Barca move up to the sixth place with 20 points, eight points adrift of Sevilla who top the standings.

Barcelona dominated possession and immediately created a chance in the 4th minute with a Memphis volley. However, the Dutch striker's efforts can still be pushed over by goalkeeper Diego Lopez.

Barcelona continued to dominate the match, but they struggled to penetrate Espanyol's tight defense.

In the 26th minute, Memphis fired a shot that was blocked by an Espanyol defender and the ball threw up and was snatched up again by him. However, Lopes is still easy to catch the ball.

Two minutes later, Memphis again threatened Espanyol with a shot. However, the ball can still be secured by Lopez.

A minute before halftime, Espanyol had a chance to take the lead had Marc-Andre Ter Stegen not parried Yangel Herrera's kick. The 0-0 score lasted until the first half was over.

Barcelona started the second half positively after getting a golden opportunity to score.

Quoted from ANTARA, after only three minutes of running, Barcelona received a penalty after Memphis was brought down by Leandro Cabrera in the struggle for the ball in the penalty box.

Memphis, who advanced as executor, successfully outwit Lopez to the right and put Barcelona leading 1-0.

In the 61st minute, Espanyol threatened the Barcelona goal with Adria Pedrosa's header, but his effort went wide.

Espanyol played a little aggressive and pressured Barcelona to equalize.

In the 68th minute, Ter Stegen had to work hard to secure the net from Adrian Embarba's free-kick. A minute later Raul De Tomas threatened with his shot, which went wide.

De Tomas got another chance to equalize the score in the 81st minute. A free-kick was awarded to Espanyol from close range, but De Tomas' execution still hit the left corner of the post.

Five minutes later, De Tomas again failed to equalize when his header headed towards the post. In the rest of the match, Espanyol continued to attack, but the 1-0 score for Barcelona lasted until the game was finished.