Barcelona moved nine points clear of Real Madrid in LaLiga after triumphing 4-1 over rivals Espanyol on Saturday.

Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal starred as Barcelona triumphed 4-1 over rivals Espanyol on Saturday, moving nine points clear of Real Madrid in LaLiga`s title race.

Ferran put the Blaugrana ahead after just nine minutes, meeting Yamal`s curling corner with an open header after a careless bit of goalkeeping from Marko Dmitrovic.

The duo then replicated the feat just over 15 minutes later on the counter as Yamal`s weighted through-ball picked out Ferran`s checked run, allowing the striker to deftly roll the ball beyond a helpless Dmitrovic.

Yamal came close to adding a third just six minutes later when his curling free-kick dipped up and over the Espanyol wall and onto the top netting, while Dmitrovic stood tall to deny a long-range piledriver from Eric Garcia.

Barcelona thought they finally had their third when Garcia met Yamal`s chipped cross with a simple pass for Ferran to fire home, but the goal was chalked off for offside against Garcia.

Espanyol rallied and pulled one back in the 56th minute, helped by some pedestrian defending inside the Barcelona box, which allowed an untroubled Pol Lozano to laser a low shot into the bottom left corner.

Chances fell few and far between from there before Barcelona added gloss to the scoreline late on, with Yamal getting on the scoresheet in the 87th minute with a simple tap-in after some clumsy play from Dmitrovic.

Substitute Marcus Rashford then applied the finishing touches, collecting an exceptional pass from Frenkie de Jong before firing a precise low drive into the bottom corner on the turn.

Data Debrief: Yamal breaks new ground once more

Even before his dazzling performance on the pitch, Yamal had already made history on Saturday.

At 18 years and 272 days, the Spaniard became the youngest player to reach 100 LaLiga appearances, surpassing Raul (19y 284d) and Iker Muniain (19y 293d).

Hansi Flick also made history, becoming just the second manager in the history of the Derbi Barceloni to win his first four matches in the league. The only other to do so was Helenio Herrera, who won his first five between 1958 and 1980.

In the end, Barcelona made their dominance count after posting 2.81 expected goals (xG), while Espanyol registered 1.17 xG of their own.

Torres: The Title is Not Decided Yet and We Must Continue Winning, the Fans Make the Difference

Spanish player, Ferran Torres, Barcelona striker, spoke about his team`s 4-1 victory over Espanyol in the Spanish League, praising the role of the fans and emphasizing the importance of continuing to achieve victories.

Torres said: `Today the stadium was like a cauldron, it was the match where we felt the stands were fuller than ever, the fans were with us, and it was a special day for them, and we were able to gift them the result.`

He continued: `Until we officially secure the title, nothing is decided yet, as anything can always happen, but all that depends on us is to win and collect the three points, and now we must think about the Champions League.`

He added: `In the end, it is clear that a striker is judged by goals, it is true that I went through a period without scoring, but I always believe in hard work, because it rewards you, and it comes to you when you are patient.`

He concluded his statements by saying: `There is always external noise around me, often negative and rarely positive, this bothers them, but I always focus on myself, on work and development, because sometimes things don`t go as we want, but the important thing is that the reason is not a lack of effort.`