Late Double keep Barcelona’s extend winning streak to nine matches

Barcelona have started 2026 exactly as they ended 2025: with a hard-fought victory that extends their winning streak to nine matches. Hansi Flick’s side defeated city rivals Espanyol 2-0 at the RCDE Stadium, though the scoreline belies what was a difficult evening throughout for the league leaders.

The visitors were largely nullified by their city rivals, who created the better chances for much of the contest. In fact, Espanyol had several opportunities to break the deadlock, only to be thwarted by a familiar face in the Barcelona goal.

Goalkeeper Joan Garcia, taking on his former club for the first time since leaving last summer, produced an MVP performance to keep his side level. He made six saves in total, including a brilliant denial of Pere Milla and a crucial intervention to stop Roberto Fernandez from scoring into an empty net.

Garcia’s remarkable stops eventually came back to bite the home side as Barcelona finally went in front on 86 minutes. Fermin Lopez played in Dani Olmo following an excellent driving run, and the midfielder curled home a wonderful effort from the edge of the box.

Four minutes later, the points were sealed when Fermin again drove brilliantly into the penalty area before squaring to Robert Lewandowski. The Polish striker’s chipped effort went in off his own hip, ensuring the Blaugrana maintain their commanding position at the top of the table.