Suarez and Rakitic see Barca through Espanyol test to stay top


Soccer Football - Espanyol v Barcelona - Spanish La Liga Santander - RCDE stadium, in Cornella-El Prat (Barcelona), Spain - 29/04/2017. Barcelona's players celebrate a goal. REUTERS/Albert Gea

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Barcelona came through a testing local derby at Espanyol to win 3-0 and cling on to their slender lead at the top of La Liga thanks to two clinical finishes from Luis Suarez and a strike from Ivan Rakitic made by a vintage slalom run by Lionel Messi.

Suarez pounced on a disastrous backpass from Jose Manuel Jurado to break the deadlock in the 50th minute and Rakitic sealed the win in the 76th by side-footing home Messi's cutback after the Argentine had torn through the home defence.

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