Barca ease to victory in Catalan derby

The hosts went into the game with nothing to lose, with their illustrious opponents expected to sweep them away with their superior quality.

That certainly looked like it would be the case early on, with Barca holding onto the ball and dominating proceedings.

However, it soon showed that Girona are a dogged and well-drilled side that were not going to simply capitulate.

Aleix Vidal impressed as a winger and he showed intent from the off, getting in down the right after just four minutes, only to see Gorka Iraizoz keep out his low effort.

The hosts did have a few efforts of their own, Manchester City loanee Aleix Garcia saw a long-range effort deflected away for a corner before Douglas Luiz tested Ter Stegen with a strike from outside the box.

Lionel Messi suffered from deja vu when his free kick was kept out by a great save from Iraizoz, in almost exactly the same manner as he was denied by Vicente Guaita against Getafe.

Not that Messi and Barca were made to wait long before opening the scoring.

From the ensuing corner, Girona only cleared the ball as far as Jordi Alba on the edge of the box and his weak volley was scuffed into the bottom corner of his own net by Aday.

Mascherano had to be alert to nick the ball of Olunga as he shaped to shoot before Messi was twice denied the chance to make the most of promising openings by the offside flag.

The visitors were very much in control at this point though their final ball left something to be desired.

Iraizoz showed good awareness to come out and smother as Alba was found by a quick free kick from Messi, though the stopper was beaten just two minutes later as Ivan Rakitic’s effort from range flew just wide of the post via a slight deflection off Juanpe.

Paulinho rose highest to meet the ensuing corner but he flicked his effort wide under little pressure.

At the other end, Olunga headed high and wide of Ter Stegen’s goal as Barca went into the break ahead.

The break didn't seem to help the home side much though, as Girona fell further behind shortly after the restart.

Vidal exchanged passes with Suarez on the edge of the box and as the former got to the byline, he opted to cross low with a lovely back-heel. The ball found its way towards Suarez, who opted to dummy the ball right in front of Iraizoz, much to the surprise of the goalkeeper who could only turn the ball into his own net.

The hosts could have been forgiven for losing all hope at this point but they responded well, just seconds after going two down Doulas Luiz headed onto the roof of the net, though his next effort was more than a tad optimistic.

After being brought down by Rakitic in his own half, the Manchester City loanee tried to catch Ter Stegen off his line with a quickly-taken free kick but the German was alert to the danger and Luiz’s effort sailed harmlessly over the bar.

Girona’s big chance came just before the hour mark as Olunga found himself all alone at the back post from Aleix Garcia’s corner from the left, but the Kenyan could only head straight at Ter Stegen in the Barca goal.

From that point on girona’s hopes of getting back into the game looked shot and those fears were confirmed after 69 minutes as Luis Suarez finally broke his barren spell.

Sergi Roberto set the Uruguayan away down the left and the former Liverpool man made no mistake, slotting past Iraizoz to make it 3-0 to Barca.

The game turned into a glorified training exercise for Barca at this point, with Ernesto Valverde’s side content to keep the ball for long periods at a time.

Girona pushed for a consolation late on but were unable to find away past the Barcelona rearguard.

The win maintained Barca’s perfect start to the new league season and their place at the top of the La Liga table, with their attentions now turning to the trip to Lisbon to face Sporting in the Champions League on Wednesday.