Barcelona 2-0 Espanyol: 5 Talking Points

#3 Naldo impressive, but Espanyol stifled in attack

Naldo had to remain defensively alert and was everywhere at the back against an ever-present Barca attack

Collectively, Espanyol defended well as a team. However, there was one player in particular who shone out beyond the rest and unsurprisingly, was involved in the Man of the Match voting too.

30-year-old Naldo. The central defender has sustained troublesome injuries and struggled for sustained minutes under his belt this season, but now started their last three fixtures and delivered his best against the league's top side on this occasion.

The match statistics speak for themselves: two aerial duels won, three tackles, four interceptions and 11 clearances to go alongside two blocked shots. The Brazilian was everywhere within the visitors' backline and needed to be too, stifling Luis Suarez while doing his utmost to keep Messi away from shooting distance where possible as part of a 5-3-2 formation.