Espanyol 1 - FC Barcelona 5: The Catalan Derby Crowns An In-form Barca

I was impressed when Barcelona erased Real Madrid from the field of play with a 5-0 win. I wasn't surprised when they followed that up with a 5-0 victory over Real Sociedad, but it did confirm their superb form. Yet there is no greater proof of Barcelona's transcendent, world-beating football than their victory over in-town rival, Espanyol.

Don't let Espanyol's humble history and position in the league fool you - they play Barcelona tougher than anyone except Real. And in recent years they've given Barcelona more trouble than Real.

Going into the game, Barca and the Periquitos (parakeets - read one opinion on the name here) had played 76 league games with the Blue-and-Whites as the home team. 25 games resulted in wins for Espanyol. 25 resulted in ties and 26 saw Barca win.

Espanyol even gave Rijkaard's superb Barcelona team fits. They regularly dulled the brilliance of an in-form Ronaldinho and in 2007, their 2-1 victory so frustrated Rijkaard that he broke the plexiglass of the dugout bench!

Expectations were so high that Real players openly spoke of catching and passing Barca in the league tables after the Blaugrana fell to Espanyol.

Even Guardiola complimented Espanyol.

Hay equipos que te esperan y otros que te vienen a buscar. El Espanyol es de esos que te vienen a buscar. Su entrenador ha creado una predisposición my buena. Salen muy bien con el balón, sobre todo con Víctor Ruiz. Me siento muy cercano al juego que plantea, me gusta" "Pochettino es uno de los mejores entrenadores de la Liga, viéndole se aprende mucho."

There are teams that wait for you and other that come looking for you. Espanyol is one of the these that comes looking for you. Their coach has created a very good predisposition (attitude). They come out well with the ball, especially with Victor Ruiz. I feel very close to the game that they set forth. Pocchettino is one of the best coaches in the league, seeing him one learns a lot. 

So to see Barcelona not only win against Espanyol but thoroughly crush them was very impressive.

Clearly, Barcelona is firing on all cylinders. Pedro and Villa are finding the back of the net at will. Up front, Messi, Pedro and Villa understand each other. They're perfectly setting up the walls, runs into space, searching passes and powerful long-range shots that Barca needs to create to win. It's a thing of beauty.

As if the front 3 weren't good enough, the midfield, especially Xavi, is performing at an amazing level too. Xavi is not only unlocking defenses but scoring critical goals. His goal against Espanyol was an exclamation point on the amazing personal form he's been enjoying.

After this truly impressive victory, I'm beginning to wonder how many consecutive games Barcelona can string together with 5 or more goals. We'll find out. Until then, enjoy the video!

Barcelona 5 - Real Madrid 0: Historic Rout in Camp Nou

Wow! I never imagined this. I've never seen a 5-0 in El Clasico (that wasn't on video tape). Here are a few quick stats and thoughts until I have time to go over this in more depth.

• I could watch the first goal over and over again. Xavi passes to himself with his back heel in front of goal?!?! That has to be one of the coolest goals I've ever seen - from a guy known more for his passes than his definition in front of goal. In 100 tries, how many times would he be able to repeat that goal?
• How amazing was David Villa? He didn't just open up the left side of the field, he tore a hole in it. His assists and goals were amazing.
• Could Guardiola please play Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta together in midfield in every important game? That combination was amazing.
• Where was Madrid? I thought that they would press up high and hold more possession than they did (35% or so). They couldn't get the ball back, couldn't keep it when they had it and barely had an attack worth mentioning. They didn't even defend well.
• In their first 12 games, Madrid let in 6 goals. Against Barca, they let in 5 in one game!
• This is the worst that Jose Mourinho (Madrid's coach) has ever lost in his career! Previous black marks were a 1-4 loss to Man U and two 0-3s.
• How will the Real Madrid player's respond to this humiliation?
• The last time Barcelona beat Real Madrid was in the 93/94 season when Romario was their forward and Cruyff was Barca's coach.
• Josep Guardiola has coached Barcelona in 5 Clasicos - all 5 ended in Barcelona victories.
• Under Guardiola, Barcelona has outscored Madrid 16-2!
• 5-0 is called "una manita" in Spanish because you hold up 1 hand (mano is hand, manita, or little hand, is the diminutive of hand) and it has 5 fingers - get it?
• I've seen this reported as a Manotazo or a big hand! It was a big win.
• This could have been much worse. This easily could have been 6 or 7-0. Imagine!

Here's are the highlights, I'll be back with more tomorrow.