Barcelona stay in touch with Real Madrid and send down rivals Espanyol down

Barcelona kept their faint title hopes alive and doomed Espanyol to relegation on Wednesday as Luis Suarez’s goal proved the winner in a pivotal Catalan derby at the top and bottom of La Liga.

A cagey contest at Camp Nou exploded into life for six frantic minutes at the start of the second half as Ansu Fati and Pol Lozano were sent off, leaving each side with 10 men before Suarez struck.

Suarez profitted after another superb contribution from a reinvigorated Antoine Griezmann, his backheel setting up Lionel Messi to shoot, with Suarez turning in the rebound.

This 1-0 victory was a far cry from the sparkling 4-1 win over Villarreal on Sunday but it moves Barca to within a point of Real Madrid, who play their game in hand at home to Alaves on Friday.

Espanyol, rooted to the bottom of the table, will be relegated. They sit 11 points adrift of safety with only three games left to play.