Thievy hat trick makes Espanyol win Copa Catalunya (3-0)

Tarragona (FCB).- The blue and whites started the game with four first team regulars on the field while Barça’s line-up solely featured reserves. Despite this the first half was still a tightly matched affair with flashes of brilliance from both sides. In the end Espanyol was able to retain the title with a 3-0 win, the star of the show being the hat-trick hero Thievy. The result means Espanyol and Barça have now each won this title six times.

Young guns

Of the 22 players that Pochettino and Eusebio started with, there were three for Espanyol and six from Barça who had played in the final of last season’s youth Copa del Rey competition, which Barça won 2-0. So, there was plenty of rivalry between these two city teams. Both sides were giving nothing away and the football was intense from start to finish. Thievy and Cristian Alfonso were both outstanding for Espanyol, while Deulofeu also shone in the Barcelona attack, but all three struggled to finish off moves. There was not one shot on target in the first half and the scoreless draw was a fair reflection of the way the play had gone.

Thievy pounces

Everything changed after the break. A lightning-quick Espanyol move culminated with Thievy deftly flicking the ball past Oier. Barça had barely been able to react before the Frenchman, of Cameroonian origin, had made it 2-0 by running rings around Armando with a terrific solo effort. The Espanyol fans were already celebrating the win, and Barça struggled to find a response. Thievy eventually made it three goals to none, making the win a certainty with less than a quarter of an hour to go. For Barcelona it had been an extremely tough night. For nine of the players, playing two competitive games in two days after coming back from a gruelling American tour was simply too much, and the lack of freshness showed.

THE DETAIL

The goals

1-0, Thievy (min 50)
2-0, Thievy (min 54)
3-0, Thievy (min 76)