Lionel Messi turns on the style again as Barcelona go five clear

Neymar scored the opener to continue his rich vein of form as Barcelona won a one-sided La Liga derby against Espanyol 2-0 despite the dismissal of Jordi Alba early in the second half on Saturday.

The Brazilian followed up his two goals against Paris St Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday by slotting home after Luis Suarez dummied an Alba cross inside the area to open the scoring after 17 minutes.

With Barca picking holes in the Espanyol defence, Lionel Messi doubled the lead from a tight angle after 25 minutes.

Alba was shown two yellow cards in succession after 53 minutes for a lengthy protest with the referee, but Espanyol failed to apply any concerted pressure on the Barca backline in the remainder of the match.

Xavi came on for the final three minutes for his 500th La Liga appearance for Barca and deep in stoppage time Espanyol's Hector Moreno was also sent off after being given a second yellow card.

Barca lead La Liga with 81 points, five more than Real Madrid who play Celta Vigo on Sunday. Later on Saturday, third-placed Atletico Madrid, on 69 points, take on Elche.