Barcelona's goalkeeper was called into action again as Fernandez burst through on goal in the second half, with Garcia pushing the ball to safety as the forward tried to round him.

Flick praises ‘incredible keeper’ Garcia as Barcelona reign supreme against Espanyol

Xavi Hernandez started his reign as FC Barcelona coach with a 1-0 win in the city derby against Espanyol in the Camp Nou Stadium here. Although there were positive signs for Barca, they owed their win to a controversial penalty and some bad luck for their rivals, who saw two shots from striker Raul de Tomas hit the post.

La Liga: Controversial penalty gives Xavi debut win as Barca ride their luck vs Espanyol

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.

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