Bengaluru, July 9: Luis Suarez struck the only goal of the match to become Barcelona's third top-scorer of all times as the Catalan giants kept up their pursuit of La Liga leaders Real Madrid by beating city rivals Espanyol 1-0 at home while also condemning their neighbours to relegation from the top flight.
Suarez's goal came in the 56th minute after he lashed a loose ball into the net for his 195th goal with Barcelona which took him past Hungarian Laszlo Kubala as the club's third top scorer of all time.
The Uruguayan now trails only the late Cesar, who netted 232 goals and Barcelona's record-holder Lionel Messi who has scored 630 for the club.
The goal came shortly after both sides had been reduced to 10 men in a frantic start to the second half.
Barcelona's teenage forward Ansu Fati was sent off for a reckless tackle five minutes after coming off the bench but Espanyol's numerical advantage lasted only three minutes as Pol Lozano was dismissed, also following a VAR review.
Barcelona, chasing a third consecutive La Liga title, are on 76 points after 35 games while Real Madrid are on top with 77.
Fixtures | Results | Points Table
Espanyol, one of Spain's most prestigious clubs, were relegated for the first time since winning promotion back to La Liga in 1994. They are bottom of the table on 24 points after 35 games.
Barcelona had produced one of their best performances of the season by hammering Villarreal 4-1 away, but they looked sluggish at an empty Camp Nou, which normally would have been in full voice on derby day.
Barcelona keep La Liga title hopes alive
Espanyol frustrated their more illustrious neighbours in the first half with a five-man defence and created the better chances.
Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to be aware to prevent his team-mate Clement Lenglet from scoring an own goal just before half-time and Espanyol's Didac Vila fired the loose ball against the post.
Barcelona finally found a way through with the help of their three forwards, as Antoine Griezmann raced to the byline and passed to Messi whose shot deflected into the path of Suarez as the Catalans closed the gap with leaders Real Madrid.
However, Real Madrid can restore their four-point advantage over Barcelona when they host Alaves on Friday (July 10).
(With inputs from Agencies)