Barcelona striker Luis Suarez hit a double as they beat Espanyol 3-0 on Saturday night.

Suarez latched onto a stray backpass to put Barcelona ahead early in the second half.

Midfielder Ivan Rakitic made sure of the points with 15 minutes left when he slotted in on the break before Suarez rolled in a late third following more shambolic defending from the hosts.

"I think the victory is very fair after a very professional game on our part," said Barca coach Luis Enrique afterwards. "We knew that in the second-half we could pressure them more and it would open chances for us.

"We wore our opponent out.

"It's clear that both teams were very fresh in the first-half, there were no clear cut chances but in the second period we generated more."