Messi penalty hands Barcelona win in Catalan clash with Espanyol

Martino dedicates derby victory to injured goalkeeper Victor Valdes

Espanyol defenders Hector Moreno, second left, and Christian Stuani, right, converge on Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, centre, during their Primera Liga match at Cornella-El Prat Stadium in BarcelonShow more

Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino dedicated his side’s crucial 1-0 win away to Espanyol on Saturday in the Catalan derby to stricken goalkeeper Victor Valdes.

The Spanish international looks to have played his last game for the club after suffering cruciate ligament damage in Barca's 3-0 win over Celta Vigo on Wednesday.

Valdes had already signalled his intention to leave the club when his contract expires in June and will now also miss the World Cup in Brazil.

“I would like to on behalf of all of us – the technical team, players, staff – to send our support to Victor. We hope his recovery will be quick and obviously we dedicate this victory to him,” Martino said.

“This team is used to bad news, both on and off the pitch, for a while now and their way to respond is on the pitch as they have always done.”

Barca could not afford to be weighed down by the news of Valdes' injury as they travelled to local rivals Espanyol amid the tightest Primera Liga title race in years.

They ground out a vital win as Lionel Messi’s penalty kick 14 minutes from time was enough to hand them a second 1-0 win over Espanyol this season.

“Derbies are always derbies and you have to win them,” Martino said.

“It doesn’t come easy and they are always tight games, for that reason this was a risky away game for us and we value the three points even more.”

The Catalans now firmly have the destiny of the title in their own hands as they host Atletico Madrid on the final day of the season.

However, Martino is taking nothing for granted after suffering a shock defeat to relegation-threatened Valladolid earlier this month.

“What is left continues to be very difficult and very important,” he said. “We still have seven finals left between now and the end of the league season and in those games we will also have with us the memory of our defeat in Valladolid.”

It was a thrilling 4-3 win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu last weekend that put Barca right back in the fight for the title, and midfielder Sergio Busquets insists they are determined not to let their advantage slip.

“Real Madrid had the advantage, the Bernabeu was an ultimatum for us and we recovered. That is the mentality of the team and we need to continue like that,” he told Canal Plus.

“Now we are in a privileged position and we depend on ourselves. Hopefully that will be the way things continue until the final game against Atletico Madrid.”

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