Barcelona vs. Eibar: Winners and Losers from La Liga Game
Barcelona huffed and puffed and finally blew the Eibar defense to bits on Saturday, beating the promoted side 3-0 at Camp Nou and recording their eighth clean sheet of the Primera Division season.
Xavi Hernandez finally got the breakthrough the Catalan giants were desperate for on the stroke of the hour-mark, and Neymar and Lionel Messi scored in quick succession midway through the second half—just as it looked as though the guests might make things interesting.
With the victory, Barcelona remain atop La Liga heading into next weekend’s Clasico showdown with Real Madrid, who trail the leaders by four points after eight rounds.
Eibar stay mid-table with nine points.
Following are some of the winners and losers from the encounter.
Winner: Xavi Hernandez, Who Oozed Class at Camp Nou
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Xavi Hernandez hasn’t played as often in 2014-15 as in seasons past, but the 34-year-old was on the pitch for the full 90 minutes on Saturday and was key to Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Eibar.
In the 60th minute, with the two sides knotted in a scoreless draw, the pass-master slid the ball to Lionel Messi, ran into the goalmouth to receive the return and beat goalkeeper Xabi Irureta with an expertly taken finish.
At the final whistle, he had touched the ball 108 times and completed 95.6 percent of his passes, per WhoScored.
In his post-match press conference, Eibar manager Gaizka Garitano praised Xavi's performance, as per AS (via Football Espana).
"Xavi played well but it's not just him...Andres Iniesta, Neymar, Messi...with all that it's hard not to play well. I saw Barca pressing, running, hungry. They gave a good showing."
Loser: Ander Capa, Who Missed an Absolute Sitter
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Eibar had a chance to open the scoring late in the first half when Ander Capa raced in alone on goal.
Having rounded the onrushing Claudio Bravo, the striker should have scored when all he had to aim at was an empty net.
But despite being completely unchallenged, he could only hit the side-netting. It was the only shot he took in the match.
Winner: Neymar, Who Scored a Wonderful Volley
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Neymar was central to much of what Barcelona accomplished in the attacking third on Saturday. In the 72nd minute, he provided the measure of insurance his side needed.
Catching Dani Alves’ eye, the Brazil captain latched onto his countryman’s inch-perfect pass and thumped a wonderful volley into the back of the net.
Two minutes later, he picked up an assist on Lionel Messi’s goal.
Winner: Claudio Bravo, Who Kept Another Clean Sheet
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Claudio Bravo extended his clean-sheet record to start a season, blanking his eighth opponent on Saturday at Camp Nou.
Granted, he had only a pair of saves to make, but his stop on Saul’s well-placed effort shortly before the interval allowed Barcelona to go back down the tunnel with a draw instead of a deficit.
The 31-year-old has firmly entrenched himself as the club’s number-one goalkeeper—for now.
Loser: Pedro, Who Failed to Make an Impact
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Pedro’s struggles continued on Saturday, and it was noticeable that Barcelona’s attacking play was far more fluid following his substitution in the 71st minute.
The 27-year-old took just a pair of shots before his exit and didn’t trouble Xabi Irureta with either of them.
His replacement, Sandro Ramirez, made more of an impact in his 19-minute appearance at Camp Nou.
Winner: Lionel Messi, Who Scored His 250th La Liga Goal
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Lionel Messi is just two goals removed from becoming La Liga’s all-time leading goalscorer.
He got his 250th on Saturday and will go into next weekend’s Clasico hoping to set the record in Madrid.
In the 74th minute against Eibar, the Argentine maestro played a neat one-two with Neymar before slotting the ball into the back of the net from a tight angle at the near post.
Even if Messi gets the brace he needs at the Bernabeu, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique isn't of the belief that a win is absolutely vital to the teams' title aspirations.
"I don't think the game will be decisive," he told reporters, as per Football Espana. "We're going there to win as we always have done, especially lately, and we want to be better than Madrid."
