Cordoba vs. Barcelona: Score, Grades and Reaction from La Liga Fixture
An 8-0 victory at Cordoba on Saturday was enough for Barcelona to move five points clear of Real Madrid in La Liga's standings, with Los Merengues facing a difficult trip to Sevilla later in the day.
A Luis Suarez hat-tick helped guide Luis Enrique's side to a rampant victory over Spanish strugglers Cordoba, whose relegation to the second tier was confirmed thanks to this latest defeat, per Soccer Gods:
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Although the scoreline tells the story of a one-sided affair, however, Barca's domination wasn't always so assured, and the travelling outfit were in fact made to wait by Cordoba.
The Catalan giants developed their typical grip on possession and a majority of the more fluent movements in front of goal, but it amounted to little more than scares for the opposition.
That was until Ivan Rakitic benefited from a wonderfully scooper Lionel Messi pass to open the scoring on the 42-minute mark, easing some of the Blaugrana's concerns.
Getting to half-time with a 1-0 deficit may have been a manageable task for the hosts, but Suarez notched his first of the fixture just seconds before the break to give Barcelona a two-goal cushion and cause to breathe:
Having scored barely a minute before the half-time whistle, Barca were evidently keen to resume that same sense of initiative in the second period, bagging in the 46th minute thanks to a Messi header.
Dani Alves provided the cross to tee up Messi for what Spanish newspaper Sport confirmed was a landmark goal for Enrique's side this season:
As the game progressed, Cordoba coach Jose Antonio Romero found it increasingly difficult to motivate his troops, with relegation looming and the unassailable threat of the league leaders peppering their goal.
What's more, conceding three goals in the space of six minutes was a bitter pill for Los Califas to swallow, descending from potential nuisances to out of depth all too swiftly.
The sun was shining in Andalusia, but Cordoba soaked up none of its gloss as they looked rusty and oh so far off the mark, barely managing to muster any kind of threat on Claudio Bravo's net.
It wasn't long before Suarez headed in his second of the match—almost a replica of Messi's with Alves again the supplier—before Gerard Pique headed in (again) to break a club record, according to Pedro Martin (via Barcastuff):
"Pique is the first Barcelona defender to score 5 Liga goals in a single season since Popescu in 1995/1996 #fcblvie [viaRT @pedritonumeros]
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) May 2, 2015"
It was at this point Barcelona's momentum became almost painful to watch, but Enrique's side rightfully need to take any and all opportunities they now have in amassing an even better goal difference.
Suarez spearheaded the assault in achieving just that, and after watching Messi double his tally before Neymar converted from 12 yards, he finally completed his own hat-trick, sending Barca's official Twitter account into hysterics:
Even given the gulf between the two sides, this was a result that perhaps demonstrated just how great a distance in quality there is between Spain's elite and their lesser peers.
However, Barcelona and Enrique will take all the more pleasure in embarrassing Cordoba, taking their league goal haul for the season to 105, superior to that of even Real Madrid.
La Liga's leaders can now only hope Los Blancos slip up on their trip to Seville later in the day, with only three games remaining in the campaign.
That being said, however temporary their five-point advantage may be, the 22-time La Liga winners will merely lap up the relief of knowing they're one step closer to crown No. 23.
Player Ratings
Luis Suarez: A
Now providing the finishing figures that made him such a revered figure on Merseyside, Suarez is looking more and more like his predatory self the further along he comes in his Barcelona initiation.
As pointed out by Bleacher Report UK, the Uruguayan is in fearsome form this calendar year, too, even surpassing the scoring numbers of a certain Real Madrid talisman (goal count now at 21):
More so than his individual talent on the ball, Suarez is the lurking totem Barca's wide weapons have needed for some time and combined particularly well with Alves in devastating Cordoba's defence.
Dani Alves: A
Alves gets the nod as one of Barca's other instrumental icons on Saturday, showing the club's fans just why he could yet remain an extremely valuable figure at the Camp Nou.
Granted, the opposition up against him wasn't the sternest he'll face this year, but this was the Brazilian at his provisional finest, Ben McAleer of WhoScored.com showing what a creative asset Alves has been in recent years:
Cordoba were helpless but to watch as the full-back bombarded their flanks and was always looking to threaten either directly or through his target men, with left-back Edimar enduring a difficult day at the office as a result.
Post-Match Reaction
In the wake of what was a frustrating fixture to begin with, Barca boss Enrique confirmed to the media that he too grew weary in the first half as his team struggled to break the deadlock.
Via Barcastuff, Enrique commented on the ball "not wanting to go in" prior to Rakitic's opener a few minutes before the break, although his side came good in the second half to punish their opponents:
"Luis Enrique: "It's a big result, but until 40th minute it looked like the ball didn't want to go in and that it'd be one of those games..."
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) May 2, 2015"
And oh how Barcelona punished Cordoba, sinking no fewer than six second-half goals en route to a victory that now gives their title bid a most deserved edge.
Enrique also replied to suggestions the heat may have had an inverse impact on his players and looked to quell any fears of exhaustion:
"Luis Enrique: "Players could deal with the heat? They drank more than usual. It won't affect them ahead of the next game." #fcblive
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) May 2, 2015"
The Barca boss has been relatively fortunate in staving off any issues of fatigue among his players, noting that Jordi Alba is perfectly fine, having looked as though he picked up some sort of knock:
"Luis Enrique: "Alba seemed to have discomfort at the end of the game? Nothing important, the typical knock." #fcblive
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) May 2, 2015"
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