Barcelona vs. Eibar: Score and Reaction from 2015 La Liga Match

Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick as Barcelona overcame a tough challenge from an in-form Eibar squad, winning their La Liga clash 3-1 at the Camp Nou.

Borja Baston gave the visitors a shock early lead, but Suarez pulled the Blaugrana level midway through the first half before adding two more goals in the second. Javier Mascherano was given a straight red card for dissent inside the final 10 minutes.

Eibar put up a good show at the Camp Nou and even had the better chances in the first half, but ultimately, Barcelona's class won the day. 

Before the start of the match, the Barcelona players came out wearing orange shirts as a tribute to club legend Johan Cruyff, who was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, according to BBC Sport.

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The hosts had a quick start to the match, and within minutes, Neymar had already nutmegged an Eibar defender. The Basques responded in kind, immediately targeting the Brazilian star with a number of rash tackles.

Eibar gave a strong showing early, defending deep in two rows and breaking on the counter at speed. After just 10 minutes, they took a shock lead when Marc Bartra clumsily lost the ball, and despite Claudio Bravo saving the initial shot, Borja was there to push home the rebound.

Per Squawka, the Catalans' defensive numbers have been shocking of late:

Per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan, Borja is having a dream start to his La Liga career:

Barcelona couldn't find an answer to Eibar's superb defensive tactics early, and when the official failed to award the hosts a penalty when Neymar got tangled up with Ander Capa in the box, the home crowd was furious.

One genius passing move changed the momentum of the match entirely, however. Sergio Busquets picked out Sandro Ramirez on the edge of the box, and he teed it up perfectly for Suarez, who nodded home the equaliser.

It was a beautiful goal, something Corrigan gladly acknowledged:

Fans thinking that goal would lead to an extended spell of dominance from the hosts and three or four more goals before half-time were sorely mistaken, however. Eibar played with the kind of vigor the Catalans aren't used to seeing from La Liga's smaller teams, and they more than held their own against the defending champions.

Simone Verdi came close to restoring the lead with a fantastic strike that swerved at the last second and hit the side netting, with Bravo looking on helplessly. Minutes later, Bartra had to clear a ball off the line after Keko had dinked the ball over Bravo before pushing the ball toward goal from a tricky angle.

Neymar was the main man for the hosts, but compared to his superb outing against Rayo Vallecano, he seemed to be lacking on Sunday. The Brazilian took far too long on the ball, and with Eibar defending with numbers, a faster circulation was needed.

At half-time, Corrigan was impressed with the visitors, who actually had the better chances:

The Catalans simply weren't good enough during the first half, but they seemed determined to change that after the break and got off to a perfect start. Just three minutes into the half, Neymar cut inside and made mincemeat of a handful defenders before laying the ball off to Suarez, who calmly slotted it home to give Barca the lead.

While Suarez got the goal, it wouldn't have happened without Neymar's darting run. Football journalist Graham Hunter loved his quick feet:

Ivan Rakitic got booked for a tackle on Verdi almost immediately after, and, unfortunately for the young Italian, the tackle seemed to have lasting damage, as he was forced to come off minutes later.

Barcelona brought down the tempo after Suarez's second goal, knowing Eibar would have to open up sooner or later to chase an equaliser. The Basques started getting more aggressive, and Neymar bore the brunt of their tackles.

One of those fouls saw Rakitic come very close to adding a third goal, curling the resulting free-kick just wide of the goal. 

Meanwhile, substitute Jeremy Mathieu was having a monster match, and Sport English were almost upset the defender didn't get the chance to take the free-kick:

Eibar started to push forward, and their bid to find a late equaliser was given a massive boost when Mascherano was given a straight red card inside the final 10 minutes. The Argentina international seemed to say something to the official as he walked past him, and out of nowhere, he was sent off.

La Liga blogger Rafael Hernandez couldn't believe it:

Suarez responded to the setback in fantastic fashion, however, chesting down a cross at the back post and completing his hat-trick with a hard strike. The Catalans played out the match from there, holding possession until the final whistle. Incredibly, the official found a way to hand bookings to both Neymar and Gerard Pique for late incidents, before finally ending the match.

It wasn't a great showing from the defending La Liga champions, but they ultimately got the job done thanks to a couple of great individual performances and a superb cameo from Mathieu. Based on the whole match, the win was undoubtedly deserved.

Barcelona will travel to Getafe in Week 10 for their next match, with Mascherano certain to miss that trip and possibly several more matches. Eibar will take courage from their strong showing at the Camp Nou when they play Rayo Vallecano.

Post-Match Reaction

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique gave Suarez some high praise after the match, via Barcastuff:

"

Luis Enrique: "Suarez is an irreplaceable player, even if he doesn't score, because he gives so much to the team." #fcblive

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) October 25, 2015"

He also addressed Mascherano's red card, making a subtle reference to the official's refusal to punish Eibar for their repeated attacks on Neymar:

"

Luis Enrique: "Tougher sanctions for protest than for fouls? Well, today is a perfect example of that. We're getting used to it." #fcblive

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) October 25, 2015"

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