Barcelona vs. Eibar: Winners and Losers from La Liga
Barcelona moved level on points with Real Madrid at the top of the Primera Division table thanks to a 3-1 win over Eibar on Sunday.
Luis Suarez was the hero for Barca, the former Liverpool striker scoring a hat-trick after Eibar had taken a shock lead.
Borja Baston put the visitors ahead in the 10th minute at the Camp Nou, slotting home a rebound to grab his sixth goal in his last five La Liga games.
However, Barcelona were level by the break thanks to a header from Suarez. He then put his side ahead early in the second half, firing home with his right foot.
His third came in the 85th minute, not long after team-mate Javier Mascherano had been shown a straight red card for dissent.
Here Bleacher Report picks out the winners and losers from Sunday's game.
Winner: Luis Suarez
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Exactly a year on from his debut for the club, Luis Suarez underlined his importance to Barcelona with all three goals against Eibar.
The Uruguay international netted the second La Liga hat-trick of his career, and his first in front of the home fans at the Camp Nou, according to OptaJose.
He was in the right place to head home Sandro's volleyed cross to make it 1-1 in the first half, then finished off Neymar's square pass to put the home side in front shortly after the break.
Suarez's third goal, however, was the pick of the bunch.
Picked out by Neymar, the striker controlled the Brazilian's lofted pass on his chest before rifling a right-foot shot into the bottom-left corner of the goal.
Barca manager Luis Enrique was full of praise for Suarez after the game.
He said at his post-match news conference, per Barcastuff on Twitter, "Suarez is an irreplaceable player, even if he doesn't score, because he gives so much to the team."
Loser: Javier Mascherano
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Javier Mascherano's red card could prove costly for Barcelona in the long run.
The midfielder was dismissed in the 83rd minute of the game after saying something disrespectful within earshot of the referee, per Matthew Rogerson of Goal.
Although it didn't make a difference to the final outcome against Eibar, Barcelona may have to do without Mascherano in domestic action for the foreseeable future.
His loose lips could rule him out of the clash with Real Madrid on November 21, per BlancoStats on Twitter, "Mascherano could be punished for four matches and would miss El Clasico at the Bernabeu."
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique said in his post-match news conference, per the club's official website, "It would be terrible to lose him [Mascherano] for several games, but they should look at whether these expressions are spoken into air or with eye contact."
Winner: Borja Baston
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For a brief period, Borja Baston's goal gave Eibar hope of securing a famous victory over Barcelona.
The forward—on loan from Atletico Madrid—was in the right place to fire home a rebound after team-mate Keko had been denied by home goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
With the right side of the net unguarded as Bravo was caught off his line, Borja hit a first-time shot into the large open space, continuing his recent La Liga hot streak.
He has only played once for his parent club, as David Cartlidge pointed out on Twitter, "Borja Baston. Suffered an ACL injury at 17-years-old on his Atleti debut. Deserves a moment like scoring at Camp Nou."
While he is not required in Madrid, Eibar must be delighted to have the 23-year-old in their ranks this season.
Loser: Barcelona's Defence
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Barcelona have no issue scoring goals. They do, though, have a problem keeping them out at the other end of the field.
Per WhoScored.com, Luis Enrique's side have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last seven league outings.
It is a far cry from their record at the start of last season—Barca began the previous campaign with a club-record eight successive clean sheets in domestic action.
In contrast, they have already let in 12 goals in nine La Liga matches this year.
They have not managed to stop opponents from scoring in a league game since August 29, when they defeated Malaga 1-0 at home.
Winner: Neymar
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Neymar may not have scored, but he was still a huge factor in Barcelona's come-from-behind triumph.
The Brazilian set up Luis Suarez's second and third goals, teeing up his team-mate with clever passes.
According to The Catalan Giant on Twitter, "Neymar has been directly involved in 10 goals (five goals, five assists) in his last four games. Stepping up his game to make up for Leo's absence."
Along with Suarez, Neymar has really stepped up to fill the sizeable void left by the absence of Lionel Messi.
He came in for some rough treatment at times from the Eibar defenders, though his reaction to a tussle with Eddy Israfilov in the closing stages saw him pick up an unnecessary yellow card.
Loser: Marc Bartra
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Marc Bartra was at fault for Eibar's early goal, as he was guilty of losing possession deep inside his own half.
Journalist Dermot Corrigan pointed the finger of firmly blame at the defender on Twitter, "Super move by Eibar and beautiful confident finish by Borja Baston. But Barca back-line all over the place, and not good at all from Bartra."
Bartra's error did not cost his team in the long run, as Luis Suarez's treble saw them come out on top.
However, the centre-back wasn't on the field by the time his team-mate made it 3-1.
Although Batra had gone some way to making amends for his error by clearing off his own line in the first half, manager Luis Enrique opted to replace him with Jeremy Mathieu just before the hour mark.
