Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao: Winners and Losers from La Liga
Barcelona destroyed Athletic Club 6-0 at the Camp Nou on Sunday to move within two points of Atletico Madrid at the top of the Liga table with a game in hand to play.
Los Leones goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz was sent off in the third minute to pave the way for a thoroughly one-sided affair, with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Ivan Rakitic all netting before Luis Suarez completed a stunning hat-trick.
Here, Bleacher Report picks its winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Luis Suarez, Barcelona
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There were several more pivotal or individually important performances at the Camp Nou on Sunday than Luis Suarez’s, but his three-goal display means he’s impossible to leave out when discussing winners.
Hat-tricks should always be treasured, regardless of how they come, and although this one came against a beleaguered, exhausted 10-man Athletic Club, Suarez deserves plenty of praise. All of his finishes were assured and calm. He also assisted Neymar’s first goal and won the penalty which Lionel Messi converted to open the scoring.
Per B/R’s Karl Matchett, his three-goal haul means he’s averaging one goal per game in La Liga (18 in 18) now—an absolutely astonishing feat—and has six assists to boot.
Loser: Javier Eraso, Athletic Club
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Athletic Club were hit hard by injuries and suspensions ahead of this fixture and made five changes to the starting XI. One of the men to come into the team, Javier Eraso, was given a pivotal attacking position in lieu of the injured Raul Garcia but fluffed two major chances when it came down to it.
Make no mistake: Los Leones had very little chance of keeping up against a Barcelona side which was superior not just in quality, but in numbers too. However, taking chances at key moments can change the course of games.
Eraso missed two goals. One happened in the second minute with the score 0-0 after Gerard Pique’s horrible back pass. The other miss occurred later on after doing well to set himself one-on-one from six yards. As a result, nothing changed.
Winner: Aleix Vidal, Barcelona
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After a dominating Barcelona performance inclusive of six goals and 70 percent possession (per WhoScored.com), there are going to be plenty of good performers. But few in this side have as much of a need to succeed as Aleix Vidal.
The former Sevilla footballer, finally registered as a Barca player, started the last Liga fixture instead of Dani Alves and got the nod here again. He impressed greatly, running forward with confidence, picking out some beautiful passes and troubling goalkeeper Iago Herrerin a few times.
Alves has enjoyed an undisputed hold over the right-back position for a long time, but Vidal is a serious contender for it. You’re unlikely to see him usurp the Brazilian as early as 2016, but Vidal is already pushing for a regular role in this team.
Loser: Xabier Etxeita, Athletic Club
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Xabier Etxeita is a good player and has formed a good partnership with Athletic Club starlet Aymeric Laporte, but if you were watching him for the first time on Sunday, you might assume he’s one of the worst defenders in La Liga.
Put simply, he was all over the place at the Camp Nou. He continually lost his markers, directly contributed to most of Barcelona’s six goals in one negative way or another and should have been sent off for elbowing Luis Suarez in the face—an act the referee failed to see.
He set the chain off by losing out to Suarez in the build-up to the penalty and completed it by losing the Uruguayan in the box for his third headed strike.
Winner: Ivan Rakitic, Barcelona
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This was probably Ivan Rakitic’s best performance in the entire 2015-16 season. He ran the show in midfield, made brilliant runs and topped things off with a well-taken goal.
Aleix Vidal’s cutting passes were often targeted to him as he frequently broke between the lines and breached the box. He showed a few lovely touches to set up some shooting opportunities, floated a great cross in for Neymar to sky early and slotted home between Iago Herrerin’s legs just after the hour mark to make it 4-0.
With Sergi Roberto very much emerging as a consistent option and Arda Turan potentially able to play inside, Rakitic will rightly feel under pressure to perform. These sorts of showings help players keep their spots in a crowded, competitive midfield.
Loser: Gorka Iraizoz, Athletic Club
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Gorka Iraizoz received a red card and gave away a penalty in just the third minute against Barcelona on Sunday. Game plan out the window, 1-0 down early and with 10 men for 87 minutes, manager Ernesto Valverde will have been well within his rights to feel pretty damn annoyed.
It was very rash from Iraizoz, leaving his line after Luis Suarez had slipped in behind Xabier Etxeita and fouling him more than 15 yards from goal. With no defender covering (only Neymar lurking) a red card was the right call. Substitute Iago Herrerin’s first action was to concede a penalty.
Even with 11 men, this was going to be an extremely tough mission for Los Leones, but facing a goal deficit with one less man for 87 minutes? No chance.
Iraizoz wasted a week’s preparation for his team and notably ruined Iker Muniain’s first Liga start in 2015-16—the forward was sacrificed for Herrerin in the early substitution.
Winner: Neymar, Barcelona
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With apologies to the magnificent Andres Iniesta, who was a contender for our final winner slot, we simply must include Neymar, who destroyed Athletic Club’s right side for 90 straight minutes.
The Brazilian will believe he can win the 2016 Ballon d’Or and has begun proving it in the right way: taking full-backs apart and producing mesmerising tricks and flicks to set up chances.
Neymar's assist for Ivan Rakitic’s goal was genuinely incredible. He left one marker in his dust, jinked past another in the box and pulled it back for the Croatian to slot home.
In this sort of form, he’s irresistible, and poor-old Eneko Boveda stood no chance of keeping a lid on him.
