Eibar vs. Barcelona: Score and Reaction from 2017 La Liga Match
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar inspired Barcelona to a 4-0 win over Eibar at the Ipurua Municipal Stadium on Sunday as the Blaugrana kept pace with Real Madrid and Sevilla in the La Liga title race.
An injury to Sergio Busquets early on disrupted the visitors' rhythm, although they eventually took the lead thanks to a pinpoint strike from his replacement, Denis Suarez, in the 31st minute.
Messi, who was sensational in the first period, grabbed his goal five minutes after the restart, before Luis Suarez put the game beyond any doubt with a third and Neymar slotted a fourth in injury time.
Barcelona moved back to within a point of Sevilla in second place following the win and are two points down on leaders Real Madrid, who have played a game fewer.
With Andres Iniesta missing Sunday's fixture with a calf injury, Barcelona boss Luis Enrique would have relied on the experience of Busquets in midfield. But his game ended after just nine minutes, with Gonzalo Escalante's tackle catching the Spain international heavily on the ankle.
As Ben Hayward of Goal noted, it was the kind of impact that could have caused a serious injury:
Naturally, the game took some time to find a flow after that setback. Eibar initially looked the more dangerous of the two sides, with Adrian testing Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the Barcelona goal. Messi then started to exert his influence on the contest, lofting a ball into the path of Luis Suarez, who could only fire over.
Eventually, it was a moment of class from the striker's namesake that opened the scoring for Barca after 30 minutes. Messi's shot from the edge of the box deflected back to Denis Suarez, who pinged a low shot into the bottom corner from 25 yards.
Per Kieran Canning of Agence France-Presse, a La Liga goal had been a long time coming for one of Barcelona's summer acquisitions:
In the final stages of the half, only the Blaugrana's profligacy prevented them from putting the match to bed. First, Messi magnificently played in Neymar, who scuffed his shot at goalkeeper Yoel. Then Luis Suarez struck the post with his chance.
As the Guardian's Sid Lowe noted at half-time, Barcelona were not making the most of Messi's creativity:
So perhaps it was little surprise that when a chance came his way in the 50th minute, the mercurial Barcelona No. 10 stuck it away.
Messi worked the ball out wide to Luis Suarez, who then returned the pass into the penalty area. From there, the Argentina international made a tricky finish look easy, grabbing his 15th goal of the season and netting for the seventh game in a row away from home.
Eibar dropped off after the concession of the second goal, and some slack play allowed Barca to score their third after 68 minutes. Luis Suarez quickly closed down Florian Lejeune, pinched the ball from him and then finished expertly at Yoel's near post.
Per WhoScored.com, even though he misses his fair share of opportunities, Luis Suarez always tends to have an impact in the final third:
With the game wrapped up, Luis Enrique made changes, and his team slowed down the rate at which they recycled possession of the ball. However, there was still time for one more goal, and the scorer was a popular one with the rest of the Barcelona players.
As the clock ticked down, the visitors put together a wonderful passing pattern to leave Neymar with plenty of time and space. The Brazilian picked his spot and finished with conviction.
Per Real Madrid TV's Phil Kitromilides, league goals have not been easy to come by for the 24-year-old:
Messi, in particular, was at his majestic best. With no Iniesta and no Busquets, there was even more responsibility on the forward to link play and create chances as well as score goals. But it was a role he assumed with distinction, and had his team-mates not been so wasteful, Eibar would have been on the end of a gargantuan hiding.
Although Real Madrid remain in control of the title race, the Blaugrana seem to be getting their act together again. With Messi and his fellow forwards in this form, they're capable of capitalising should either of the top two slip up.
Post-Match Reaction
After the game, Denis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic shared their delight on social media:
Meanwhile, the Barcelona boss insisted his side are well placed to battle for the title in the remaining weeks of the season:
.jpg?w=600 "Offseason Moves for Every Team 👉")
.png?w=600 "New NBA Mock Draft 📝")
