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| Player Ratings: Eibar 0-4 Barça |
Barcelona put up a good display on Sunday night to pick up a comprehensive 4-0 win away over Eibar at the Ipurua stadium to keep up the pace with Real Madrid at the summit of the table.
Goals from Denis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar ensured that Luis Enrique's team pick all three points in a difficult stadium. Here is how the team fared in the game.
EIBAR 0-4 BARÇA PLAYER RATINGS
MARC ANDRÉ TER STEGEN – 8.5
His best game for Barça this season and it wasn't just his fantastic saves to deny Pedro León and Adrian that made it special, but also his composure and distribution. He made the team feel very safe and commanded his area like never before. Impressive.
SERGI ROBERTO – 6.0
Sergi is going through a poor run of form after being great at the beginning of the season. Played without much confidence and was not very involved, replaced by Vidal in the second half.
SAMUEL UMTITI – 7.5
A great performance from the frenchman who was deployed at RCB after Piqué was given rest. Passing was great as usual alhough he gave the ball away on occasions, was crucial in the air.
JEREMY MATHIEU – 7.0
Was surprisingly started by Lucho and he looked shaky at the start but improved as the game went on and he ended up having a decent performance, he was solid in that LCB position.
JORDI ALBA – 7.0
He was very active in plays, good in both attack and defence and despite not being spectacular, it's safe to say he's improved greatly from last season.
IVAN RAKITIC – 8.0
Wasn't very much active until Busquets went off and he moved to the defensive midfield position from right interior, he was really great in that role most especially defensively. Passing was fantastic too and he played with great relief.
SERGIO BUSQUETS – N/A
Was forced on a stretcher after ten minutes as he sprained his ankle after being badly tackled by Escalante. Replaced by Denis Suarez.
ARDA TURAN – 6.5
Started in place of the injured Iniesta. A decent performance overall, but he was more physical than he was creative and he clearly is better as a winger.
LIONEL MESSI – 9.0
Man of the Match! Was the brain of the team. Was part of every attack and he created tonnes of chances from beautiful passes, forced Yoel into a five save from a free kick but eventually got his goal in the second half with a cool finish. A joy to watch.
LUIS SUÁREZ – 8.0
Improved performance from his recent once. Did not give the Eibar defence space to breathe for a minute. Had a chance shot wide in the first half before unluckily hitting the post at the stroke of half time. Fought hard and got his goal in the second, he created Messi's goal with a perfectly lobbed ball. Replaced by Paco Alcácer for the final 15 minutes.
NEYMAR – 7.5
Was not as active as in recent games but was still very dangerous, gave the ball away at times but he was magical on many occasions. Got his goal in stoppage time.
SUBSTITUTES…
DENIS SUAREZ – 7.0
Was not so special, but got the much needed opener for Barcelona through a fine low strike from outside the box.
ALEIX VIDAL – 7.0
Replaced Sergi Roberto in the second half and he did more, final balls were much better and he looked livelier. Got the assist for Neymar's goal with a perfect low cross.
PACO ALCÁCER – 6.5
Replaced Luis Suárez late on, did not do much except unselfishly allowing the ball to go past him for the Neymar goal.
LUIS ENRIQUE – 7.5
It was a shocking lineup but then his team prevailed at the end.
THE TEAM: 8.5
Good game overall although they started poorly. Defence, midfield and attack all did well.
