Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba scored to see Barcelona ease to a tricky 2-0 win against in-form Eibar.
It was Suarez who opened the scoring early in the first half, a timely goal as it had been Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side that had begun brightly, and they could count themselves unlucky to fall behind.
The visitors were of course always dangerous, especially on the break, but the game was in the balance until its turning point, Fabian Orellana sent off for petulantly punching the ball away in the 65th minute, earning him a second yellow card.
Philippe Coutinho, Aleix Vidal and Messi combined to set up Jordi Alba for a second Barca barely deserved at the death.
Here, we analyse the performance of the Uruguayan.
Barca players celebrate Suarez’s opener.
STATISTICS
Goals – 1
Assists – 0
Shots – 2
Shots on target – 1
Touches – 43
Passes – 29
Key passes – 2
Dribbles – 3
Dispossessed – 0
30-SECOND REPORT
With Lionel Messi supplying the ammo, Luis Suarez was Eibar’s assassin. In a game in which the hosts performed stoically in the face of their illustrious opponents, the Uruguayan was a constant threat and outlet for the Catalans. While mercurial Messi sat deep and orchestrated Barca’s attacks, he always found a willing runner in his strike partner, who caused the home defence problems throughout. Sublime in the opening 45, he did struggle to affect proceedings in the second half, but with his deadly movement, he didn’t afford Eibar’s defenders a moment’s peace.
Kiss the rain: Suarez makes it 1-0 at the Ipurua Municipal Stadium.
GOT RIGHT
Movement – While Messi was the conductor, Suarez was the melody, crucially putting Barca ahead as Eibar had the visitors dancing to their tune for large parts of the game. Intelligently raced onto Messi’s delightful throughball and then composed himself, finishing well to open the scoring.
Selflessness – Was at the heart of everything good they produced, bringing team-mates into play well. He tried to return the favour for the Argentine in the first half but after Suarez set him up, Messi slammed his effort against the post.
GOT WRONG
Passing – He doesn’t have many flaws, but his pass accuracy in the Basque Country was pretty pathetic. Just 75.9 per cent of his passes found a team-mate. Only goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s (65.5) was worse, while Paulinho’s was also 75.9
Finishing – One shot on target and just one off isn’t drastically bad, especially with that one on target resulting in a goal, but in an even game that Barca were never fully in control of, Suarez was rash when set up by Messi in the second half. A second goal would have likely killed the game off.
KEY MOMENTS
6th min CHANCE: Lionel Messi slips through Suarez inside the Eibar box. He lays the ball off for the onrushing Jordi Alba but his effort is blocked
16th min GOAL: Picked out excellently by Messi, Suarez races onto a telepathic pass from his fellow South American. There’s still work to do but he rounds goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic and slides in the opener
37th min CHANCE: Suarez, causing havoc down the left, races onto possession and commits Dmitrovic again. He turns and tees up Messi, who slams it against the far post
52nd min CHANCE: Good work from Messi down the right, jigging his way into the box. He squares for Suarez who blazes over horribly when he should do better
❗ NEW RECORD ✅ 3⃣1⃣ games in @LaLiga without defeat 👏 ... equals the run of Pep Guardiola's team in 2010/11 #EibarBarça #ForçaBarça 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/z0tb1umhqi
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 17, 2018
VERDICT
Ultimately, world-class players always make the difference and Suarez is one of the best in the business. Took his goal with aplomb, at a time when Barca were on the rack, and the player himself may have been a little short on confidence, having not found the net in his previous three games.
Faded in the second half in less than perfect conditions in northeastern Spain, but was crucial to Barcelona’s victory. While he may be a sumptuous player, Suarez is also a battler and he worked tirelessly as his side were made to scrap for the three points.
RATING: 7/10
All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com
