Luis Suarez’s early goal helped La Liga leaders Barcelona return to winning ways ahead of their Champions League clash against Chelsea with a 2-0 victory over Eibar.
Barca had been held to draws by Espanyol and Getafe in their previous two league matches and were up against an Eibar side which thrashed high-flying Sevilla 5-1 in their last home outing.
However, Ernesto Valverde’s men avoided a similar fate at Ipurua with Suarez putting them ahead in the 16th minute before Jordi Alba scored late on.
Here, we rate the Barcelona side after their 2-0 win.
STARTING XI
Marc-Andre ter Stegen 6 – Few saves to make but his distribution was better than Busquets today. Eibar effort which smacked the bar he would have stopped anyway.
Sergi Roberto 6 – A reliable performance from the right back. Offered good attacking width and his dribbling into the half spaces was superb.
Gerard Pique 7 – Barca were way off the pace but despite the urgency of Eibar, the hosts were never really able to fashion a clear-cut opportunity. Rock solid and made a massive 14 clearances, one more than the entire Barca team combined.
Samuel Umtiti 7 – Hard not to be impressed with the centre-half. Repeatedly shut down Eibar attacks with serene composure and was just a tower of strength as he has been all season.
Jordi Alba 6 – Initially couldn’t get a grip on the Eibar livewire Fabian Orellana but going forward his gas tank is never ending. Boundless energy and great chemistry with Messi. Sealed the three points with a very tidy finish on his weaker foot.
Paulinho 3 – One Twitter user summed up the Brazilian’s performance best when after the sending off he Tweeted: “Considering Paulinho’s performance today, it’s 10 vs 10 now.” His technical inadequacy is leaving him badly exposed and he was undoubtedly Barca’s worst performer. His form has dropped off a cliff recently and surely he won’t be starting against Chelsea next week?!
Sergio Busquets 5 – Careless passing from arguably the world’s best No6. His passing accuracy sat around the 86 percent mark, down from his season average of 90 percent, which is a bigger drop off than the numbers indicate. Was fortunate not to concede a penalty as well.
Ivan Rakitic 5 – No one in Barca’s midfield covered themselves in glory and the Croatian in particular lacked composure on the ball. His retention under pressure was poor by his standards and he struggled to have any discernible impact.
Andres Iniesta 5 – The narrative was Coutinho’s arrival would allow him some rest in La Liga but the Brazilian started on the bench and Iniesta ended up being hammered by Eibar’s relentless pressing. The Spaniard was even booked after the break – a rare occurrence hallmarking an even rarer off day.
Lionel Messi 7 – Messi has a myriad of sponsors but perhaps it’s time DHL have a word because his delivery is simply sublime. Didn’t impact the game to his usual high standards but there were two precision passes – one for the opener and one which ended in a wrongly flagged offside – which were otherworldly. He smacked the post in the first half, too, the 16th time the Argentine has hit the woodwork in La Liga this season.
Luis Suarez 8 – Barca’s man of the match. The Uruguayan was much more than his 16th minute opener – an expertly taken goal – as he sold more dummies to the keeper than Mothercare – four to be exact. He looked sharp in all facets of his game and has now plundered 20 goals for Barca in all competitions this season, the sixth season in a row he’s managed this feat.
That Messi and Suarez chemistry. Brilliant pass and brilliant finish. pic.twitter.com/zlL2oTuXx3
— ali (@zeealih) February 17, 2018
SUBSTITUTES
Coutinho 8 – Came on for Iniesta just past the hour and was a real breath of fresh air. Wonderful cross-field pass which led to the second.
Vidal 7 – Could have scored late on but did create Alba’s goal with a brilliant low cross into the box.
Semedo N/A – Was brought on in the last minute for Roberto
