5 Talking points: Barcelona vs Eibar

With Real Madrid winning against Celta Vigo the previous day, the pressure was on Luis Enrique’s men to deliver. And they did just that with a 3-1 win over Eibar. However, even though the scoreline may suggest an easy win, Barca had to toil hard for their goals after having fallen behind in the 10th minute itself.The attacking football played by Medilibar’s men showed why his side has been defying all odds and performing above expectations this season. But a good return from the Barca side after conceding first against Eibar meant that the Catalans walked away with all three points to keep pace with Real Madrid at the top of the table.Here are the 5 talking points from the game:

#1 Suarez delivers

The attacking trio of Suarez, Neymar and Messi have not played together for some time now. With Lionel Messi out injured, the onus was on Suarez and Neymar to deliver the goods.

Last week, Neymar scored four and this week it was Suarez who struck gold. Two goals in the second half and another in the first helped the Uruguayan complete his hattrick and in the process pick up three points for his side.

Since his arrival last season and the completion of his ban, Luis Suarez has shown that he is an integral member of the side. With Messi out, the ex-Liverpool man has used the opportunity to raise his stock and thereby show that Barcelona can win even without their number 10.

#2 Eibar continue to surprise

Jose Luis Mendilibar’s men have been the surprise package of the La Liga season thus far. Termed relegation candidates before the start of the season, the Armeros have defied all odds and put in impressive performances one after the other. Before the game at the Camp Nou, they were seventh in the table.

And Sunday was no different. Eibar scored inside the first ten minutes and took a one nil lead. They started the match really well and frustrated the hosts for some time.

Unfortunately, things changed and Eibar went on to lose 3-1. However, even the most ardent of FC Barcelona fans will agree that their opponents on Sunday played some really brave and exciting football; something which not too many teams visiting the Camp Nou do.

#3 What lies ahead for Neymar?

Since Neymar’s arrival from Santos, there have always been murmurs that he was being groomed to eventually replace Lionel Messi in the long run. With the Argentine out for some time, it was important to see how much of that could be possible.

Neymar played really well last season but since Messi’s injury, there has been a change in the Brazilian’s approach. Neymar is now seen as taking up a bit more of the attacking responsibility. He scored four last week and also assisted two on Sunday.

Further, Neymar is slowly starting to play like someone worthy of being equated with the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, only time will tell whether he successfully succeeds the former.

#4 Borja Baston is on fire

The Atletico Madrid man joined Eibar on loan in the summer window and since then has been in red hot form. He has scored 5 goals in the last eight games and has scored almost fifty percent of his team’s goals this season. On Sunday, he scored for the visitors inside 10 minutes.

The Spanish striker struggled to get a foothold at the Vicente Calderon and has been loaned out to a number of clubs in the past. However, it is this outing that has really turned things around for him.

The young man is just 23 years old and has a lot of time on his hand. If he continues scoring at this rate, there are bound to be offers coming in for him.

#5 Injuries and discipline

A major problem for FC Barcelona this season has been the constant injuries and the disciplinary problems. The trend continued when the Spanish defending champions came up against Eibar.

Firstly injuries to key players forced Luis Enrique to play a makeshift defence. Adding to that is the unnecessary red card received by senior pro Javier Mascherano. The Argentine was shown a straight red card after he was seen whispering something to the referee. At a time when the side of short of players such behavior is certainly not expected from an experienced man.

Apart from that, Enrique’s men received three yellow cards in the game with Rakitic, Pique and Neymar all being booked. That just about makes it 15 yellow cards received by the side this season.