Eibar 0-1 Barcelona: 5 talking points as Griezmann fires Blaugrana to victory | La Liga 2020-21 

A late strike by Antoine Griezmann helped Barcelona pick up a narrow 1-0 victory away to Eibar on the last day of the 2020-21 season.

This was one of the more mundane fixtures, with not much at stake on the final matchday of a thrilling La Liga season.

Eibar's defeat to Valencia last week guaranteed that they will be returning to the second division after spending seven consecutive years in La Liga, in what was their first sojourn to the top-flight.

Barcelona were ruled out of the title race following their defeat to Celta Vigo last week and both sides had nothing but pride to play for.

The big headline in the build-up to the game was the absence of skipper Lionel Messi, with the club authorities having given him permission to miss the game in preparation for Argentina's Copa America tournament.

Ronald Koeman made several changes to his starting lineup, with just five players retaining their spot from the side that surprisingly lost to Celta Vigo on home turf last week.

Barcelona, expectedly, dominated possession in the early periods of the game but they struggled to break down a resolute Eibar defense.

The hosts, however, grew into the game and posed more attacking threats in a first half that was devoid of goalmouth action.

The second half was also a tepid affair, as neither side really exerted themselves, knowing that their fate for the season was already decided.

On the balance of play, a goalless stalemate would probably have been a fair result and it was going to take a moment of magic for the deadlock to be broken.

That proved to be the case when Antoine Griezmann pounced on a mistake in the box to give Barcelona the win with a spectacular overhead kick in the 81st minute.

The defeat saw Eibar end the campaign in last place in the standings, while Barcelona guaranteed a third-place finish irrespective of how Sevilla faired against Alaves.

Here are five talking points from the game.

#5 Will we see Lionel Messi in a Barcelona shirt again?

Lionel Messi will be out of contract in a few days

Lionel Messi's dicey contract situation at Barcelona means the Argentina international has ended the campaign without having signed an extension with the club.

With his current deal with the Blaugrana set to expire in a couple of days, the next chapter in Messi's illustrious career remains in doubt.

The 33-year-old was given permission to miss this game and unless Messi agrees an extension this summer, last week's defeat to Celta Vigo would be the last time we saw the mercurial Argentine in the Barcelona shirt.

#4 Spirited Eibar bow out with a fight

Eibar fashioned more chances than Barcelona

Eibar are one of the smaller sides in La Liga and they gained promotion to the top-flight for the first time in their history in 2014.

Since then, the Basque outfit have steadily punched above their weight to retain their top-flight status. They achieved a spectacular ninth place finish in 2018 that saw them end the campaign as the highest-ranking Basque team for the first time ever.

They have, however, run out of lives and last week's debilitating defeat away to Valencia sealed their fate.

Despite this, the players gave a spirited effort against Barcelona and carried more attacking threats for most of the game.

They had just 33% possession but fashioned 17 shots to Barcelona's seven and the result did not do justice to what was a vibrant display from the hosts.

#3 Antoine Griezmann finishes his second season at Barcelona on a bright note

Griezmann scored the match-winner for Barcelona

Antoine Griezmann joined Barcelona in the summer of 2019 after almost two years of protracted negotiations. However, he largely had a debut season to forget as he struggled to impact matches the way he did at Atletico Madrid.

The Frenchman's second season has been much better and he has arguably been Barcelona's second best player of the campaign after Messi.

The 30-year-old came into this game on a three-game drought but Messi's absence installed him as the focal point in attack.

Griezmann shouldered the responsibility well and despite failing to get in the thick of things for most of the game, he showed his quality late on with a spectacular goal to give Barcelona the victory.

The goal means the France international has ended the campaign with 20 goals and 12 assists from 5 games in all competitions, a vast improvement from his attacking output last term.

#2 Big summer ahead for Barcelona

Barcelona are in need of a major overhaul

Barcelona's squad is in need of an overhaul and the tame way they finished this campaign has proven this point.

The first change might come in the manager's dugout and Koeman's comments to the media about a lack of support from the board might be very telling.

Beyond who will be the manager next season, there is also the hugely important matter of deciding Messi's future. Upgrades have to also be made in the playing department, particularly in defense.

#1 Ronald Koeman's first season ends in a whimper

Barcelona ended the season poorly

Ronald Koeman's tenure as Barcelona manager began disastrously, leading to calls for his dismissal.

Results picked up at the turn of the year and a 19-game unbeaten run thrust them back right into the title race, while an emphatic display in the Copa del Rey fired them to glory.

However, just when things started to look bright for Barcelona, they conspired to hit the self-destruct button and a run of just two wins from their last six league games saw them finish in third place when there was an opportunity for much more.

In many ways, their lethargic display against Eibar mirrored how dire they have been in the last few weeks, with a lack of imagination and penetration in the final third hampering their attack.

It is unknown if Ronald Koeman will stay on as Barcelona manager but his team's style of play in the final few weeks of the season did not do his standing any good.