Barcelona
Claudio Bravo – 6.5/10
With Eibar unable to make the Barcelona keeper make a great save, Bravo’ s focus was on distributing the ball quickly, as a couple of quick releases enabled Barcelona to play on the counter.
Daniel Alves – 6/10
Aleix Vidal ought to be looking at Dani Alves’ performances and salivating – the Brazilian fullback was troubled by an overlapping Junca while also making a hash of a clearance that led to an Eibar chance. Alves did pop up in attacking positions occasionally but was unable to make a difference.
Gerard Piqué – 6.5/10
While Pique was quite adept at bringing the ball out from the back, he conceded possession a couple of times due to Eibar’ s high press, the first of which led to a corner from which Eibar nearly scored.Javier Mascherano – 5.5/10
A rather poor afternoon from the Argentinian, as he was caught out multiple times by a pressing Eibar striker, nearly gifting a goal one while also was lucky not to be sent off when he went in studs up on Enrich that earned him a yellow card.
Jordi Alba – 6/10
Jordi Alba missed Neymar Jr. ahead of him, as Munir was rather adventurous ahead of him, requiring Alba to be a bit more circumspect. A through ball to Suarez early on nearly earned him an assist, but that remained the peak of Alba’ s attacking efforts.
Ivan Rakitic – 7.5/10
While Rakitic was quiet in the attacking third, his role in transitioning the ball from defence to attack quickly enabled Barcelona to set up multiple counter-attacks. A good game from Barcelona’ s beating heart.
Sergio Busquets – 5.5/10
Barcelona’ s defensive lynchpin was unusually poor today. The Spaniard was involved in multiple turnovers that allowed Eibar to threaten, with the situation worsening in the second half. Busquets did manage to keep the ball moving though, which redeems him, if only slightly.
Arda Turan – 5/10
Barcelona’ s invisible man. Arda Turan has yet to settle in Barcelona’ s system, and when compared with Iniesta playing the same role looks rather mediocre. Turan barely impacted the game and was replaced by Sergi Roberto who did more in 10 minutes than the Turk did in 80.
Lionel Messi – 9.5/10
We’re accustomed to viewing 9/10 performances from Lionel Messi, but the Argentinian was magical today. Every Barcelona goal bar the last involved him, with the solo 2nd effort earning rave reviews, as did his panenka penalty. His chipped balls over the top could have earned him 3 or 4 assists, but his teammates let him down.
Luis Suárez – 8.5/10
The Uruguayan was at his aggressive best today, constantly haranguing the Eibar defence. His darting run set up the first goal while Barcelona’s fourth was a brilliant solo goal straight from the barrios of Montevideo that ought to be replayed over and over again.
Munir El-Haddadi – 7.5/10
The Barcelona youngster came in to replace Neymar and did not disappoint, scoring with his first chance, although he ought to have squared the ball to Suarez when put through by Messi soon after.
Subs
Sergi Roberto 6.5/10
Barcelona’s Mr. Versatile came on to replace Arda Turan and was instantly an improvement, passing and making forward runs while almost scoring with a late long-range effort.
Marc Bartra – 5.5/10
Came on for Gerard Pique, but was unable to affect the game much.
Thomas Vermaelen 5.5/10
Came on for Sergio Busquets and kept things neat and tidy, without doing much.
