Reigning champions FC Barcelona ran riot at the Estadio El Molinon as they thrashed minnows Sporting Gijon 5-0 to move ahead in the 2016/17 La Liga. Barcelona ace Lionel Messi was missing from Saturday night's game as the Argentine superstar has been ruled out of action due to an injury he picked up against Atletico Madrid this midweek.
In absence of the Argentine star, Luis Suarez and Neymar stepped up to the occasion . The Uruguayan striker scored the opening goal in the 29th minute. The lead was doubled by Rafinha within 2 minutes.
The third and the fifth goal came from another star attacker in the 81st and 88th minute. Arda Turan was the other scorer.
Here is how the players stood out.
FC Barcelona
Marc-Andre ter Stegen - 6.5/10
The German custodian had a comfortable outing against Sporting Gijon today as he was hardly tested by the opponent attackers. Ter Stegen made a couple easy saves and successfully kept a clean sheet. However, a silly error made nearly got him a yellow and Barcelona into near trouble.
Sergi Roberto - 9/10
The Spanish starlet had a dream game today as he was involved in 3 out of the 5 goals. The make-shift right-back is slowly turning into fantastic defender whose overlapping runs down the flank often proves dangerous.
Gerard Pique - 8/10
Gerard Pique was the perfect leader in the Barcelona backline. His aerial presence was commendable and covered a lot of ground to make sure his team kept a clean sheet.
Jeremy Mathieu - 8/10
The French defender had a good outing today and partnered Gerard Pique well. He was fast on the ground and perfectly filled in the void created by Samuel Umtiti's absence.
Lucas Digne - 7/10
Luis Enrique preferred Lucas Digne ahead of first choice left-back Jordi Alba today with the midweek game in the Champions League in mind. And his gamble paid off pretty well. After suffering a knock early in the game, Digne came back strongly and displayed a stout performance.
Sergio Busquets - 8/10
Sergio Busquets once again displayed a superb performance on the field as he controlled the game from the heart of the midfield. He was instrumental in blocking the attacks which generated in the Sporting midfield and also provided a number of quality passes.
Rafinha - 8.5/10
Luis Enrique once again fielded Rafinha today in central midfield. Rafinha had scored a goal last weekend against Leganes playing from the right-back position. Today he was played in his natural position and once again he found the back of the net.
Andre Gomes - 7/10
Andre Gomes had an average game today. He did his job silently but was subdued by the performances of the other players who were at their very best.
Arda Turan - 8.5/10
Arda Turan replaced injured Lionel Messi in this game. Turan partnered Suarez and Neymar perfectly upfront and was instrumental in scoring the fourth and assisting for Luis Suarez's first goal.
Luis Suarez - 8.5/10
Luis Suarez once again took his name into the score sheet as he scored the opening goal of the match. He was impressive throughout the match created several chances. The Uruguayan was substituted in the 79th minute, Paco Alcacer replacing him.
Neymar - 9.5/10
The star of the match, Neymar scored two clinical goals in the last 10 minutes of the match to seal the victory. The Brazilian filled into the big boots of Lionel Messi with ease and led their attacking front.
Substitutes
Denis Suarez - 7.5/10
Denis Suarez replaced Sergio Busquets in the 69th minute. The midfielder did a neat job in the last 30 minutes and came close to take his name to the scoresheet one or two times in the ending moments of the match.
Paco Alcacer - 6.5/10
The new Barcelona signing replaced Luis Suarez in the latter stages of the match and did a decent job. He came close a couple of times to score.
Sporting Gijon
Pichu Cuellar - 5/10
It will be harsh to criticise Pichu Cuellar for conceding the five goals as none were his fault. All the five strikes were too good to be stopped.
Lillo Castellano - 5/10
Lillo Castellano looked helpless in front of the aggressive Barcelona attackers. He remained ineffective in front of Suarez, Neymar and Arda Turan.
Jorge Mere - 6.5/10
Jorge Mere was one of the few Sporting players who had a decent outing against the mighty Barcelona team. Mere pulled off quite a few tackles and stopped some crucial moves.
Fernando Amorebieta - 7/10
Along with Mere, Fernando Amorebieta too did a fairly decent job in the Sporting defence. He was strong aerially and had managed to stop quite a few Barcelona moves.
Lora - 2/10
The full-back received two terrible yellow which saw him sent-off. His red card came as a huge blow for the team who went on to concede three more after his departure.
Moises Gomez - 4/10
Moises Gomes was completely ineffective on the flanks and did not contribute anything to the Sporting attack.
Nacho Cases - 4/10
The central midfielder failed to impose any kind of impact in the team's midfield which allowed the opponents move freely down the middle.
Sergio Alvarez - 4/10
Just like his counterpart Cases, Sergio Alvarez hardly had any presence in the Sporting central midfield. Both the players failed to provide any kind of resistance.
Victor Rodriguez - 4/10
Victor Rodriguez, the number 10 of the Sporting side failed to create any positive opportunity for the striker and was terrible with his set-pieces too.
Duje Cop - 4/10
Just like any other attacking players of Sporting, Duje Cop had a terrible outing and failed to create any impact.
Burgui - 5.5/10
Burgui tried his best to create some chances on his own and looked dangerous in the second half. Unfortunately due to lack of support from the midfield he failed to create any impact.
Substitutes
Carlos Castro - 3/10
Carlos replaced an underperforming Duje Cop in the 68th minute but failed to make any impact as his side conceded three more goals in the latter stages.
Daniel Arnaud - 3/10
Arnaud replaced an ineffective Moises in the 68th minute. His presence was hardly felt in the last 20 minutes of the game.
Jean-Sylvain Babin - N/A
