Barcelona went into the final game of the current La Liga season against Eibar requiring more than a win to retain the Spanish title. With Real Madrid leading by three points, the fate of the Catalan giants rested heavily on the shoulders of Malaga, who faced Real in the final game of their season. With Real taking the lead early on in the game, this fixture was dubbed a mere formality for Barca, who would eventually relinquish their crown in Spain.
However, the game was not without any drama. It was lowly placed Eibar, who were placed in the driver’s seat via a brace from their Japanese midfielder Takashi Inui. While Barcelona had many chances they were largely wasteful with the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez spurning glorious opportunities.
Eventually, the quality amidst their ranks ensured that Barcelona turned the tie in their favour via goals from Lionel Messi (2), Luis Suarez and an own goal from David Junca.
Here are the player ratings from the game between the two sides.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 6/10
With Barcelona largely dominating play, it was expected that the German shot-stopper would have very little to do. However, he was brought into action courtesy of Inui and we believe there was very little Ter Stegen could have done to prevent the goals from going in.
Sergi Roberto – 3/10
The makeshift Barca right-back had yet another game to forget. It was Roberto who failed to track the movement of Inui for the Eibar opener and given his deficiencies in the position, it can be all but guaranteed that the Catalan giants will be in the transfer market for a new right-back in the summer.
Marlon – 6/10
With both Javier Mascherano and Gerard Pique out owing to injury, Marlon received yet another opportunity to impress the Barcelona hierarchy at the heart of the defence and the defender did not disappoint. He was calm and composed on and off the ball and complemented the abilities of Samuel Umtiti well. Given his performances thus far, we would like to see more of the 21-year-old in the seasons to come.
Samuel Umtiti – 7/10
Umtiti has perhaps been Barcelona’s best summer signing thus far. The French centre-back has put in some impressive performances thus far and the player put in another decent performance on Sunday. The 23-year-old was tidy with his passing and also helped his side break up the opposition’s rhythm with a mix of tidy tackles and interceptions.
Jordi Alba – 7/10
Jordi Alba’s performance in the game against Eibar will largely be remembered for the dubious penalty he earned which Lionel Messi failed to convert. It is perhaps the notoriety of his act to earn a penalty that has overshadowed his solid performance. He provided the required width in attack while also ensuring that he defended well to ensure a good all-round performance.
Ivan Rakitic – 5/10
As has been the case over several games this season, Rakitic was at his industrious best. He was tidy with his passing, covered a lot of ground to provide his side with the required impetus in the midfield and denied Eibar a lot of time and space on the ball.
However, the Croatian failed to add to his side’s attack and that is perhaps a worrying sign for the Barcelona faithful.
Sergio Busquets- 5/10
It is not often that we see Busquets being run over easily. To witness him being run over by a side placed 10th in the league was even more surprising. However, to his credit, the Spanish midfielder, who had a horrid first half by his standards picked himself up in the second period and put in a more resilient performance.
Andres Iniesta – 7/10
With Eibar taking the lead early on, Barcelona were left chasing the game. However, it took them a while before they actually got going, which was much similar to the performance put in by Iniesta. The Spanish superstar enjoyed a quiet first half. However, he led by example in the second half and was much more effective going forward.
Lionel Messi – 7/10
It looked like Lionel Messi had provided the cherry on the top of the cake for the Real Madrid supporters when he missed a penalty. However, the little magician more than made up for that later on. The Argentine converted the second penalty and then finished off with a stellar goal late in the game to bring the curtains down on a rather unspectacular season.
Luis Suarez – 6/10
This was a Luis Suarez we witnessed early on during his time in England. He got into great areas on the pitch, courtesy of his industriousness and vision only to frustrate the fans by missing easy opportunities. The Uruguayan missed two golden opportunities to score before finally finding the back of the net from close range.
Neymar – 7/10
It was Neymar who truly won the game for Barcelona as it was the Brazilian who revived his side’s chances with a shot that was forced into the goal by Eibar defender David Junca. He then won the penalty that Lionel Messi duly converted and while he might not be scoring as often as he would like to, there is no denying the fact that Neymar remains an integral part of the Barca set up and brings a lot more to the table than his famed ability to knock the ball into the back of the net.
Substitutes
Andre Gomes – 5/10
Replaced Sergio Roberto at the right-back position but could not prevent Inui from finding his 2nd. It was a fitting end to a poor first season for the youngster.
Paco Alcacer – 6/10
With Barcelona chasing the game, manager Luis Enrique brought on Paco Alcacer to provide more options going forward and the former Valencia man did not fail to deliver as it was his flick-on from a corner that Suarez converted.
Eibar
Yoel Rodriguez – 8/10
The Eibar goalkeeper had a stellar game as he kept the famed Barca attack at bay for large durations of the game. He made numerous saves from various Barcelona players and capped it off with a brilliant acrobatic save to deny Lionel Messi from the penalty spot. There was very little he could have done to prevent the Barcelona goals and should be proud of his performance.
Ander Capa – 5/10
The Spanish full-back was largely restricted to duties in his own half and provided very little help going forward as he was kept occupied by Neymar. He was sent off in the 74th minute for his tackle on Neymar inside the box.
Anaitz Arbilla – 6/10
The Eibar centre-back had a solid first half as he managed to keep the Barcelona attack in check. However, with Barcelona growing in confidence in the second half and Eibar players growing tired, he was not able to replicate the performance.
Florian Lejeune – 6/10
Like his partner for the evening, Lejeune too enjoyed a stellar first half, only to be brought back to the earth courtesy of an expected onslaught late in the second half from the Catalan giants.
Junca – 6/10
The left-back had enjoyed a decent first half as he provided width going forward while also ensuring that he did his share of dirty work at the rear end of the pitch. What was a solid evening for Eibar was turned into a rather unpleasant one in a matter of seconds and that moment arrived when Junca turned the ball into his own net in the 63rd minute.
Dani Garcia – 6/10
The midfielder was industrious and covered a lot of ground going forward. He was tidy with his passing and also provided Eibar with an extra man in defence as he constantly frustrated Barcelona during the first period.
Ruben Pena – 5/10
Pena was perhaps Eibar most frustrated player as he failed to add to his side’s attack and defence and was largely restricted to putting in an industrious performance. He failed to leave a mark on the game and was largely anonymous.
Gonzalo Escalante – 6/10
With Barcelona dominating possession, Escalante was restricted to his own half and did well to frustrate the Barcelona players. He was constantly flying into tackles and offered very little time and space for the Barca players to operate in.
Takashi Inui- 8/10
The Japanese player will remember this game for a long time to come. It is not often that players score a brace against Barcelona and that in itself would please the player. However, the manner in which he scored the brilliant goals would be an added positive for the player who looks to make a name for himself in the upper echelons of Spanish football.
Kike Garcia – 5/10
Garcia offered very little going forward and save for the half-chance he created in the 45th minute and his effort from inside the box in the 90th minute, he was largely restricted to being a spectator.
Sergi Enrich – 7/10
Enrich was much more involved in the Eibar attack than his colleague Garcia and provided the assist for Inui’s second goal in the 61st minute. He created chances frequently while also creating pressure on the Barca defence with his movement off the ball.
Substitutes
Pedro Leon – 5/10
Brought on in the 68th minute to replace Pena, Leon could do very little to stop Barca from asserting their dominance on the game.
Alejandro Galvez – NA
Christian Rivera – NA
