Barcelona 6-1 Eibar LaLiga Santander: match report, goals, action
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Barcelona 6-1 Eibar: match report
Barcelona made it five for five with Ernesto Valverde at the helm in LaLiga with a 6-1 win over Eibar at the Camp Nou on Tuesday night.
It wasn't the eventual winners who started brightest, however, as Sergi Enrich and Eibar take that accolade. The attacker was set free after just three minutes and went one-on-one with Ter Stegen only to fire at Ter Stegen, who made the save with his foot.
They would rue that chance soon after because Lionel Messi was on the scoreboard without having to be asked twice. Alejandro Galvez went through the back of Nelson Semedo in the penalty area and the referee pointed to the spot. Messi lofted the penalty over Dmitrovic in unorthodox fashion, as the ball had no pace on it, but the keeper still had no chance.
The goal emboldened Barca and forced Eibar to remember where they were and who they were playing, it seemed. They were in Barcelona's house.
They were reminded yet again after 38 minutes when Paulinho arrived late from a corner and headed home Barcelona's second. A killer blow before half-time in agame they were already going to struggle to get anything out of.
That got worse in the second half as Barcelona held the ball like they typically do and forced Eibar into a position where they had to come out and attack, leaving them vulnerable at the back in the process.
They did attack, and had a couple of chances, but Barcelona's counter-attack was in flying form with Messi too. And the feeding frenzy began.
Messi struck a shot with his trusty left foot that Dmitrovic managed to save but it fell to Denis Suarez for him to strike home after 53 minutes. It was the second game on the trot that Paulinho and Suárez managed to get on the scoresheet.
Eibar responded as there was a little flicker of a hope of a game. Enrich guided the ball home with his right from a Junca cross that left Ter Stegen flat-footed.
The tiny flicker of a hope was dashed when Lionel Messi got the ball in that zone outside the box that he loves. He dropped his shoulder and moved forward before sliding home a trademark left-footed shot.
It was about to get worse for Eibar because Barcelona executed another lethal counter. Messi gave it to Paulinho, who returned the favour. Despite being pulled and dragged, he slid under an advancing Dmitrovic for his hat-trick and to put the final nail in the coffin that was the game.
Messi wasn't done though as Aleix Vidal, fresh off the bench, put the ball on the plate for him to pass home after a neat one-two with the Argentine for him to notch his ninth in five games this season as he leads the Pichici race by a country mile before Ronaldo gets off the mark.
Barcelona – Eibar live stream online: live updates
Barcelona – Eibar live stream online: match preview
Barcelona news
Four wins from four, 11 goals and just one conceded will go some way to quelling unrest from the stands against Barcelona the team, although president Josep Maria Bartomeu can expect some further chants aimed towards his continued employment at the helm of the club after what many fans view as a compromising summer of transfer activity.
That undercurrent of angst will not have been helped by the club’s record acquisition, Ousmane Dembélé, pulling up in Getafe and subsequently being ruled out for three to four months with question marks over his inclusion in that game from the outset after the former Dortmund forward’s lack of a solid pre-season and apparent discomfort during the warm-up.
However, Leo Messi and Luis Suárez remain and will pose the chief threat to Eibar’s back four, with Gerard Deulofeu the most likely option to come in for the stricken Dembélé.
Valverde has elected to rest Samuel Umtiti for Tuesday’s game and is also without Paco Alcácer and André Gomes. Arda Turan, despite being available for selection, continues in his personal calvary at the club and did not make the squad.
Eibar news
The Basque side have got off to a decent start in LaLiga this season with two wins from two and sit comfortably in mid-table. Other than a bit of a thrashing in the Sánchez Pizjuán, José Luis Mendilibar’s side have looked solid at the back and employ a high-pressing style similar to the style that Getafe adopted last weekend, the newly promoted side taking the lead against Barça before eventually succumbing to goals from Barça substitutes Deulofeu and Paulinho.
Eibar know they have the ability to take the game to Barça; last season, in the final round of matches with Luis Enrique’s side needing to win to have any chance of snatching the Liga title from Real Madrid’s clutches, the Gunners went 2-0 up through a Takashi Inui double but couldn’t hold back the claret-and-blue tide and went down 4-2.
However, fortune does not favour the bold in this particular mini-league. Eibar have never beaten Barcelona or claimed so much of a point against the Liga giants, losing six out of six since their promotion with an aggregate scoreline of 20-2.
Barcelona vs Eibar live stream online: potential line-ups.
Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Piqué, Mascherano, Alba; Busquets, Paulinho, Iniesta; Messi, Suárez, Deulofeu.
Coach: Ernesto Valverde
Eibar XI: Dmitrovic; Arbilla, Capa, Gálvez, José Ángel; Bebé, Jordán, Dani Garcia, Inui; Charles, Enrich.
Coach: José Luis Mendilibar