Eibar vs Barcelona: 5 key Talking Points
Score : SD Eibar 0 - 2 FC Barcelona
Scorers : Luis Suarez 16' Jordi Alba 88'
The La Liga leaders stretched their advantage to 10 points at the top with a hard-fought victory against the side placed 7th in the table. Suarez and Abla scored for the Catalans as the defence managed to keep yet another clean sheet.
The tiny club from Northern Spain put up a performance worthy of recognition as they made sure that the reigning champions were switched on from the first whistle to the last.
It ended 0-2 with Barcelona taking all three points back to the Nou Camp.
#5 The hosts failed to capitalise on the pressure they managed to create on the leaders
Barcelona were expecting a hard-fought battle to claim three points as they travelled to the Ipurua Municipal Stadium, and that's exactly what they got. The side flying high in the league table currently, were rapidly out of the blocks as they pushed the Champions deep inside their own half in the opening exchanges.
The hosts had a few half chances in the opening 10 minutes with the visitors hardly getting a foot on the ball, except when Suarez found himself one on one with the keeper and went around him before laying the ball into the path of Alba, whose eventual shot was blocked by the defence, which had managed to get back.
Eibar continued to pepper the Barcelona penalty box with crosses and headers (none really troubling the keeper), until the Argentinian magician finally found himself on the ball in the 16th minute and played a defence-splitting pass to Luis Suarez who rounded the keeper again but managed to put the ball in the back of the net, this time around.
The Spanish side refused to throw in the towel and continued into the second half much like they had in the first. Barcelona were on the back-foot for most of the second half as well, failing to impose themselves on the game like they so often do.
Eibar pressed on despite going down to 10 men around the hour mark - Fabián Orellana getting a second yellow for dissent. They were finally put to bed by Jodi Alba who made it two.