The modest Eibar had been unstoppable at their tiny Ipurua Stadium, They have suffocated their opponents with both offense and defense. Facing the spirited Eibar in their own turf was one of the biggest challenges for FC Barcelona this season apart from El Clasico. Coach Valverde did not take any risks and fielded his best starting 11 including Iniesta.
Eibar as usual started off very aggressively putting Barcelona on the back foot. They kept attacking but lacked the finishing punch. While Pique, Umtiti, Roberto and Alba were kept on their toes by Eibar's forwards and midfielders, they couldn't get past the 4 Barca Musketeers to actually test Ter Stegen much.
Barcelona were guilty of misplacing passes in the midfield as they gave away too many balls to the opposition. Yet in the middle of all the melee Messi managed to find Luis Suarez with a delightful pass, who in turn laid it off to Jordi Alba who only managed to hit the on rushing goalkeeper Dmitrovic.
A relentless Eibar kept attacking, but then against the run of play, in the 16th minute, came the most beautiful moment of the game.At almost near the half line, Messi got a ball from Busquets (probably one of the few Sergio got right). Messi (God knows how!) unleashed a jaw-dropping pass that escaped past three Eibar defenders and curved in, to perfectly find the incoming Luis Suarez. This time a clever Suarez rounded off the outcoming Dmitrovic and coolly slotted in the goal. The aggressor Eibar found themselves 0-1 down.
But the Eibar onslaught continued as they saw more of the ball with Takashi Inui being a constant threat up front. The bulldozing Kike Garcia made it very hard for Pique and Umtiti. Diop was excellent in the midfield while the talented Orellana was proving to be a menace as he hit the crossbar with a great shot.
But a defiant Barcelona did not let up in it's defense even for one moment. Ter Stegen and the back four were excellent and alert all through the game with everyone else pitching in to help. They ensured that Eibar's constant attacks fizzled out when it came to the finish. Barca also moved forward whenever they got a break. Suarez laid a wonderful cross to Messi, whose curling shot from a tight angle hit the crossbar (for an unbelievable 14th time this season in LaLiga!)
In the 2nd half Eibar were intent on pressing higher for an equalizer. Then came the turning point in the match. The unpredictable Orellana who was already booked for a reckless challenge on Iniesta was shown the 2nd yellow for dissent, reducing Eibar to 10 men. Though it did not deter the vigour of Eibar there were more gaping holes in their midfield and defense.
Rakitic put in a real shift and made up for most of Busquets' misplaced passes. Paulinho and Iniesta were not very effective. Finally the two were substituted for Coutinho and Aleix Vidal in the 2nd half. Things started becoming better for Barca with fresh legs as Countinho made an immediate impact while Vidal found more freedom to move up.Ten men Eibar also started tiring as the game progressed into the final quarter.
Coutinho with a inch perfect long pass linked up with Aleix Vidal who gave a wonderful cross to Messi. Messi's attempt on goal was parried off by the goalkeeper, but the rebound was finished off by the incoming Jordi Alba to effectively kill off the game in the 88th minute. Coutinho once again found Messi with a lovely pass which the Argentine skied high.
It was a tough test and a plucky FC Barcelona just did what was required to ensure a hard fought 2-0 win. Despite their aggression, Eibar could not find a way past the resolute Barcelona defense. And Barca showed Eibar the importance of finishing off when presented with the chances.
Image Credits - Google Images
Comments
Post a Comment