Barcelona came into this match on a 35 game unbeaten streak in all competitions. Four more goals and a clean sheet against Eibar extended that to 36 on Sunday.
The magic of Luis Enrique’s men contunued thanks to strikes from Munir, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, putting them in pole position to clinch the La Liga title and accomplish their treble dream.
Magical Messi
It didn’t take long for Barcelona to draw first blood against the small side from the Basque Country as Munir made it 1-0 inside eight minutes. A ball was played from Messi to Suarez on the right, and the Argentine magician was able to set up a diagonal pass to the winger to finish easily past Asier Riesgo and make it 1-0 at the Ipurua.
The home side, however, made various chances, including one just four minutes after conceding. Josip Radosevic sent a cross towards Ivan Ramis, but his effort went wide of Claudio Bravo’s goal.
Another cross just past the half hour mark saw Gonzalo Escalante try his luck, but his attempt was also off target.
The dream of an equaliser soon ended though as Barcelona made it 2-0 with a sensational goal from Messi. He started his run from roughly 30 yards, went past three defenders, and fired the ball into the back of the net.
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Suarez on fire
In the second half, it was more of the same from the defending treble winners as various opportunities came.
Messi came close inside the opening few minutes, with Suarez skipping past his man on the right before picking out the Argentine, but his first touch let him down as he missed the chance for his brace.
He redeemed himself in the latter stages of the game though with a lovely panenka penalty. Ramis was the man guilty of handball in the area, and Messi would chip the spot kick down the centre of the goal to make it three.
It didn’t end there either as Suarez got a goal in the 84th minute - his 26th in La Liga this season. After nutmegging a defender, he set himself up to strike and found the bottom corner to make it four on a superb day for Barca.
The result sees them sit top of the standings, 11 points above Atletico Madrid and 12 above Real Madrid. They will host Getafe next Saturday.
Meanwhile, Eibar go to eighth place, six points off a Europa League spot. They travel to face Rayo Vallecano next Saturday.