Eibar’s defence
Uruguayan’s hat-trick powers Barcelona to a comeback 3-1 win, join table toppers Real Madrid on 21 points BARCA STILL STRUGGLING AT THE BACK 20 21 0 69% 9 14 6 3 3 1 4 5 31% 5 2 18 2 3 5 0 2
MADRID: Barcelona needed Luis Suarez to be at his clinical best with a hat-trick in a 3-1 comeback win at home to modest Eibar on Sunday which put the champions level on 21 points with arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Real lead on goal difference with nine matches played after they secured a nervy 3-1 win at 10-man Celta Vigo on Saturday. Atletico, the 2014 champions, are third on 19 points, one ahead of fourth-placed Celta.
Barca’s defence has been ragged this season and more poor play at the back allowed Borja Gonzalez in to give Eibar a surprise 10th-minute lead at the Nou Camp. A well-worked move resulted in a simple header for Suarez to level in the 21st minute and Neymar drove into the area and fed the Uruguayan to make it 2-1 with a low strike into the corner three minutes into the second half.
Chances were scarce after the break until Neymar lifted a pass over the top for Suarez in the 85th minute and he chested the ball down and arrowed a shot past Asier Riesgo in the Eibar goal for his second La Liga hat-trick. Suarez’s third goal, his seventh in the Spanish top flight this season, came moments after Barca’s Javier Mascherano was shown a straight red card for verbally abusing one of the assistant referees.
BARCELONA TO APPEAL MASCHERANO RED CARD Barcelona will appeal the red card shown to Javier Mascherano in Sunday’s La Liga game against Eibar for verbally abusing a referee’s assistant, the Spanish and European champions said on Monday.
Mascherano was dismissed in the 83rd minute of the 3-1 victory at the Nou Camp and the Argentina internationalcould face a ban of up to four matches if the appeal is unsuccessful. That would mean he will be unavailable for some key games in Spain’s top flight, including the first of the season’s two ‘Clasicos’, to be played at Real Madrid on Nov. 21, and the match at home to Villarreal on Nov. 8. Barcelona’s comeback win against modest Basque side Eibar on the back of a Luis Suarez hat-trick may have put the defending champions in joint top position but their defensive woes sent another round of tremors among their fans.
The Catalans have been so shaky that they have conceded 12 goals in nine matches thus far.
In comparison, archrivals Real Madrid have given away only three while Atletico Madrid have five goals scored against them. Centre-back Gerard Pique has been nursing a hip problem for many months and has not been at his efficient best.
Barca's problems at the back could be compounded if Javier Mascherano is handed a lengthy ban for his needless dismissal on Sunday.
The Argentina international, who mostly plays at centre-back but can also operate in central midfield, was shown a straight red card for insulting an assistant referee and could be hit with a four-match suspension. After their win against Eibar, coach Luis Enrique was unable to say when the Spanish and European champions might fix their defensive woes.
“I don’t know how long this phase will last. We are training every week to bring the ball out ... but you have to get it right. It’s not a mathematical science and that’s why we can still work on it.”
LUIS ENRIQUE, Barcelona coach goals conceded by Barcelona in nine matches this season
goals the Catalans have scored till now
total goals Barcelona conceded in the whole of 2014-15 season
clean sheets for Barca in seven La Liga matches since August Las Palmas 0 9 9 9 6 5 5
Villarreal 0 3 0 18 21 0 2 8 1 2 9 3 1 7 2 2 6 21 19 18 17 Suarez 21, 48, 85 GOAL ATTEMPTS Off target On target FOULS CORNERS OFFSIDES YELLOW CARDS RED CARDS SAVES Borja 10 Off target On target