3 things we learned from Barcelona’s 3-0 win against Eibar

Barcelona cruised to a 3-0 win over Eibar on Saturday to keep their spot atop La Liga. Xavi, Lionel Messi and Neymar all found the net to earn the home side three points.

It should be noted that Barcelona didn’t look that great against Eibar. Considering that the Eibar are a recently promoted side and that Luis Enrique’s pupils were playing at the Camp Nou, Barcelona probably should have been up by halftime. Instead, Eibar had two very good scoring opportunities in the first 45 minutes. They were playing comfortably, even though Barcelona obviously enjoyed most of the possession.

The second half was a different story, though. Andres Iniesta joined the game and Xavi was able to find a brilliant ball by Messi inside Eibar’s box. Xavi didn’t miss and with that, Eibar’s hopes were done. It just got worse when Neymar put them up 2-0 on the scoreboard 12 minutes later.

A Barcelona win is not complete until Messi scores, and the Argentinian maestro didn’t miss the party, scoring Barça’s third and final goal shortly after.

Barcelona: Bravo, Alves, Piqué, Mathieu, Alba, Mascherano, Sergi Roberto (Iniesta 55’), Xavi, Pedro (Sandro 71’), Neymar, Messi (El Haddadi 77’)

Goals: Xavi (60’), Neymar (72’), Messi (74’)

Eibar: Irureta, Bóveda, Ekiza, Castellano, Abraham, Albentosa, Errasti, García, Lara (Piovaccari 57’), Capa (Boateng 75’), Berjón (Nieto 77’)

Goals:

1. Barcelona are ready for El Clásico - This win wasn’t as great as most Barcelona fans would’ve wanted, but they still earned the three points and remain unbeaten in La Liga. Dropping points against Eibar -- something that was a possibility until Xavi scored in the 60th minute -- would have been problematic before visiting the Bernabéu.

2. Messi keeps scoring - He’s changed his position a bit since Luis Enrique’s arrival, but the Argentinian still scores. It seems that Neymar is now Barcelona’s primary option when it comes to score goals -- he has notched eight goals in comparison to Messi’s seven -- but Messi is still crucial for Barcelona. Tonight, his assist to Xavi paved the way for a Barcelona win.

3. Dani Alves can’t cross - The Brazilian right back used to make some good offensive plays when he rushed forward, but now he’s turn into a cross-only right back whose crossing ability is not exactly brilliant. Furthermore, Barcelona’s lack of tall strikers doesn’t match Alves’ tendency, so this is all a bit head-scratching.