There currently isn’t a better side in world football than FC Barcelona. Over the weekend, the Spanish giants extended their unbeaten run to 36 games with a comfortable victory over Eibar.
At the heart of their play was none other than Lionel Messi, with the diminutive Argentinian causing havoc with his play throughout the contest. Messi eventually notched two goals for himself as Barcelona came out 4-0 winners. Their other goals came from Munir El Haddadi and Luis Suarez.
This victory moved Barcelona 11 points clear at the top of La Liga table, and afterwards Eibar’s manager, Jose Mendilibar, insisted that it was “impossible” to play against Lionel Messi because he was able to create “goals out of nothing.”
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MSN reach a century of goals as Barcelona go 11 points clear https://t.co/GkmUoA09fA pic.twitter.com/dvHgHlxhbI
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 6, 2016
Speaking candidly after the match, Mendilibar told a press conference, via ESPNFC , “When Messi is playing it’s impossible, he creates goals out of nothing.”
Mendilibar admitted that he was almost entranced by the way that Barcelona played, and that, while he wasn’t surprised by their ability, he was simply in awe of just how technically gifted and consistent each of their players are.
“I wasn’t surprised by them, but there’s something about watching them up close. They never miscontrol a pass, in that sense they are superior to every other team,” Mendilibar continued. “But what amazes me most is their defensive work. They can defend with six or seven players and leave three players up front.”
Not only was this Barcelona’s 36th game without a defeat, but it was also their 11th straight victory in La Liga. It also came just three days after they’d beaten Rayo Vallecano 5-1, while they achieved their victory over Eibar without the mercurial talents of Neymar, as the Brazilian was suspended.
Because of this victory, fans and media alike have conceded that it will take a minor miracle for either Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid or Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid to move ahead of Barcelona in the standings, and beat them to La Liga title.
However, after the match, Barcelona’s manager, Luis Enrique, was insistent that he won’t allow his team to become complacent, as he looks to secure yet another treble, just 12 months after his side won La Liga, the Champions League, and the Copa Del Rey.
“We won’t get distracted by thinking we’re champions before we are,” Luis Enrique insisted. “There are 30 points left to play for the team knows that. [Against Rao] we played a spectacular game, but today I think we were better, more solid, more complete. We played very well against a tricky rival away from home, we have overcome their pressure and barely let them create chances. Our players are playing very well and enjoying what they do.”
Lionel Messi has now scored 34 goals in 35 matches (across all comps) for Barcelona this season.
Another planet. pic.twitter.com/UmCoZ2KRLh
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) March 6, 2016
Luis Enrique admitted that, at the moment, because of the level that the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Andres Iniesta, and Neymar, are playing at it’s incredibly hard for other teams to stop them.
However, Luis Enrique insisted that this wasn’t down to luck. This was a result of the team working preposterously hard to reach this level.
“When they play at this level, it’s hard to stop them. We are in this situation thanks to our hard work, nobody has given us anything on a plate.”
Barcelona already has one foot in the next round of the Champions League as they currently have a 2-0 advantage over Arsenal going into the second leg of their round of 16 match.
[Image via Juan Manuel Serrano Arce /Stringer/Getty Images]
