Barcelona reopened a five-point lead at the top of La Liga courtesy of a 3-0 win over Eibar at Camp Nou on Sunday night.
Atletico Madrid's victory over Levante earlier in the afternoon had closed the gap to two points, but Barcelona made it six straight La Liga wins with a three-goal success over Eibar to move clear at the summit once again.
Lionel Messi scored in the 53rd minute to make it 400 La Liga goals, while Luis Suarez grabbed a double for the Spanish champions.
Read how it all unfolded in Sports Mole's minute-by-minute live commentary of the action below.
5.25pmEvening all! Welcome to Sports Mole's live commentary of the La Liga clash between Barcelona and Eibar from Camp Nou. Barcelona sit top of La Liga on 40 points, but they are now just two points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, who beat Levante earlier this afternoon. Visiting Eibar, meanwhile, have drawn each of their last four in the league and sit in 13th position in the table with 22 points from their 18 matches this term. Stay tuned for live minute-by-minute coverage of this Spanish affair!
5.26pmTEAMS!
BARCELONA: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Arthur; Coutinho, L Suarez, Messi
EIBAR: Riesgo; Pena, Bigas, Arbilla, Cote; Escalante, Diop; Orellana, Jordan, Cucurella; Enrich
5.27pmThe big team news for Barcelona is that there is a start for Philippe Coutinho, who has been out of Ernesto Valverde's first-choice XI in recent weeks. Coutinho starts alongside Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi in attack, while Arthur is back in the middle of the park. Valverde rung the changes for the Copa del Rey clash with Levante on Thursday night, but his big hitters have returned for this one.
5.28pmAs for Eibar, Pedro Leon and Jordi Calavera are still on the sidelines with foot and muscular injuries respectively. Head coach Jose Luis Mendilibar has also had to replace key centre-back Ivan Ramis, who has a muscular problem. Marc Cucurella is currently on loan at Eibar from Barcelona, but the 20-year-old will take to the field for the visitors against his parent club.
5.29pmBarcelona recorded a 2-0 win over Eibar when the two teams last locked horns in the Basque County in February 2018. Meanwhile, the Catalan giants thumped Eibar 6-1 at Camp Nou in the reverse fixture at Camp Nou. Here we go then; kickoff is now just moments away in Catalonia.
0 minKICKOFF: Eibar kick things off at Camp Nou...
2 min... Barcelona will be the big favourites to put another three points on the board tonight, but Real Betis beat them at Camp Nou in the league earlier this season and Eibar will be eyeing a shock result. The away side have lined up in a fairly attacking 4-2-3-1 formation early on here.
4 minThe two teams have locked horns on four occasions at Camp Nou in the league and Barcelona have scored 16 times, winning all four fixtures in the process. Eibar have only scored four times against Barcelona in their eight meetings, which is an indication of the task facing the visitors.
6 minSince earning promotion to La Liga for the 2014-15 campaign, Eibar's positions in Spain's top flight have progressively improved. They actually should have been relegated in 2015 having finished in 18th, but Elche's financial problems saw them drop out of the top flight. The 2015-16 campaign then brought a 14th-placed finish, before posting 10th in 2016-17. As it stands, a point tonight would actually be moving them into 11th position, just one point off the top eight.
8 minWhen considering that Barcelona's next two in the league are against Leganes and Girona, it could be a little while before the teams behind them have the chance to gain some ground. That said, Eibar have shown plenty of attacking intent in the first eight minutes of this match.
10 minThe Champions League does not return until next month, meaning that Barcelona can focus on their domestic form over the next few weeks. As mentioned, their La Liga fixture list is quite kind, but they have work to do against Levante in the second leg of their Copa del Rey tie. Not an awful lot to report in the first 10 minutes of this match although Barcelona have possession.
12 minAlba manages to break into the Eibar box, but Riesgo is out to make the challenge and eventually the away side clear their lines. Still goalless with 12 minutes on the clock here.
14 minLionel Messi and Luis Suarez scored the goals as Barcelona beat Getafe 2-1 last weekend and those two have been in brilliant form in recent weeks. Messi now has 16 in the league this term, while Luis Suarez has managed 12. Nothing much from either in the first 14 minutes here though.
16 minLast term, Eibar finished ninth in Spain's top flight, which was their best ever campaign in La Liga. In all honesty, Eibar should not be able to compete at this level, but they have more than proved themselves in recent seasons. With 16 minutes on the clock tonight, they are comfortable.
18 minEibar have actually only lost one of their last eight La Liga matches, which was a 1-0 defeat at Rayo Vallecano on November 30. They beat Real Madrid 3-0 in the league towards the end of November, but have drawn each of their last four in La Liga and five in all competitions.
19 minBarcelona have had a few games like this at home, mostly earlier in the season. Not an awful lot has happened aside from that early Pique header which dropped wide of the post.
19 minGOAL! BARCELONA 1-0 EIBAR (L SUAREZ)
20 minBreakthrough! Barcelona take the lead in the 19th minute of this football match as Luis Suarez combines wonderfully with Coutinho before finding the far corner of the net!
22 minCoutinho has had his critics this season, but he played a key role in the home side making the breakthrough. That is much more like the Coutinho that was on show at Liverpool.
24 minBarcelona have not been without their problems in La Liga this season, but it does appear that Ernesto Valverde's side are hitting top form at the perfect time as they start to open up a bit of ground on the chasing pack. A win tonight sees them go five points clear once again.
26 minYou do get the feeling that Eibar need to score the next goal if they are to stand a chance of picking up a positive result tonight. The visitors just cannot fall 2-0 behind at Camp Nou.
28 minLittle over 15 minutes of the first period remaining and Barcelona still lead 1-0 courtesy of that fine finish from Luis Suarez. Not too many chances since the breakthrough though.
29 minCLOSE! Easily Eibar's best moment as Enrich meets a cross from Pena, but his header drops just wide of the post. It was a brilliant climb from the number nine.
30 minCLOSE! Roberto heads just wide of the Eibar post from a narrow angle.
32 minPossession football from Barcelona at the moment as they pass and probe in attack.
34 minEibar continue to have joy in the wide positions and Cote has just flighted another cross into the Barcelona box, but Pique makes the clearance. The visitors continue to impress at Camp Nou.
36 minNot too much to report at the moment as both teams battle for the ball.
38 minSHOT! Orellana's wild attempt misses the Barcelona crossbar.
40 minEibar have the chance to threaten from a dangerous free kick in a wide area, but Barcelona once again clear their lines with Luis Suarez in there to make first contact on the cross.
42 minPossession football from Barcelona as we approach the half-time break.
42 minYELLOW CARD! Enrich (Eibar) is booked for a foul on Busquets.
44 minPENALTY APPEAL! Big penalty appeal for Barcelona as Coutinho goes down inside the box, but the referee is not interested. It was another brilliant combination between Luis Suarez and Coutinho.
44 minYELLOW CARD! Luis Suarez (Barcelona) is booked for dissent.
45+1 minHALF TIME: BARCELONA 1-0 EIBAR
6.17pmSo there we have it. The referee brings the first period to a close with Barcelona leading 1-0 courtesy of that fine finish from Luis Suarez in the 19th minute. Eibar have certainly had their moments, however, and we are set up for a very interesting second half of football here.
6.22pmSTATISTICS! Barcelona had 60% of the ball in the first period, but only managed one shot on target, which was, of course, the goal. Eibar, meanwhile, had five attempts, but all were off target. Two yellow cards to report - Eibar for the visitors and Luis Suarez for the home side.
6.27pmBENCH WATCH! A very strong Barcelona bench includes the likes of Alena, Dembele, Denis Suarez and Arturo Vidal. Eibar, meanwhile, have options in the shape of Kike, Alvarez and Cardona. It will be interesting to see whether Denis Suarez is involved in the second period as speculation linking the Spaniard with a move to Arsenal continues to gather pace.
46 minKICKOFF: Barcelona resume the action here...
47 min... no changes from either side at the break, which is not too much of a surprise. However, I suspect that both managers will have alterations in mind as the second period develops here.
49 minEibar will always be in the match at 1-0 and Barcelona will be keen to score a second as soon as possible. Atletico Madrid are only two points off Barcelona as things stand in La Liga.
51 minNot too much to report in the early stages of the second period, with Eibar fairly comfortable as they sit back before regaining the ball and pushing forward. It is an even game at the moment.
53 minGOAL! BARCELONA 2-0 EIBAR (MESSI)
54 minBarcelona double their lead in the 53rd minute as Luis Suarez plays a little pass to Messi and the Argentine smashes the ball into the corner of the net. Easy as you like!
56 minEibar continue to press players forward, but they are just lacking that final bit of quality when it really matters. Barcelona can play on the break and really hurt the away side now.
56 minSHOT! Escalante misses the Barcelona crossbar with a powerful strike.
57 minSAVE! Luis Suarez is denied by a wonderful save from Riesgo! Point-blank header!
59 minSAVE! Another smart save from Riesgo to keep out a strike from Coutinho!
59 minGOAL! BARCELONA 3-0 EIBAR (LUIS SUAREZ)
60 minBarcelona score their third in the 59th minute as Luis Suarez finds the back of the net from a narrow angle. Not sure about the defending, but it was an excellent finish.
62 minCoutinho has not got his name on the scoresheet tonight, but the Brazilian has been excellent alongside Luis Suarez and Messi in the final third. Still 30 minutes of football to play here.
64 minSo, Messi has reached 400 La Liga goals and Luis Suarez has a double tonight - great evening for those two. Little over 25 minutes of football remaining and Eibar are preparing a change.
65 minEIBAR SUB! De Blasis replaces Cucurella for the away side.
66 minBARCELONA SUB! Vidal replaces Busquets for Barcelona.
68 minBarcelona are going to be moving five points clear at the top of La Liga once again. The Spanish champions are going to take some stopping this season there is no question about that.
70 minYELLOW CARD! Pique (Barcelona) is booked for a foul on Enrich.
72 minBARCELONA SUB! Dembele replaces Arthur for the home side.
74 minEibar are pushing players forward at the moment, which is leaving all sorts of space for the likes of Dembele down the other end of the field. Surely we have not seen the last of the goals.
75 minCHANCE! Big chance for De Blasis as he meets a cross from Cote, but Ter Stegen saves! Eibar have been worth a goal at Camp Nou and they still have time to get it.
77 minDembele has just driven clear of the Eibar defence with incredible pace, but there are no takers on the winger's low cross. Still more than 10 minutes of football remaining here.
78 minEIBAR SUB! Kike replaces Escalante for the away side.
80 minReally good spell of pressure from Eibar, but Ter Stegen's handling is good on more than one occasion and Barcelona still have their clean sheet in tact. Little over 10 minutes left here.
82 minEibar are the team very much on the front foot at the moment.
84 minBARCELONA SUB! Semedo replaces Roberto for Barcelona.
84 minEIBAR SUB! Cardona replaces Enrich for Eibar.
86 minBarcelona again break clear and Coutinho looks to find Messi with a pass, but for once the Argentine cannot gather. Coutinho has been terrific for the home side in this match.
88 minI should not imagine that there will be too much added time at the end of the match. Eibar have been the team on the front foot for the last 10 minutes or so, but have been unable to register.
90 minWe will play three added minutes at the end of the match.
90+2 minThe stands are starting to empty as we approach the full-time whistle. It has been another professional performance from Barcelona, who are going five clear at the summit again.
90+4 minFULL TIME: BARCELONA 3-0 EIBAR
7.21pmSo there we have it. Barcelona record a 3-0 win over Eibar at Camp Nou to move five points clear at the top of La Liga. It is a sixth straight league victory for Barcelona. Thanks for joining Sports Mole for our live coverage once again. See you next time!
