Three second-half goal from Neymar, Messi and Xavi earned Barcelona three points against Eibar
8.48pm BST
Thats your lot. Messi will have to wait till the Real Madrid game to break that record. Thanks for all your emails and tweets. Speak soon. Bye!
8.46pm BST
90 mins There are three more minutes to be added on.
8.45pm BST
89 mins This is wonderful from Messi. He got the ball outside the box, had his back to goal, held off one defender, and another, then turned superbly, accelerated past a few more defenders before stinging Iruretas palms with a rasping drive from about 16 yards out.
8.42pm BST
87 mins Impressive, no?
With 8 goals and 9 assists, Lionel Messi has been directly involved in 17 of Barcelona's 25 goals in all competitions this season #fcblive
8.41pm BST
85 mins That nasty Iniesta has given away a free-kick wide on the right, near the corner of the Barça box. Nieto swings it in and a brave Bravo comes and punches it clear. Bravo, Bravo, the crowd dont shout.
8.39pm BST
81 mins Corner to Barcelona. They play it short and it comes to Iniesta. He tries to scoop it in bur Eibar deal with it. Speaking of Iniesta, He has just gone in the book for holding back the recently introduced sub, Dani Nieto.
8.35pm BST
79 mins Barça are playing keep-ball now. Pass, pass, pass it goes. Eibar cant get close to the round thing.
8.32pm BST
76 mins Some subs to tell you about. Neymar has been replaces by Munir and Sandro has come on for Pedro.
8.31pm BST
This is vintage Messi. He gets the ball a decent way out from the goal. He puts on the accelerators, speeds towards the box, plays a delicious one-two on the edge of the area (with Neymar) before continuing his run and poking the ball into the far corner of the net.
8.29pm BST
Just two more needed now (till the record is his).
250 - Lionel Messi has now scored 250 La Liga goals (in 285 games), just one short of the all-time competition record. Lethal.
8.29pm BST
Alves has had a lot of touches of the ball but failed to do a lot with them, until now. He is given fart too much time on the right and far too much space. This allows him to look up and perfectly pick out Neymar in the centre of the box and his lightening quick volley leaves Irureta with no chance.
8.27pm BST
And that should be that.
8.26pm BST
70 mins Philip Podolsky has a suggestion for Messis best goal. He says: The one v Zaragoza is of course sensational, but he does miscontrol the ball there. My favourite Messi slalom is against Valencia - not as visceral as Zaragoza, but the control and changes of direction are unreal
8.25pm BST
68 mins Just the 101.
THINK that's 101st assist from Messi since his debut ten years ago
8.23pm BST
67 mins Albentosa concedes a corner. Barcelona take it quickly and Alves and Messi do their one-two thing. The Argentine is surrounded by defenders and the angle is tight but he still manages to get his shot off. Despite all his hard work, it comes to nothing.
8.20pm BST
65 mins Impressive, no?
Barcelona: Have now scored in each of their last 56 La Liga matches at Camp Nou
8.20pm BST
64 mins Lillo introduces Neymar to the turf and Barça have a free-kick on the left, near the corner of the box. Xavi sends it in but Eibar deal with it easily enough.
8.17pm BST
This is great, just great. Xavi picked the ball up outside the box. He looked up and saw Messi in some space. He laid the ball off to the Argentine and ran into the box. Once there, he received an inch-perfect return ball (no defenders tracked his run) from Messi and the Spanish midfielder just dinked the ball over Irureta and into the net.
8.15pm BST
Well, isnt my face red?
8.14pm BST
58 mins While Eibar have performed above and beyond tonight, it is somewhat mind boggling how a side so stuffed with creativity and talent, as Barça are, can be so short of ideas when going forward.
8.12pm BST
56 mins Time for Eibar to make a sub. Off goes Javi Lara and on comes Piovaccari. Fun fact about Piovaccari. Eibar are his 16th club.
8.10pm BST
54 mins Javi Lara hauls Neymar to the ground in order to call a halt to a Barcelona attack. He gets a yellow for his troubles. Just before that, Sergi Roberto was the meat in a Javi Lara and Lillo sandwich and us in some pain. He wont be carrying one and is replaced by crowd favourite, Iniesta.
8.07pm BST
52 mins Speaking of Alves ...
Dani Alves: Had at least 19 more touches (73) than any other player in the pitch in the first half of Barcelona v Eibar
8.06pm BST
50 mins Xavis pass from outside the box splits the defence and finds Alves wide on the right. He loops one to the back post where Neymar and Messi combine to foul Bóveda and give away a free-kick.
8.04pm BST
48 mins Alves is fouled near the corner flag on the right. Xavi and Pedro stand over the ball and it is Xavi who whips it in. Pique rises, unchallenged, and heads the ball over the ball. He should have done much better there.
8.02pm BST
46 mins Eibar start by attacking down the right before being forced back into their own half and losing possession. Barça then set up shop on the edge of the Eibar box and eventually win a corner. Xavi sends it over and it finds its way to Pedro. His stinging shot is blocked by Ekiza.
8.00pm BST
45 mins And we are back. No changes to tell you about just yet.
7.46pm BST
45 mins Thats your lot for now but there was quite a few minutes of action just before the half-time whistle blew. A long ball over the top meant that Saúl was played through on goal. He took the ball down with a beautiful first touch and his second touch forced Bravo into standing tall and pulling off a very decent one-on-one save. From the resulting corner, Barça broke and Lillo got the games second yellow card for hauling down Neymar (I think) and stopping the attack. Back in a few minutes.
7.44pm BST
42 mins OMG, as the kids say. From that free-kick, the Barcelona defence go to sleep and when you combine that with a long ball down the left wing, Capa has time and space to attack. He bears down on goal, nips the ball over Bravo and with the goal at his mercy, he shifts the ball onto his right foot and should score but instead he puts it wide. That is the very definition of a let-off.
7.42pm BST
40 mins Neymar is the first name to go into the book. The home crowd dont like it and they have a point. The Brazilian was trying to do a double drag-back, messed it up and managed to accidentally step on Dani Garcías ankle. Yep, apparently, you go into the book for that.
7.40pm BST
38 mins Eibar are holding their shape very well and their discipline and concentration is impressive, as they frustrate their hosts. The question is though, do they have the necessary energy to keep it going for 90 minutes?
7.37pm BST
36 mins Messi creeps forward on the right. At the very corner of the box, he dinks a cross over, trying to find the head of the on-rushing Xavi. The cross misses its target by inches and goes out for a goal-kick.
7.35pm BST
34 mins Alves gets the ball at his feet about 25 or 30 yards out, wide on the right. The sensible thing to do from such a position is shoot. Being a sensible person that is exactly what Alves does. His sensible shot is sensibly wide.
7.33pm BST
32 mins Pass. Pressure. Pass. Pressure. Pass. Pressure.Pass. Pressure. Pass. Pressure. Pass. Pressure. Pass. Pressure. Pass. Pressure.Pass. Pressure. Pass. Pressure. Pass. Pressure. Pass. Pressure. Pass. Pressure.Pass. Pressure. Pass. Pressure.
7.31pm BST
30 mins Anyone out there?
7.31pm BST
28 mins Sergi Roberto attacks down the left. He passes to Neymar and on the edge of the box, he regains possession. He decides it is his time to shoot and that he does but his effort is blocked on its journey to Irureta.
7.28pm BST
26 mins Another corner to Barcelona. Their pressure is almost constant now. Irureta comes and claims it. He then flings the ball forward to try start an attack but within milliseconds Barça have the ball once more and put the pressure back on the Eibar goal.
7.26pm BST
24 mins And up he pops again. After some slick running, Messi looks to play Pedro through. The Spaniard cant get to that but a Eibar foot does and said foot knocks the ball into Messis path just outside the box. He curls his effort this wide.
7.24pm BST
22 mins Back to the first of those chances. It seemed there was the slightest of nudges on Messi and a penalty could have been claimed, according to the TV commentators. Would have been a touch harsh. Meanwhile, Barça have a corner. Xavi sends it in and Eibar send it out.
7.22pm BST
20 mins Neymar runs and runs and ghosts past a job lot of Eibar defenders. He is into the box when he passes to Messi. He looks to have his first of the game until he is hounded out of it by another job lot of Eiber defenders. Moments after that, he has another good chance to open his account for the night. He gets the ball at the corner of the box on the right, plays a delightful one-two with Alves and is only stopped from scoring by Irureta standing tall at his near post.
7.19pm BST
18 mins You knew this already, right? Yeah, me too.
Eibar is the 249th team Barcelona face in their 115 years of history #fcblive [via mrchip]
7.18pm BST
16 mins Neymar gets the ball outside the box. He cuts inside and passes to Xavi. He, in turn, spread it wide to Alves on the right. The Brazilian full-back swings the ball into the box but, like Messis free-kick a moment or two ago, it comes to nothing.
7.16pm BST
14 mins Javi Lara chops Messi down just outside the box. The Argentine and Xavi stand over the resulting free-kick. The latter curls it into the box but it misses everyone and goes out for a goal-kick.
7.14pm BST
12 mins Pique thumps a ball clear to give Eibar a throw deep in opposition territory. It would be a good spot to do something but they mess it up and Barça get countering. They mess that up too.
7.12pm BST
10 mins Back to that last chance for a moment, the noise level in the stadium went up about a million decibels when Neymar looked to set up Messi. In terms of atmosphere, the Camp Nou is poor. Not Emirates poor, but poor nonetheless.
7.09pm BST
8 mins Neymar has the ball at his feet wide on the left. He works his way into the box and looks to set up Messi but an Eibar players gets to the pass before the Argentine and hoofs it out for a corner. That is sent over before Piqué sends it over the bar.
7.07pm BST
6 mins Eibar are already pressing quite high, not allowing Barça too much time on the ball. The danger with such an approach is, of course, that it leaves the defence open to attacks should Barcelona escape the pressure and pressing and pass their way around them. So far, though, they have yet to do that.
7.05pm BST
4 mins Barcelona get a throw on the right. Alves and Pedro combine before Messi passes to Sergi Roberto. His location is just outside the box and said box is more crowded than a bar on a Saturday night. Nevertheless, he tries to shoot. It comes to nothing. Down the other end, Eibar float a free-kick into the box but do nothing with it.
7.02pm BST
2 mins It took 20 second for the David v Goliath cliche to be knocked out. Meanwhile, Eibar get their first ever throw in the Camp Nou and try to use it to attack down the Barça left. They falter quickly and Barça get to passing.
7.00pm BST
1 min And it is off that we go. Barcelona are in their traditional home number while Eibar are in their changed blue number. The home side play left to right for the first half. Incidentally, Eibar are the highest placed Basque team in the league this season and by all accounts are going out to win tonight. They couldnt, could they?
6.56pm BST
Ten years, eh? And just a few more goals before that La Liga record is his. Speaking of his goals, is this his best one?
6.50pm BST
If you are one of those who have had your internet switched off for the last few days, you may not know that it is 10 years since Leo Messis first-team debut for Barcelona. You may also not know that when he arrived at the Camp Nou, aged 13, securing a contract was not simple. You can read all about that in this piece by Sid Lowe.
Charly Rexach grins a familiar grin. Ill go down in Barcelonas history, he says. Born and raised in Pedralbes, the smart neighbourhood that lies up the hill from the Camp Nou, Rexach joined Barcelona at the age of 12 and he has spent almost half a century there, on and off. He played for the first team for 17 years and has been coach, assistant coach, technical director and presidential adviser. But thats not why he says he will go down in history. No, Rexach says he will go down in Barcelonas history because one day he signed Lionel Messi on a serviette. Or so the story goes.
Horacio Gaggioli still has the serviette hidden away somewhere, although there have been calls to place it in Barcelonas museum. Every now and then he takes it out and shows it off carefully. On Sunday, 17 September 2000, Gaggioli was waiting for Messi at El Prat airport in Barcelona. Messi, aged 13, was flying across the Atlantic with his father, Jorge, and Fabián Soldini, the players agent and Gaggiolis partner. Together with Josep Maria Minguella, they had arranged for Messi to have a trial at Barcelona.
6.35pm BST
Earlier today, Cristiano Ronaldo continued his remarkable scoring record with a goal in each half as Real Madrid strolled to victory over Levante. You can read all about that match over here.
6.22pm BST
In a stark example of Luis Enrique being anti-Guardian premables, not only has he not rested Messi, he has not rested Neymar either. Bah! Anyboohoo, those two start while Mathieu gets another chance to impress at full-back and Iniesta can only make the bench (which really effs up the photo above too!). Those teams in full are as follows:
Barça XI vs Eibar: Bravo, Alves, Piqué, Mathieu, Alba; Mascherano, Xavi, Sergi Roberto; Pedro, Messi and Neymar.
.@sd_eibar XI vs Barça: Irureta, Bóveda, Albentosa, Ekiza, Abraham, Lillo, Dani García, Errasti, Capa, Saul Berjón and Javi Lara.
5.55pm BST
Theres this picture of Andrea Pirlo. He is wearing the regulation sunglasses, a jumper is knotted around his waist and a white T-shirt adorns his chest. Emblazoned across said T-shirt are the words: No Pirlo no party. The message is obvious. Stuff does not get cracking unless larchitetto is in the house. Right now in Barcelona, the T-shirt would have to read: No Neymar, no Messi, no party.
The two South Americans have been on fire this season. The Brazilian has eight goals to his name already, while the Argentine has seven, as well as his seven assists. Backed by a defence that has yet to concede a goal in the league, they have led the club to the top of the Spanish table, with six wins from their opening seven games. However, international super stars that they are, the two have also spent the season break jet-setting around the globe Neymar scored all four against Japan while Messi scored twice against Hong Kong and Luis Enrique is worried that they might be tinsy, bit tired from flying first class, staying in plush hotels, living a life of unbridled luxury and playing against oppositions that are useful as a single sandbag against a tidal wave. The poor, poor chaps, who wouldnt be tired from all that, eh?
And so word on the street is that Enrique is going to call off the shindig. Word is he is to give the lads a nice, relaxing rest on the bench for this evenings game against Eibar so they can chat about video games or Le Corbusier lamps, or whatever it is footballers talk about when they play the role of substitute and, of course, stop Messi from surpassing Telmo Zarras six-decade-old La Liga scoring record of 251 goals. What a meany pants that Enrique fellow is, eh?
But why, oh why, oh why, you cry? Well its obvious innit? Enrique is doing so because hes not looking at the here and now but into the horizon. Off in the not-too-distant future, he sees Ajax at home in the Champions League and he sees Real Madrid away in La Liga and he sees that they are two games that are a touch more important, with all due respects sirs, than the one against last seasons winners of the Segunda División. When the camera zooms in in him later on in the game, look at his fingers, youll notice they will be crossed. Thats an external sign that he is hoping that whatever ridiculously talented kid from La Masia he has thrown on in their stead does the necessaries and stops him from telling the two to get warmed up.
That will be a tough task though. Eibar may be in their first season in the top flight after gaining two consecutive promotions but, unlike a small child or a feeble old man, they are no pushovers. As Sid Lowe has pointed out: Traditionally, Eibar was seen as a place where young players toughened up: David Silva had played here, Xabi Alonso too. They are a strong, hard working and well organised side who currently sit in a respectable mid-table position with a defensive record that is bettered by Barcelona and Valencia. They have also already beaten Real Sociedad and where it not for a lack of nerves on Ángel Luis Rodríguez Díazs part, they might have walked away from their game with Atlético Madrid with a point. Late in the game with the Eibar trailing 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon, the Spanish striker had a great opportunity to score but poked the ball the wrong side of the post. Not bad for a side whose entire budget couldnt cover Leo Messis wages.
A run of three draws may have dampened the initial enthusiasm of that opening-day win over Sociedad but coming to Barcelona to play Barcelona for the first time in the clubs history should get their motor going once more. Asking any side to leave the Camp Nou with even a point is tougher than leather but should Enrique rest Messi and Neymar and should Eibar over come any nerves and other obstacles, theres a chance there could be no party. Hey, stranger things have happened.
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