Four goals from Lionel Messi sent Barcelona to the top of LaLiga as they eased to a 5-0 victory over Eibar at the Nou Camp.
The reigning champions wasted little time claiming the lead as a 14th-minute Messi strike left them a goal to the good before a quickfire double from the captain widened that margin going into the break.
A rallying Eibar failed to profit from a handful of second-half chances before their fate was irreparably sealed by a fourth Messi goal and a last-minute strike from Arthur, with recent emergency signing Martin Braithwaite also making his debut from the bench and a late impact on the game.
The victory sees the club push to the head of the table, with long-time rivals Real Madrid demoted to second ahead of their visit to Levante on Saturday night.
IMPORTANT: Sporting Life podcasts have new homes across the below platforms.
Please make sure you subscribe to ensure you don't miss future episodes of your favourite show.
Follow Sporting Life on social media - find us on Facebook here or tweet@SportingLifeFC
Related football links
- Laura Woods: Numero (N)uno
- Everton's deal of the century
- Man Utd favourites to sign Sancho
- Chelsea close in on Ziyech
- Alex Keble: The botched winter break
- Pochettino fuels Man United links
- WATCH: Keeper clangers
- Latest Paper Talk
- Our latest football tips
- Super 6: Enter NOW!
- Fantasy Football: Pick your team now!
- Football results
- Latest football odds
Responsible gambling
We are committed in our support of responsible gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.Sky Bet's responsible gambling tools are detailed here and if you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, or visit begambleaware.org.
