Winning again in La Liga, Barca successfully starts the big match with Chelsea

Goals: Luis Suarez 16', Jordi Alba 88'

Learning from his two missed chances to win three points, coach Ernesto Valverde restored the starting lineup to the one he had at the beginning of the season. Midfielder Paulinho played from the start alongside Busquets, Iniesta and Rakitic, while fellow countryman Coutinho had to sit on the bench due to his inability to adapt to the general playing style.

With a balanced squad, Barca did not need to make much effort to attack the ball but still created more dangerous opportunities. While Eibar had four shots in the first 12 minutes without scoring, the visitors only needed their second shot to open the score.

Messi continued to play the role of a set-up man when he passed the ball from midfield to Luis Suarez, who received the ball and dribbled past goalkeeper Dmitrovic to finish into the empty net.

Eibar had to wait until the 19th minute for a real chance, after Fabian Orellana lobbed a shot from outside the box,instead of going into Barca's goal,The ball went beyond goalkeeper Ter Stegen's reach and bounced off the crossbar.

Barca also had a situation where the goal was denied by the goalpost in the 37th minute. This was the opportunity for Messi with a left-footed shot that hit the post, after a pass in the penalty area from Suarez.

Eibar managed to maintain a stalemate with Barca until midway through the second half. Both teams had a few more shots but lacked the accuracy to score.

Barca began to dominate from the 66th minute, when Eibar lost a player. For reacting to the referee by knocking the ball off the field, Orellana received a second yellow card.

Successfully exploiting the numerical superiority, Barca created many clear-cut opportunities. Messi and Aleix Vidal both had one-on-one situations with goalkeeper Dmitrovic but failed to finish. In the 88th minute, after another shot from Messi, Alba rushed in to score the rebound to seal the 2-0 victory.

Having regained their winning touch in La Liga, Barca have 62 points after 24 matches. Coach Valverde's team is also 10 points ahead of Atletico Madrid, who played late in round 24.

The win over Eibar was also a successful warm-up for Barca for the big match against Chelsea in the Champions League. On February 20, Messi and his teammates will visit Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the round of 16.