Barcelona all but confirmed their place in the Champions League knockout rounds as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Belarussian minnows BATE Borisov.
The three points sees Barca sitting top of Group E, five points clear of second-placed AS Roma and six points ahead of third-placed Bayer Leverkusen, as they look to become the first side to defend a European Cup title since AC Milan in 1990.
A brace from the exceptional Neymar was sandwiched by a goal from Luis Suarez as Barca eased to a win over BATE.
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Suarez and Neymar continue to step up
Lionel Messi’s period out through injury has of course been testing for Barcelona, but in the little magician’s absence his South American compatriots have stood up to be counted. Between them Suarez and Neymar have now scored 18 of Barca’s last 21 goals – Suarez has scored five in his last three matches and 12 in 16 in all competitions, while Neymar has scored eight times in his last six outings and 11 in 13 in all competitions.
Munir maintains momentum
Messi’s absence has also created opportunities for Barca’s youngsters, with Munir El Haddadi being the main man to seize his chance. The youngster looked bright off the bench against BATE and won a penalty for his side, which Neymar duly tucked away. Like Munir, Sergi Roberto is also seizing the first-team opportunities being passed his way and the Spaniard is looking more and more impressive every week.
Another clean sheet for ter Stegen
That’s two in a row for the young German after he suffered a tough start to the season. Although he had very little to do against a tame BATE attack he did make a couple of decent saves from Ihar Stasevich and will be slowly growing in confidence in the Barca goal.
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More injury concerns
Barca’s injury luck this season has been a huge concern, and as Andres Iniesta returns so Ivan Rakitic goes and picks up an injury. The Croatian midfielder will definitely miss this weekend’s game with Villareal and could miss El Clasico after the international break, as Barca travel to Real Madrid on Saturday 21st November.
The Quintuple is still on
When Luis Enrique won the treble in his debut campaign as Barca coach most would have doubted he could have equalled that achievement, let alone beat it, in his second season. But in early November, Barca have all but won their Champions League group, are joint top of La Liga with Real Madrid and in the Spanish Cup despite a goalless first leg with minnows Villanovense, having already secured the European Super Cup and with the World Club Cup coming up next month. If only they hadn’t capitulated against Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup we could be looking at the potential of a clean sweep.
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