Barcelona win 2-0; extend unbeaten run to 31-games

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Spanish giants Barcelona temporarily extended their lead at the top of La Liga to 10 points after defeating opponents Eibar 2-0 on Saturday.

Barcelona took an early after 16 minutes when Lionel Messi set up striker Luis Suarez who made no mistake, rounding the goalkeeper and finishing clinically.

Eibar had Fabian Orellana sent off in the second-half before Barcelona defender Jordi Alba doubled his side’s lead after reacting quickest to a rebound in the opposition box.

The Spanish giants remain the only team in Europe’s top five leagues (Spain, England, Germany, Italy, and France) to have not lost a league match this season.

The win against Eibar means Barcelona lead La Liga with 62 points and extend their record to 19 wins, five draws, and zero losses.

They also equaled a previous record of 31-games unbeaten in the Spanish league, a feat previously acheived by former manager Pep Guardiola during the 2010/11 season.

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde said it was important that his team focus on continuing their run instead of “thinking about margins for error.”

“If you look at the table and see the points then it is clear that we can afford to lose,” he told reporters before the Eibar match. “But, that is a mistake to look at it that way, we need to always go into the next game trying to be strong.”

Next up for the Catalan club is a crucial UEFA Champions League round of 16, first-leg tie against last season’s English Premier League champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in London on Feb. 20.

The two teams have a history in the competition, having played one another on numerous occasions in the knockout stages of the tournament.

The most recent encounter was their 3-2 aggregate loss to Chelsea in the 2011/12 Champions League semi-finals.

Chelsea would eventually go on to win the tournament, for the first time in its history, after defeating Bayern Munich on penalties.