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Round-up: Luis Suarez nets hat-trick against Eibar

Enrique said: “We know the importance of Luis”.

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Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has responded angrily to reports suggesting Lionel Messi will leave the club, insisting that the reports are “embarrassing”.

Barca played the final minutes with ten men after defender Javier Mascherano was sent off. But the straight red card had little impact and Barcelona and Madrid have 21 points each after nine matches.

Barcelona forwards Neymar and Luis Suarez are among the first-team regulars who will be rested for the game, while Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Rafinha are injured.

Meanwhile, Eibar is on a four-match unbeaten streak in La Liga play but only won once in those outings.

The minnows took a shocking lead right after the eighth minute at Nou Camp as Borja Bastón found the net to push Eibar for a lead.

Neymar and Luis Suarez, who scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 La Liga win against Eibar at the weekend, are among the first-team regulars left out of the squad to face Villanovense.

In this column, Xoel Càrdenas gives you his take on FC Barcelona’s 3-1 win over Eibar on Sunday night.

Julio Cobos: “To get a good result, I’ll work as I normally do on tactics to counter their attacking game”.

Barca youngster Sandro Ramirez has struggled with the unenviable task of standing in for Messi during the four-time World Player of the Year s absence.

Depending on the length of his suspension, Mascherano could miss the Catalans’ El Clasico clash against Real Madrid in November.

Ander Capa was then caught napping when bringing the ball out from the back and was dispossessed by Neymar, who rushed into the area and teed up Suarez to arrow into the bottom corner for number two.

“I am always in favour of playing against the stronger players, but at the end of the day Barcelona have a great team with many players that make a difference”, he said.

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Former Arsenal forward Carlos Vela opened and rounded off the scoring either side of goals from Imanol Agirretxe and Asier Illaramendi.

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique