Sporting Gijon vs Barcelona. Spanish La Liga.
El MolinonAttendance25,899.
Sunday 25 September 2016 07:02, UK
Barcelona dismissed 10-man Sporting Gijon in La Liga on Saturday afternoon, with Neymar scoring twice in a 5-0 victory.
It was a game littered with fouls from both sides, with the visitors missing big names like the injured Lionel Messi, while Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic were on the bench.
Barcelona broke the deadlock just before the half-hour mark as Suarez rounded goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar to slot home and Rafinha added a second just minutes after.
Sporting Gijon were arguably the better side for 30 minutes of the second half, but after captain Alberto Lora was sent off in the 74th minute, the floodgates opened for Barca with Neymar netting twice and Arda Turan also on the scoresheet.
Barcelona now sit in second place and one point behind Real Madrid - who were held to a 2-2 draw with Las Palmas on Saturday evening - while Gijon remain in 12th on seven points.
It was a quiet opening from Barcelona, who didn't manage to muster an effort until the 14th minute when Andre Gomes' cross found Suarez on the left of the box, who headed across for Neymar and he went for the overhead kick - but was flagged for offside.
There was controversy not long after as goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen looked to have handled outside the area. He came out to collect a long ball from Jorge Mere, but ran into the 'D' and realising he could be out of the box, threw the ball back into the area before scrambling on top of it.
The incident sent the El Molinon Stadium into a frenzy with Ter Stegen protesting his innocence and managed to escape without caution from the referee, much to the dismay of the home fans.
But despite a slow start, Barcelona found the breakthrough in the 29th minute as the hosts suffered a lack of concentration, allowing Turan to play a sublime ball over the top to find Suarez on the right, rounding Gijon goalkeeper Cuellar at the top of the box before tapping into an open net.
It was 2-0 just three minutes later, as Neymar played in Sergi Roberto on the right flank and his pin-point cross was powered into the back of the net by Rafinha with a diving header to see Barcelona take a healthy lead into the break.
Gijon certainly showed the more attacking intent for half-an-hour of the second half, although it was mostly littered with fouls from both sides.
It took until the 57th minute to see the first real goal-scoring chance, as Victor Rodriguez played a one-two with Duje Cop before racing down the left of the box but his cross was palmed behind by Ter Stegen at the near post.
But the game changed in the 74th minute when Gijon captain Alberto Lora was sent off for a second yellow card after a late tackle on Roberto following his early booking for a foul on Rafinha.
It took seven minutes for Barcelona to take advantage with their final three goals coming in seven minutes, with Roberto again proving a sublime cross from right-hand side, which was originally smashed onto the crossbar by substitute Paco Alcacer before Neymar slotted home the rebound.
Roberto shone on the flank throughout the match and he got his hat-trick of assists four minutes later when his cross found the unmarked Arda Turan, who headed past Cuellar.
Neymar then added his second and Barcelona's fifth in the 88th minute, with Denis Suarez playing a sublime ball forward to find the Brazilian striker who slid home through the goalkeeper's legs and could have nabbed his hat-trick with a sensational curler in added time, but was denied by the woodwork.
