Barcelona moved to within one point of La Liga leaders Real Madrid with a 5-0 win over Cordoba on Saturday.
Pedro, Luis Suarez, Gerard Pique and Lionel Messi (2) all registered for the Catalan outfit, who have ended the year in positive fashion.
Cordoba, however, remain in the relegation zone on 11 points.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two teams.
Match statistics
BARCELONA
Shots: 16
On target: 9
Possession: 75%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 15
CORDOBA
Shots: 7
On target: 2
Possession: 25%
Corners: 0
Fouls: 4
Was the result fair?
There is no question that Barcelona deserved to record all three points, but the final score is harsh on Cordoba, who were not five goals worse than the home side. Barca took a one-goal lead into the interval, which was just about a fair reflection of the events that occurred. When Suarez netted the second - his first league goal for the club - it was always going to be difficult for the visitors to respond. If the score had finished 2-0 then there would not have been too many complaints on either side, but three goals for the home side in the final 10 minutes put a different spin on the scoreline. Overall, however, Barca certainly deserved to run out comfortable winners.
Barcelona's performance
It it difficult to be critical of a side that has just won 5-0, but there is still room for improvement. The Catalan outfit struggled to find their tempo in the first 45 minutes, which was even more surprising after the early strike from Pedro. The goals had been expected to follow from that moment, but that did not transpire as Cordoba caused problems of their own on the counter-attack. With respect to Cordoba, a team of a higher standard might have taken advantage of some of Barca's misgivings. That said, the match would have been a confidence-booster for Pedro, who scored and provided one assist, while Suarez's first league goal and another double from Messi were major positives for the hosts. As it stands, they are now just one point behind the league leaders Real Madrid.
Cordoba's performance
In truth, it has been a really difficult season for Cordoba, but they did enter this match off the back of two clean sheets - taking four points in the process. The visitors made just about the worst possible start, however, with Pedro opening the scoring inside two minutes. It was always going to be difficult from that moment, but in fairness to the visitors, they did cause problems. Nabil Ghilas and Fede Cartabia, who are on loan from Porto and Valencia respectively, were the two that looked most likely to make something happen, but they needed more support from midfield. Positives can be taken going forward, but there is no getting away from the fact that Cordoba collapsed in the final 10 minutes as they handed Barca all sorts of space. That said, whether Cordoba survive in the league this season is not going to depend on their results at places such as Camp Nou.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Pedro: The Spanish international has struggled to produce his best form for Barca this season, with a lack of appearances leading to speculation surrounding his future. The attacker scored a hat-trick against Huesca in the Copa del Rey during the week, however, and continued his scoring form into this match with a second-minute strike. Pedro also set up Suarez for his first La Liga goal during what was a lively and classy performance.
Biggest gaffe
There is not really one moment that sticks out in terms of an individual, but Cordoba's defending in the final 10 minutes was poor. At 2-0, the strugglers should have tightened up and accepted the narrow defeat, but they left all sorts of space in defensive areas and Barca capitalised. What should have been a narrow and spirited defeat, turned into a bit of a hiding.
Referee performance
In truth, Antonio Mateu had a very quiet afternoon in Barcelona. The referee did not issue a single yellow until the 66th minute when Sergio Busquets was booked and that proved to be the only card of the match. There were some late challenges during the contest, but Mateu was always on the scene when needed. Overall, neither manager would have had any complaints with the official.
What next?
Barcelona: Spanish football now breaks for the Christmas period and Barca will return to La Liga action away to Real Sociedad on January 4.
Cordoba: Following the winter break, Cordoba host Granada in the league on January 5.
Matt Law
