Eibar continue to defy the odds to remain in LaLiga. The smallest club in the division put together another mid-table season under veteran coach Jose Luis Mendilibar to ensure they’ll once again enjoy first-division football.
They were a fun team to watch as their style of football was quite direct, with the gameplan to get the ball out wide to the wingers and to put crosses into the box for their strikers to get on the end to. It was a very effective way of attacking as Eibar won more aerial duels than any other team in the league.
Wingers Fabian Orellana and Marc Cucurella were excellent throughout the season, while full-backs Ruben Pena and Jose Angel were also important in attack, as well as in defence.
Eibar’s main weakness was probably at centre-back, which is not an insignificant weakness given how important that position is. Goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic had to bail them out time and time again.
Home form was important for Eibar as many teams struggle to play at their tiny Ipurua Stadium. They earned 1.0 points per game more at home than they did away, so they could certainly try to improve on the road.
Overall, this was a positive campaign for Eibar and they’ll simply be happy to have avoided relegation.
Avoiding relegation will be the objective again next season and it should be possible if Mendilibar stays on as coach and if they can hold on to most of the members of this squad.
