FC Barcelona News
Barça beats Alaves for last 16 of Copa del Rey
November 29th, 2012Barcelona made it through to the last 16 of the Copa del Rey last night after beating Alaves 3-1 in a match that saw the visitors score first.
Alaves scored the opener at the quarter hour mark, with the Catalans not up to their usual form at the start. However, the goal made them step up to the challenge and eventually Adriano scored just after the half hour mark to end the first half with one goal to each team.
Following the break it was David Villa’s chance to shine, in his first full match since returning from injury – he broke his leg during the Club’s World Cup, almost a year ago. Villa scored Barcelona’s second and third goals just after the start of the second half to give the home team a 3-1 win and to go through to the next round 6-1 on aggregate.
Barça’s next Copa del Rey challenge will be against Cordoba on December 12th at the Nou Camp.
0-1 Viguera (min 15)
1-1 Adriano (min 34)
2-1 Villa (min 55)
3-1 Villa (min 58)
La Liga 2012/2013 – standing after week 13
November 26th, 2012FC Barcelona has now opened the gap with Real Madrid to 11 points after the latter dropped three points against Betis to lose their third match of the season.
Meanwhile the Catalans remain undefeated and lie just three points ahead of Atletico Madrid.
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Win against Levante opens up gap with Madrid
November 26th, 2012Barcelona gained a convincing win against Levante on Sunday night, allowing them to open the lead up over Real Madrid to 11 points, after their archrival lost against Betis the previous night.
While the first half ended without a goal, just two minutes after the break saw Barça’s first from Leo Messi after being set up by Iniesta. Five minutes later the Argentine made it 2-0, once again thanks to Iniesta, who was perhaps man of the night; minutes later he put the ball into the Levante net to make it 3-0 to the Catalans, and he helped create the fourth goal for Barça, scored by Cesc Fabregas.
All in all a useful win against Levente, who went into the match in the number four spot in the league. They have now dropped to six, but even so have made leaps and bounds in the last two seasons when they were considered one of the weakest teams in the league.
0-1 Messi (min 47)
0-2 Messi (min 52)
0-3 Iniesta (min 57)
0-4 Fabregas (min 63)
Barça secure place in Champions League knockout stage after 3-0 win against Spartak Moscow
November 21st, 2012A goal from Dani Alves and two from Lionel Messi in the first half ensured that FC Barcelona qualified for the next round of Champions League last night in a cold night in Moscow.
After the setback in Glasgow, the Catalans came on with a real sense of purpose. The second half saw a couple more opportunities for Barcelona but they failed to capitalise on them and while the home team mounted a comeback it was short lived and they failed to dent Barcelona’s defence.
0-1 Alves (min 15)
0-2 Messi (min 26)
0-3 Messi (min 38)
La Liga 2012/2013 – standing after week 12
November 19th, 2012Barcelona remain three points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of the table following both teams’ win in their respective matches, and Real Madrid lie in third place still after their 5-1 victory against Athletic Bilbao. Meanwhile Barcelona’s second team, Espanyol, lie on the bottom with just nine points, a team that is clearly in crisis. Read the rest of this entry »
Barcelona beats Zaragoza to make it 11 out of 12
November 19th, 2012FC Barcelona won their eleventh league match of the season on Saturday night, in a game that saw the welcome return of Carles Puyol after his elbow dislocation; and with Gerard Pique back too, Barça’s defence was back up to full strength.
The Catalans stared off well, taking the lead at the quarter hour mark thanks to a goal from Leo Messi. The controlled the match completely, quickly retaking possession from Zaragoza whenever the visitors gained the ball. However, when Zaragoza did get the chance to attack the Barcelona goal they broke through and were able to equalise from the resulting corner. Five minutes later though, Alex Song scored his first goal for Barça after being set up by Messi.
While Zaragoza created some chances, after the break Barcelona once again reigned and in the 58th minute Messi scored from a Montoya cross. It was good to see Carles Puyol receive a standing ovation when he was substituted with Bartra, but the defence remained pretty much impenetrable. Cesc set Iniesta up twelve minutes from the end only for the shot to hit the post, and the score stood at 3-1 when the final whistle blew.
Out of a possible 36 points from the twelve league matches played, Barça has now taken 34, a truly remarkable record for Tito Vilanova in his debut season as coach.
1-0 Messi (min 15)
1-1 Paco Montañés (min 23)
2-1 Alex Song (min 27)
3-1 Messi (min 58)
La Liga 2012/2013 – standing after week 11
November 12th, 2012Barcelona’s victory against Mallorca kept them three points ahead of Atletico Madrid, with Real Madrid trailing eight points behind in third place. Read the rest of this entry »
Barça beats Mallorca as Messi passes Pele
November 12th, 2012Barcelona continued their record breaking streak of 10 wins in 11 league matches after beating Mallorca 4-2 last night, while Lionel Messi passed Pele’s 1958 tally of 75 goals in a calendar year with his 75th and 76th goals. The record stands at 85, by Gerd Mueller in 1972.
Barça dominated the first half, and by the half time whistle were three goals ahead thanks to Xavi, Messi and Tello. However, after the break Mallorca came on fighting with Pereira scoring the first for the home team in minute 54. Three minutes later Barcelona’s lead was cut to a single goal after a penalty was awarded to Mallorca for hand ball, with Victor putting the ball into the back of the net.
However, the Catalans reacted well and when Alves crossed to Alexis, who controlled the ball, Messi was able to finish and the match was back under control again.
0-1 Xavi (min 27)
0-2 Messi (min 43)
0-3 Tello (min 44)
1-3 Pereira (min 54)
2-3 Víctor (min 57)
2-4 Messi (min 69)
Celtic deals blow to Barcelona in second defeat of season
November 8th, 2012FC Barcelona won their second match of the season last night against Celtic in the group stages of Champions League. The Scottish club had few chances on the Barça goal, but those they did were capitalised on and the home team went two goal up thanks to Wanyama in the 20th minute and Watt in the 82nd.
Barcelona’s only goal was thanks to an injury time goal from Lionel Messi to end the scoreline 2-1 and had they won this match, the Catalans would have qualified for the next round already.
1-0 Wanyama (min 20)
2-0 Watt (min 82)
2-1 Messi (min 90)
La liga 2012/2013 – standing after week 10
November 5th, 2012FC Barcelona’s 3-1 victory against Celta means that they beat their existing record for the start of the season and have won nine matches out of 10 with a single draw. Meanwhile, Atletico de Madrid slipped back after losing against Valencia and Real Madrid remain eight points behind Barcelona after beating Zaragosa. Read the rest of this entry »
