FC Barcelona News
Barça back on form against Osasuna
January 28th, 2013After suffering their first league defeat of the season last weekend Barcelona were back on form at the Nou Camp on Sunday when they played host to Osasuna. Jordi Roure was again in charge while Tito Vilanova undergoes treatment for cancer.
On particular form was Leo Messi, who opened the scoring in the 10th minute. While Loe equalised in minute 23 for the visitors, it was the world’s number one player who put Barça back in front. Three minutes later Arribas received his second yellow card for handling the ball inside the area and the visitors were down to 10 men, tipping the balance of the match completely; Messi scored from the penalty spot.
Pedro scored Barcelona’s third towards the end of the first half, and after the break, with a rejigged lineup for Osasuna, Messi scored the two goals of the second half 10 minutes in and then two minutes later.
1-0 Messi (min 10)
1-1 Raoul Loe (min 23)
2-1 Messi (min 27)
3-1 Pedro (min 39)
4-1 Messi (min 55)
5-1 Messi (min 57)
Messi to the Rescue with Late Strikes
August 27th, 2012Barcelona snatched a 2-1 win thanks to two late goals by Lionel Messi away at CA Osasuna on Sunday evening. Barça’s opponents were energetic and enterprising, creating a number of chances in an entertaining and even encounter. Joseba Llorente scored a volley in the first half, but Barcelona fought back in the last 15 minutes. Messi scored a tap in, then curled a stylish shot in from the edge of the area.
Unlike many Primera Division opponents Osasuna try to attack rather than counter against Barça, which, combined with a less than ideal playing surface, makes for a tricky away trip.
Osasuna were positive from the start and could have had a goal inside a minute when Cejudo got away from Pique and unleashed a near-post shot that drew a world-class one-handed save from Valdes.
Barça responded with a chance of their own; Iniesta guided a sublime pass through for Alexis, but Andres in the Osasuna goal was quick off his line to close the angle and make the save.
The came an Osasuna goal – Lamah picked up the ball on the left flank and curled in a deep cross to the back-post that Joseba volleyed in from an acute angle, leaving Valdes with no chance.
Barcelona continued to create chances. Tello drew a save from Andres, and then Iniesta missed what looked like a simple chance – Alexis was released down the right flank and, with just the ‘keeper to beat, squared for Iniesta. But just before it reached his foot the ball took an unfortunate bounce, and was duly sent flying over the bar from eight yards.
Valdes had to be sharp to keep out a low shot from Lamah and then Joseba Llorente’s follow up was blocked by some determined defending. Troubled as they were at the back, Barcelona were a constant threat at the other end – just before the break, Messi rounded Andres, but the ‘keeper recovered to make an important save.
Osasuna continued to pressure Barcelona in the second half. Lamah might have scored after a powerful run and shot, and, soon after, Osasuna almost added to their one-goal lead when Busquets was robbed in front of his area. The ball broke for Nino, who was one-on-one with Valdes, but his low shot grazed the right post and went out for a goal kick.
After key changes and with just 15 minutes remaining, Barcelona finally clicked into gear. After good work by Pedro on the right side of the box, Alexis seized on a mistake by an Osasuna defender, and squared for Messi who slid in and scored from five yards out.
Osasuna lost a man when midfielder Punal was shown a straight red for protesting a possible offside in the build up. And seconds later, Messi had scored again. This time Jordi Alba crossed low from the left and Messi tucked a low strike inside the left post to claim a hard-fought and valuable away win.
FC Barcelona fixtures: August 2012
August 1st, 2012Barcelona has a number of friendly fixtures lined up for August prior to the football getting serious again. And when it does, it gets really serious; two matches against Real Madrid in the Spanish Supercup.
Below is listed all matches currently scheduled for August, bearing in mind that league match dates may not be confirmed until a week before they take place.
Tickets for any of the home matches below can be ordered from Simply Barcelona Tickets, as well as the away leg of the Spanish Supercup on 30th August.
| 4 Aug | Paris Sant-Germain v Barcelona |
| 8 Aug | Manchester United v Barcelona |
| 11 Aug | Dinamo v Barcelona |
| 18/19 Aug | Barcelona v Real Sociedad |
| 20 Aug | Barcelona v Sampdoria |
| 23 Aug | Barcelona v Real Madrid |
| 25/26 Aug | Osasuna v Barcelona |
| 30 Aug | Real Madrid v Barcelona |
For all other matches in the forthcoming season, please see the homepage.
Barcelona Frozen Out at Osasuna
February 12th, 2012Barcelona have lost ground in the title race, falling to a 3-2 defeat away at Osasuna. On a bitter night in Pamplona the home team adapted better to the difficult conditions, surging to 2-0 via two Lekic goals. In the second half Alexis and Tello scored for Barcelona, but Raul Garcia’s 56th minute strike proved decisive.
The first half was one best forgotten by Barcelona. The weather couldn’t have been less suited to passing football – subzero temperatures resulted in a frozen playing surface, made even less predictable by gusty wind.
Barça were having to think twice about every pass, allowing the home team to win the ball back time and again. Osasuna on the other hand were clearly more acclimatised, looking comfortable in these exceptional conditions and taking advantage of Barcelona’s hesitation.
Their opener came in the fifth minute, when Raúl García nipped in front of Puyol on the edge of the area to direct the ball on the stretch for Lekic, who tucked his finish low past Valdés.
Usually Barça are quick to rally after going a goal down, but Osasuna were looking sharper and more confident in both attack and defence, while the away team had to toil for any kind of opening. Alexis managed to get in behind not long after Osasuna’s first goal, but was incorrectly ruled offside. Messi also went close, forcing an acrobatic save from Fernández with a shot from the edge of the area.
But the next real attack would come from the home team – and it ended with another goal. Cejudo managed to drift out to the right touchline unseen, and when he got possession drove a low cross across the face of goal that found Lekic completely unmarked to score from six yards.
Puyol and Pedro, who had both found the going tough, were replaced by Tello and Cuenca at the break, and Barcelona made a marked improvement. They clawed a goal back shortly after the restart when Cuenca scuttled down the right flanked and crossed low for Alexis to score from close range.
Still, the hesitancy that had wracked Barcelona’s first-half defending was evident once more just a few minutes later. They were unable to clear their lines sufficiently after an Osasuna attack, and Nino found room down the left to whip another low cross for Raúl García, who saw his near-post effort roll in off the upright to take it to 3-1.
From then on Barcelona attacked relentlessly. Cesc came on for Piqué, and had an immediate effect, side-footing a lovely through pass for Tello, who turned inside his defender and lashed a powerful effort high inside the near post with 20 minutes to go.
With the game finely poised, and Barcelona piling forward, both teams had chances in the closing stages. Puñal saw his shot saved pushed onto the post by Valdés, and at the other end Tello went one-on-one down the left, but Fernández produced a reaction save.
1-0 Lekic (min 4)
2-0 Lekic (min 21)
2-1 Alexis (min 50)
3-1 Raúl García (min 55)
3-2 Tello (min 71)
Barça eliminates Osasuna to go through to Copa del Rey quarter-final
January 13th, 2012After last week’s 4-0 win against Osasuna in the Nou Camp there wasn’t much left to do for Barça to make it through to the next round. There was some doubt during the day whether the match would take place due to the weather, but in the end it went ahead as planned in freezing fog.
The Barça squad looked as though they weren’t going to over exert themselves in the cold, however after 15 minutes Fontas was stretched off the pitch, with Abidal coming on in his place. After some undemanding play, Osasuna finally came alive at the end of the first half and Lekic put the ball past Pinto to put the hosts ahead.
After the break Barça quickly got into the game to make sure Osasuna’s advantage was temporary. The Catalan’s moment came just four minutes into the second half when Adriano crossed to Alexis, who put the ball into the Osasuna net. Guardiola then brought on Messi in place of Alexis and soon after Busquets came on to replace Pedro, who was suffering a thigh strain.
A few minutes later Messi set up Sergi Roberto’s goal inside the area in the 72nd minute to put Barcelona ahead; the scoreline remained 2-1 to Barcelona, who once again have qualified for the Copa del Rey quarter-final. Next week they face Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, with Barcelona v Real Madrid at the Nou Camp leg being played a week later.
1-0 Lekic (min 40)
1-1 Alexis (min 49)
1-2 Sergi Roberto (min 72)
Stylish Barcelona Overcome Osasuna
January 5th, 2012Cesc Fàbregas and Lionel Messi helped bring FC Barcelona within touching distance of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, each scoring two goals in a comfortable 4-0 first leg victory over Osasuna at the Camp Nou on Wednesday night.
Barcelona settled quickly in this game, showing no signs of rust after their two-week break. A couple of early forays aside, Osasuna were soon pinned back in their own half by the home team’s intelligent passing and movement. Alves dragged a left-footed shot just wide – the livewire Brazilian would be a constant threat down the right wing, given even more freedom playing in front of a three-man defence.
It didn’t take long for Barcelona to make the breakthrough. Alves carried the ball inside from the right, feeding Xavi, whose close control helped him evade three defenders before laying a pass on for Cesc to score an easy tap in.
Cuenca was also impressive down the left flank – he worked some space before finding Alves on the opposite flank, who once again worked the ball to Xavi, but the captain could only shoot just wide.
By now the attacks were relentless and it was no surprise when Barcelona doubled their lead. With 20 minutes gone Xavi fed Cesc on the edge of the area, who controlled the ball on the turn with an immaculate first touch, before clipping a perfectly weighted chip over the head of Riesgo in the Osasuna goal.
Barcelona were looking reinvigorated after their winter break, and continued to carve out chances. Riesgo needed to react quickly to close range shots from Puyol and Thiago, as Osasuna somehow managed to maintain a two-goal deficit. At the end of the half he was called upon once more, tipping a chip by Dani Alves over the bar after a jinking run by the Brazilian.
There were a few contentious moments early on in the second half. Cuenca was clearly fouled on the edge of the penalty are as he skipped past Damià, but referee Borbalán wasn’t interested. Then Messi, on for Pedro, was held back as he bustled into the Osasuna area, but also saw his appeals waved away.
Within minutes of Messi’s entry though, Barcelona once again looked formidable in attack. The Argentine missed the goal by a matter of centimetres after wriggling past two defenders, swapping passes with Alves and neatly chipping the stranded Riesgo.
It mattered little though as Messi would be on the scoresheet minutes later. After Osasuna failed to clear a goalmouth scramble, Cesc aimed a cross to the far post and Messi produced his now customary leap to nod the ball home. He nearly got another shortly after, when Alexis teed him up in the six-yard box, but Riesgo made yet another reaction stop.
There was still time for one more goal. Xavi looked up and saw Messi open on the left-side of the box. The diminutive Argentine turned, looked up and curled a shot past Riesgo to complete an assured performance.
1-0 Cesc (min 13)
2-0 Cesc (min 18)
3-0 Messi (min 74)
4-0 Messi (min 94)
Barça face Osasuna in Copa del Rey
December 29th, 2011FC Barcelona plays Osasuna in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey, with the home leg taking place on the 3rd to 5th of January and the return between the 10th and the 12th.
Last time Barcelona and Osasuna squared up the latter team lost 8-0 and so the match should be a fairly straightforward win unless anything wayward occurs.
Real Madrid will face Malaga and assuming that both Barça and Madrid win this round they will face each other once again in the quarter finals, provisionally scheduled for the 18th and 25th of January.
Last season Madrid beat Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final, leaving the two more important titles – la liga and Champions League – to the Catalans.
Click here to order tickets for Barcelona versus Osasuna in the Copa del Rey
Barcelona Bag Eight on Memorable Night at Camp Nou
September 18th, 2011FC Barcelona answered their critics in emphatic style at home to CA Osasuna on Saturday night, thrashing Los Rojillos 8-0. Messi chalked a hat-trick, with David Villa netting two, accompanied by Cesc and Xavi, who scored one goal each. It was a night of spectacular attacking football, and Guardiola’s men were back to their devastating best, enjoying more than 80% possession in the process.
In this fixture Guardiola opted for the 3-4-3 formation that dispatched Villareal so clinically in the first match of the season. A major pre-game positive was the return of Carles Puyol after almost nine months of injury problems. He took his place at the centre of the back three, flanked by Mascherano and Abidal, and looked in good form until coming off early in the second half.
In truth the Barcelona defence was pretty much untested for the whole evening. There was a clear determination to disprove any accusations of complacency after letting two leads slip, against Sociedad and Milan. Indeed Barcelona were in front by the fifth minute; Busquets floated a delightful pass out to Dani Álves, who headed square for Messi to sweep the ball home.
Fàbregas then continued his fine scoring form for his new club; chesting the ball down for Messi, who flicked it over the Osasuna backline for the recent signing to time a perfect left-footed volley past the hapless Fernández.
Barça were now 2-0 up and showed no sign of loosening their grip – Alves skipped down the right flank and curled a sublime cross for Messi, who nodded the ball down but onto the post. Still, the home side would not be denied; after a period of sustained possession Abidal slipped a pass through for David Villa, and the striker rounded Fernández, finishing with his left foot to make it three.
Five minutes later the Asturian was set free down the left once again. This time his attempt was saved, but ricocheted off the unfortunate Roversio and into the empty net. Then, on the 40th minute, Cesc was found in the box by Xavi before pirouetting and squaring for Messi who notched his second and Barcelona’s fifth of the night.
If Osasuna were hoping for a reprieve after half time, their opponents were unwilling to oblige, as within ten minutes Barcelona had scored six. This was perhaps the pick of the bunch; Xavi was put through by another perfectly weighted Messi chip. The midfielder let the ball bounce before lobbing Fernández from the edge of the area.
But Barça still weren’t done – Fàbregas bustled through the beleaguered Osasuna defence to find Villa, who turned the ball home from seven yards. Once again, it was Messi who stole the show, and the Argentine dynamo capped a landmark night for his team when he swapped passes with Cesc and strode clear to find the bottom right corner past Fernández.
1-0 Messi (min 4)
2-0 Cesc (min 13)
3-0 Villa (min 33)
4-0 Roversio own goal (min 39)
5-0 Messi (min 41)
6-0 Xavi (min 56)
7-0 Villa (min 75)
8-0 Messi (min 79)
Barça Backups Eventually Overcome Osasuna
April 24th, 2011FC Barcelona produced a workmanlike performance to defeat CA Osasuna 2-0 and maintain their charge for a 21st Primera División title. David Villa struck midway through the first half to end an 11-game goalless streak, and Barcelona’s Ballon d’Or trio all came off the bench to help cement a low-key win.
In the end it was Lionel Messi who made the victory certain, dispatching a perfect Alves through-pass to reach a superhuman half-century of goals in all competitions for the season.
Barça’s starting XI was a mixture of fringe-players and youth stars, with Jeffrén making a rare appearance on the left wing and Maxwell at left fullback deputising for the injured Adriano and infirmed Abidal. Meanwhile Gerard Piqué was rested ahead of the midweek trip to the Bernabeu, and Messi, Iniesta, Pedro and Xavi helped make up a formidable Barça bench.
Despite the apparent low standard of tonight’s opposition – Osasuna arrived at the Camp Nou on the back of three straight defeats – Pep Guardiola’s young team needed to win to maintain the eight-point cushion ahead of Real Madrid, who had just registered a convincing victory over Valencia at the Mestalla.
Guardiola’s young charges looked comfortable in the opening exchanges without penetrating much. Meanwhile most of Osasuna’s counter-punches, orchestrated by the lively Camuñas, were neatly snuffed out by Javier Mascherano. The tenacious Argentine is looking more assured by the game in his new central defensive position.
Still, no player typified Barça’s first-half display better than Jeffrén Suárez on the left wing. The 23 year-old gave the ball away a number of times, but also conjured a couple of moments of magic. And it was from a perfect cross by the mercurial winger that David Villa notched a much-needed goal. The Asturian striker slid in at the back post to stab the ball past Ricardo into the bottom right corner.
Rather than instilling self-belief, the goal was followed by a period of Osasuna pressure. The final minutes of the first period saw the team from Navarre carve their best opportunities. And no chance was more clear-cut than the one that fell to former Barça B player Damià Abella. The midfielder found himself teed up 5 yards out by Enrique Sola, but he snatched his shot under pressure from Maxwell and Víctor Valdés produced a reflex goal-line save to turn the ball away for a corner.
The second half saw the introduction of Iniesta, who was followed by Messi and Xavi. This injection of quality helped to add a measure of stability to Barcelona’s second half performance, with Osasuna unable to build on their pressure at the end of the previous half.
Messi put the game to bed in the 87th minute when he was found by an incisive Dani Alves pass and drilled a right-footed shot beneath Ricardo, adding a little gloss to an unspectacular though professional win on St George’s day in Barcelona.
Air traffic controllers fail to dent Barça’s talent
December 6th, 2010One of the casualties of an unplanned strike by air traffic controllers timed to cause disruption on Spain’s long weekend was FC Barcelona, who had planned on flying to Navarra for their match against Osasuna.
Despite being in contact with the Spanish League, when it became apparent that Barça would not be able to fly at all, Pep Guardiola was told that if they didn’t play they would lose three points. And so the squad made a gruelling trip by bus and train, arriving at the stadium with just an hour to go.
And while the match started late, with Barça’s preparation ruined, once again they played to win. Pedro took the first goal in the 26th minute, while Messi scored his first in the 65th. And again in the 82nd from the penalty spot.
0-1 Pedro (min 26)
0-2 Messi (min 65)
0-3 Messi (p)(min 37)
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
|
1
|
Barcelona |
14
|
12
|
1
|
1
|
41
|
8
|
37
|
|
2
|
Real Madrid |
14
|
11
|
2
|
1
|
35
|
11
|
35
|
|
3
|
Villarreal |
14
|
9
|
3
|
2
|
27
|
12
|
30
|
|
4
|
Espanyol |
14
|
9
|
1
|
4
|
16
|
15
|
28
|
|
5
|
Valencia |
14
|
7
|
3
|
4
|
19
|
15
|
24
|
|
6
|
Real Sociedad |
14
|
7
|
1
|
6
|
21
|
19
|
22
|
|
7
|
Mallorca |
14
|
6
|
3
|
5
|
15
|
16
|
21
|
|
8
|
Atlético Madrid |
14
|
6
|
2
|
6
|
22
|
19
|
20
|
|
9
|
Getafe |
14
|
6
|
2
|
6
|
22
|
20
|
20
|
|
10
|
Sevilla |
14
|
6
|
2
|
6
|
20
|
23
|
20
|
|
11
|
Athletic Bilbao |
14
|
6
|
1
|
7
|
21
|
25
|
19
|
|
12
|
Osasuna |
14
|
4
|
3
|
7
|
12
|
17
|
15
|
|
13
|
Hércules |
13
|
4
|
3
|
6
|
14
|
20
|
15
|
|
14
|
Deportivo |
13
|
3
|
5
|
4
|
11
|
16
|
14
|
|
15
|
Levante |
14
|
4
|
2
|
8
|
16
|
23
|
14
|
|
16
|
Racing Santander |
14
|
4
|
2
|
8
|
12
|
23
|
14
|
|
17
|
Málaga |
14
|
4
|
1
|
9
|
19
|
28
|
13
|
|
18
|
Sporting Gijón |
14
|
2
|
4
|
8
|
11
|
22
|
10
|
|
19
|
Almería |
14
|
1
|
7
|
6
|
10
|
21
|
10
|
|
20
|
Zaragoza |
14
|
1
|
6
|
7
|
13
|
24
|
9
|
