FC Barcelona News
BATE battered in Minsk
September 29th, 2011FC Barcelona cruised to a 5–0 victory against Belarusian side BATE Borisov in Minsk on Wednesday night. Guardiola’s men were never less than comfortable throughout, creating numerous chances on the way to a relatively rare away victory in Europe.
Sporting their black away colours, Barça took the lead through an own goal, before Pedro scored a header and Messi added two more goals to his already impressive tally this season.
As soon as the match settled, Barcelona were confronted by a wall of yellow shirts, with BATE setting up very deep in the hope of stifling Pep Guardiola’s side. Sole striker Mateja Kezman cut a very isolated figure on the halfway line, with his teammates withdrawing to the edge of the area in two tight banks. The first opportunity fell to BATE, as defender Marko Simic headed a corner over.
Barça stuck to their task and slowly the chances began to flow. Thiago’s shot was saved, and a Messi free-kick flashed past the left corner. With BATE unable to build anything resembling an attack, the strain was beginning to tell. And when Alves delivered a teasing cross from the right flank, midfielder Volodko turned the ball into his own goal under pressure from Messi at the back post.
Just three minutes later Barcelona were two goals ahead, when David Villa swung a pinpoint cross for Pedro to rise and nod home from the penalty spot. After this fine effort the home defence was in disarray, and a host of chances followed for the away side.
Still, the home team did muster one chance – Volodko nearly made up for his earlier error when he found some space in the Barça area, but the Belarusian poked the ball wide under pressure from Valdés.
David Villa was looking particularly lively and had two shots well saved after working some space on the left side of the area. The third goal for Barcelona was an absolute gift. This time Pedro broke free down the right, and when his rather tame cross was inexplicably fumbled by Gutor in the BATE goal, Messi was on hand to stab the ball home from five yards.
Early in the second half Lionel Messi looked hungry for more goals; just after the break he set off on a bustling run from the right flank, but skewed the ball wide at the near post with the outside of his left boot. The Argentine forward was not to be denied though; soon after, he set Alves galloping down the right flank and the Brazilian aimed a forensic square pass through the BATE ranks, which Messi controlled and fired into the top right corner to complete a fantastic move.
Messi nearly turned provider moments later when he found Abidal clear in the area with a breathtaking angled pass, but the French defender’s effort was saved. The night was topped off at the death by David Villa, who tucked a Thiago through pass into the bottom right corner.
0-1 Volodko (own goal) (min 18)
0-2 Pedro (min 22)
0-3 Messi (min 38)
0-4 Messi (min 56)
0-5 Villa (min 89)
Barcelona battle for draw at Mestalla
September 22nd, 2011FC Barcelona drew 2-2 with Valencia at the Estadio Mestalla on Wednesday night in a frenetic and fast-paced encounter. Valencia took the lead twice, first through an Abidal own goal, and then winger Pablo Hernández, but Barcelona fought back, with Pedro and Cesc getting on the scoresheet.
Barcelona’s evening got off to a difficult start; on the ten-minute mark Valencia winger Jérémy Mathieu drove down the left flank and delivered a teasing cross that Abidal could only turn push past Valdés despite not being under any real pressure. It was an unfortunate blow, but Barça’s response was almost instant.
A fine exhibition of quick passing and movement saw the ball flicked by Cesc to Lionel Messi at the edge of the area. The Argentine forward spotted the run of Pedro Rodríguez and slipped a deft pass between two defenders to the left side of the six-yard box for his teammate to equalise.
Moments later Barcelona could have had a penalty when Adil Rami brought down Messi on the very edge of the penalty box. The French international made no contact with the ball, but somehow escaped punishment for what looked like a clear foul just inside the area.
Valencia were soon causing Barça problems again, pressuring high up the pitch. Once again Mathieu surged down the left side, beating Mascherano and producing yet another dangerous cross. This time Abidal deflected the ball away from goal but only into the path of Pablo Hernández who made no mistake with his finish.
The away side might even have been two goals behind when the move was replicated for a third time, but to Valdés’ relief Soldado somehow managed to nudge Mathieu’s ball past the near post.
Up to half time Guardiola had opted for a three-man defence, but after the break Alves took his place at right-back after starting in midfield. As a result Barcelona looked far more comfortable and faced few defensive scares as the match wore on. Still, Valencia offered plenty of intensity, perhaps best typified by industrious central midfielder Éver Banega.
Barça’s first real sight of goal in the second half came after 20 minutes, when Mascherano crashed a 30 yard shot off the angle of the post and crossbar, with Gaita completely beaten.
Messi was then released by Thiago, but couldn’t quite bring the ball under his spell. Seconds later though, diminutive dynamo produced a perfect chipped pass to find Cesc who made no mistake to take his tally for the season to four goals in four league games.
Messi nearly conjured a match-winning assist late on, when he confounded the entire Valencia defence with a reverse pass for substitute David Villa, but the striker’s shot was well saved. There was still time for a late penalty shout, once again from Messi, but in the end Barcelona had to settle for a hard-earned point at a difficult venue.
1-0, Abidal (own goal) (min 11)
1-1, Pedro (min 13)
2-1, Pablo (min 23)
2-2, Cesc (min 76)
Barcelona Caught Napping and Draw Again
September 14th, 2011FC Barcelona drew 2-2 at home to AC Milan on Tuesday night. The Italian club scored in the first and last minute, bookending goals by Pedro and David Villa, in a match that the Guardiola’s men should have won with ease.
Only Puyol and Piqué were absent from what might be considered a first choice XI, while Alexis Sánchez began his recuperation from the injury he sustained at Real Sociedad. Milan were missing some important players, most notably Robinho and Ibrahimovic, but were still able to field a potent front-line of Cassano and Pato.
And it was the young Brazilian striker who stole the initiative and caught Barcelona cold after just 25 seconds – blazing past Busquets to slot the ball home beneath the helpless Valdés to give his side a shock lead. Pato continued to threaten on and off for the next 20 minutes before fading with the rest of his team as the match wore on.
The home side slowly recovered their composure after this early setback, and slowly began to dominate. At first AC Milan offered stout defensive resistance, but Barça soon began to carve chances, with Messi the driving force.
The livewire Argentine forced two saves from Abbiati with low drives, and clipped the outside of the right post with a curling 25-yard free-kick. David Villa also looked dangerous, smashing an acrobatic volley just over the bar.
Eventually the pressure told, and unsurprisingly it was Messi who made the difference; he picked up the ball on the edge of the area and bustled past three Milan defenders with a mix of tenacity and skill, before reaching the goal-line and cutting back for Pedro to finish from five yards. Things were looking good for Barca, but the mood was dampened slightly when Iniesta was forced from the field with a muscle injury just before half time.
Barcelona picked up the second half where they left off – Xavi drove a shot from the right angle of the area, which Abbiati pushed out for a corner. Minutes later the home side won a free-kick 20 yards out, in an inside-left position. This time David Villa stepped up, and the Asturian striker curled the ball beautifully into the top-left corner, leaving Milan’s goalkeeper no chance.
Now in the lead, Guardiola’s men dropped the tempo slightly, playing almost entirely in Milan’s half but rarely threatening their goal. Pedro had a couple of half chances, while Messi was stopped by a brilliant last-ditch tackle from Alessandro Nesta.
Puyol put his recent injury troubles behind him to replace Seydou Keita on 66 minutes, and Barcelona looked set to wind the clock down, with AC Milan seemingly a spent force.
That was until injury time, when Abidal tried to shield the ball out for a goal kick, accidentally clipping it in the process. Seedorf took the resulting corner, lofting a perfect cross for defender Thiago Silva to head home and make the final score an unlikely 2-2.
0-1, Pato (min 1)
1-1, Pedro (min 36)
2-1, Villa (min 49)
2-2, Thiago Silva (min 93)
Barcelona beats Napoli in Gamper trophy
August 25th, 2011FC Barcelona resoundingly beat SSC Napoli on Monday night in a match that saw Cesc Fabregas score his first goal for the club.The annual cup between FC Barcelona is an invitation match that brings some of the world’s top teams to the Nou Camp.
This year the Gamper Trophy was between two potential Champions League rivals and showed that following Barça’a defeat of Real Madrid in the Spanish Supercup they aren’t taking any prisioners.
The match saw a feast of goals for the Catalans and as well as Cesc’s first goal Leo Messi scored twice. With the player’s strike having postponed the first match of the league last week, there was the threat that the same would happen to the first home match of the season on Monday 29th against Villarreal.
Luckily the two sides have reached agreement and that will go ahead; before that Barça faces Porto in the European Supercup on Friday, which is being played in Monaco.
1-0 Cesc (min 25)
2-0 Keita (min 31)
3-0 Pedro (min 61)
4-0 Messi (min 65)
5-o Messi (min 77)
Messi Shines on a Night to Remember at Wembley
May 29th, 2011FC Barcelona has won the Champions League title after defeating Manchester United 3-1, in a game of near total dominance by the Blaugrana side. Lionel Messi and David Villa scored the winning goals, after Pedro’s opener was levelled by a Wayne Rooney strike on the half-hour mark.
After a slow first ten minutes, when Barça needed to find their feet after two and a half weeks of much-needed rest, Guardiola’s men exerted a stranglehold on the game that never loosened; always imaginative and assured in possession, and showing great togetherness and tactical nous to win the ball back early.
After a much-needed rest following the gruelling confrontations with Real Madrid, Barcelona were able to call on a near full-strength team for this, their most important match of the season. Abidal was fit to play at left-back, while Javier Mascherano filled in for Puyol, whose second half of the season has been plagued by niggling injury.
Manchester United started at a blistering tempo, pressing but without troubling the Barça defence. In fact, the first real opportunity fell to the Catalan side and proved to be the warning shot before a barrage of chances; Alves scuttled into space down the right for the first time, and found Pedro free in the area, but the Canarian winger skewed wide.
David Villa went close with an attempt from distance, then drew an important save at close range from Edwin van der Sar. Barcelona were suddenly looking confident, with Xavi, Messi and Iniesta interchanging with growing menace.
Some last-gasp defending by Vidic and Ferdinand only served to delay the inevitable – Pedro drifted into space on the counter-attack and was found by an inch-perfect Xavi pass, before finishing calmly at the near-post.
But the scores were level just minutes later, after Manchester United conjured their first real move of the match; Rooney combined with Giggs on the inside-right before lashing an unstoppable shot into the top left corner. Replays suggested that the veteran Welshman had strayed offside in the build up.
After this setback Guardiola will have been delighted by the way Barça went about their task at the start of the second period.
Yet more pressure culminated in a Messi goal, when the Argentine forward spotted the smallest of gaps between Vidic and Van der Sar from the edge of the area, driving the ball home.
This goal was followed by a spell of uninterrupted possession for the Blaugrana team, and Manchester United were visibly wilting, sapped by 70 minutes of chasing red and blue jerseys. It was David Villa who finally put them out of their misery, curling into the top corner from just outside the area after a Messi run.
All that was left was for Guardiola to lead his charges proudly up the Wembley steps, where Abidal was handed the captain’s armband and given the honour of lifting the Champions League, crowning a triumphant season with a memorable and touching gesture.
1-0 Pedro (min 27)
1-1 Rooney (min 34)
2-1 Messi (min 53)
3-1 Villa (min 69)
Barcelona March on to Wembley
May 4th, 2011FC Barcelona are through to the final of the Champions League after gaining a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid with an assured second leg performance at the Camp Nou. Despite fielding a more attacking lineup than in previous Clásicos, Real Madrid were never able to put sustained pressure on what remains a relatively makeshift Barça defence.
After dominating the first half, it was the home side that took the lead when Pedro tucked the ball past Casillas to cap a fantastic team move. With the tie effectively sealed, Barcelona could afford a little carelessness, giving the ball away at the back, with Marcelo tapping home from an Ángel di María cutback.
The build up to this decisive second leg had been tempestuous in all senses of the word. After a week of blustery claim and counter-claim in the press, a real life thunderstorm broke out in the Barcelona skies, leaving plenty of surface water on the Camp Nou pitch.
Any fears that the conditions would hamper Barcelona’s passing game were quickly dispelled though, when a first-choice attacking six started zipping the ball around with characteristic style.
The visitors reduced to spectators once again. Madrid’s main contribution in the early exchanges was to ride their luck thanks to a series of rugged challenges by Ricardo Carvalho and Lassana Diarra.
When Lionel Messi drew a full-stretch save from Casillas on the 30-minute mark, Barça scented blood and created a flurry of opportunities; Villa, Pedro and Messi again all went close, with only some spectacular acrobatics by the Spain ‘keeper preventing Barcelona from extending their lead.
Perhaps revelling in the fortune of surviving this onslaught, there was renewed endeavour from the visitors after the break. Cristiano Ronaldo had his first opportunity to run at the Barcelona defence – when the Portuguese forward forced a challenge from Piqué, the ball broke for Gonzalo Higuain who curled the ball past Valdés.
Fortunately for Barcelona, referee Franck de Bleeckere had already blown up for a foul on Mascherano. Cristiano Ronaldo had rolled past Piqué onto the Argentine defender’s heels, preventing him from putting a challenge in on Higuain.
Barcelona responded almost instantly with a wonderful goal; the move started back with Víctor Valdés and culminated in a pinpoint pass by Iniesta through to Pedro Rodríguez. The winger showed no hesitation as he slotted into the bottom right corner to spark rapturous celebrations.
Now reassured by their massive advantage, Barça opted to slow the pace. But a moment of rare sloppiness at the back allowed di María to get in on goal. The Madrid winger smashed the ball off the post before directing the rebound to Marcelo who made no mistake. It was careless play by Barcelona, but would prove to be little more than a minor bump in the road.
There was still time for a heartwarming moment – Eric Abidal’s late entrance was greeted by huge cheers, as the French defender made his first appearance since recovering from a serious health scare.
1-0 Pedro (min 53)
1-1 Marcelo (min 68)
Weakened Barça squad dominates in Mallorca
February 28th, 2011Even when Barça isn’t playing at its best, the squad can still manage to pull out some spectacular results. On Saturday the team faced Mallorca, with Puyol, Xavi, Valdes and Jeffren injured and Dani Alves off because of suspension. While they found it difficult to get going at the start, once they really got into the game they made it count.
The first half was rather slow for the Catalans, who were struggling to make any serious impact against Mallorca. However, as their game came together both Messi and Adriano came close; and then in the 38th minute Messi headed the ball into the net to open the scoring.
After the break Barça seemed to have been rejuvenated and looking like they meant business. Possession was up and it looked to be only a matter of time before they scored again; that goal came eventually when Villa connected with the ball from Busquets. And minutes later Pedro ensured that all three points would be Barça’s with the third of the night.
Meanwhile Real Madrid dropped two points after a goalless draw against Deportivo, leaving FC Barcelona seven points ahead on 68. This next week’s going to be a tough one though, with Valencia on Wednesday, Zaragoza on Saturday and Arsenal the following Tuesday – it’s make or break for Barça’s Champions League ambitions.
0-1, Messi (min 38)
0-2, Villa (min 57)
0-3, Pedro (min 66)
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
|
1
|
Barcelona |
25
|
22
|
2
|
1
|
76
|
13
|
68
|
|
2
|
Real Madrid |
25
|
19
|
4
|
2
|
55
|
19
|
61
|
|
3
|
Valencia |
25
|
15
|
6
|
4
|
40
|
26
|
51
|
|
4
|
Villarreal |
25
|
14
|
5
|
6
|
44
|
26
|
47
|
|
5
|
Espanyol |
25
|
13
|
1
|
11
|
34
|
36
|
40
|
|
6
|
Athletic Bilbao |
25
|
12
|
2
|
11
|
39
|
36
|
38
|
|
7
|
Sevilla |
25
|
10
|
5
|
10
|
38
|
40
|
35
|
|
8
|
Atlético Madrid |
25
|
10
|
4
|
11
|
35
|
33
|
34
|
|
9
|
Real Sociedad |
25
|
11
|
1
|
13
|
36
|
41
|
34
|
|
10
|
Getafe |
25
|
9
|
5
|
11
|
35
|
38
|
32
|
|
11
|
Mallorca |
25
|
9
|
4
|
12
|
25
|
34
|
31
|
|
12
|
Racing Santander |
25
|
7
|
8
|
10
|
23
|
35
|
29
|
|
13
|
Levante |
25
|
8
|
3
|
14
|
26
|
37
|
27
|
|
14
|
Deportivo |
25
|
6
|
9
|
9
|
21
|
35
|
27
|
|
15
|
Hércules |
25
|
7
|
5
|
13
|
24
|
38
|
26
|
|
16
|
Osasuna |
25
|
6
|
7
|
12
|
26
|
32
|
25
|
|
17
|
Sporting Gijón |
25
|
5
|
10
|
10
|
23
|
31
|
25
|
|
18
|
Zaragoza |
25
|
5
|
9
|
11
|
22
|
37
|
24
|
|
19
|
Almería |
24
|
4
|
9
|
11
|
24
|
40
|
21
|
|
20
|
Málaga |
24
|
5
|
5
|
14
|
31
|
50
|
20
|
Barça opens up gap with Madrid, equals La Liga record
January 31st, 2011Saturday night’s marked Barça’s 15th successive league victory, matching the current La Liga record, when they beat the the only team to have beaten them during the current league season, Hercules.
While the result was a good one, Hercules certainly didn’t let the Catalans walk over them. After Pedro’s goal at the end of the first half, Barcelona remained just one goal up until three minutes before the end of the match, when Hercules were one man down.
Leo Messi made it 2-0 in the 87th minute; and he scored again in the 89th minute to make it 3-0.
The result is that Barcelona are now seven points clear of Real Madrid, after their 1-0 defeat at the hands of Osasuna. Things aren’t looking good in the Madrid camp, with Jose Mourinho strongly suggesting that he won’t be around next season. Given Madrid’s history, I wonder if he’ll last until the end of the season, given that his relationship with the club’s top brass is almost non-existent .
0-1 Pedro (min 43)
0-2 Messi (min 87)
0-3 Messi (min 89)
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
|
1
|
Barcelona |
21
|
19
|
1
|
1
|
67
|
11
|
58
|
|
2
|
Real Madrid |
21
|
16
|
3
|
2
|
48
|
18
|
51
|
|
3
|
Villarreal |
21
|
14
|
3
|
4
|
41
|
21
|
45
|
|
4
|
Valencia |
20
|
12
|
4
|
4
|
33
|
23
|
40
|
|
5
|
Espanyol |
21
|
12
|
1
|
8
|
28
|
27
|
37
|
|
6
|
Athletic Bilbao |
21
|
11
|
2
|
8
|
34
|
31
|
35
|
|
7
|
Atlético Madrid |
21
|
9
|
3
|
9
|
31
|
26
|
30
|
|
8
|
Sevilla |
21
|
9
|
3
|
9
|
33
|
35
|
30
|
|
9
|
Real Sociedad |
21
|
9
|
1
|
11
|
32
|
33
|
28
|
|
10
|
Getafe |
21
|
8
|
3
|
10
|
29
|
34
|
27
|
|
11
|
Mallorca |
21
|
8
|
3
|
10
|
23
|
29
|
27
|
|
12
|
Sporting Gijón |
21
|
5
|
7
|
9
|
22
|
27
|
22
|
|
13
|
Hércules |
21
|
6
|
4
|
11
|
22
|
34
|
22
|
|
14
|
Deportivo |
21
|
5
|
7
|
8
|
18
|
30
|
22
|
|
15
|
Zaragoza |
21
|
5
|
7
|
9
|
20
|
33
|
22
|
|
16
|
Osasuna |
21
|
5
|
6
|
10
|
20
|
28
|
21
|
|
17
|
Racing Santander |
20
|
5
|
5
|
10
|
15
|
29
|
20
|
|
18
|
Levante |
21
|
5
|
3
|
13
|
22
|
34
|
18
|
|
19
|
Almería |
21
|
3
|
8
|
10
|
20
|
36
|
17
|
|
20
|
Málaga |
21
|
5
|
2
|
14
|
28
|
47
|
17
|
Yet another 5-0 result for Barça
January 27th, 2011FC Barcelona scored another 5 goals last night in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final, all but guaranteeing their place in the final. Leo Messi scored two goals, with Barça up three within the first quarter of an hour.
1-0 Messi (min 9)
2-0 Villa (min 11)
3-0 Messi (min 15)
4-0 Pedro (min 30)
5-0 Keita (min 89)
Guardiola matches record 14 successive league wins
January 24th, 2011Racing Santander visited a cold Nou Camp on Saturday night to mark the second half of the season. Mirroring the start of the season, Barça again beat Racing 3-0 with a goal from Pedro two minutes in to get the Catalans off to a fast start. The other two goals came from Leo Messi from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute – he kicked it in decisively, after having missed a penalty on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey match against Betis. And the final goal was scored by Iniesta from a Pedro assist.
While Barcelona won their 14th successive league match this season, equalling the record set under Frank Rijkaard in 2005/2006, things don’t appear to be going so well for Real Madrid’s Jose Mourinho who is locked in bitter conflict with his club’s Director General, Jorge Valdano and hinting that this season could be his last.
Some Spanish pundits are saying that if the gap opens between the arch rivals then the league is already over. However, while Barça are playing extremely well at the moment all it would take would be a string of injuries or some other bad luck to tip the balance.
1-0, Pedro (min 2)
2-0, Messi (pen, min 33)
3-0, Iniesta (min 66)
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
|
1
|
Barcelona |
20
|
18
|
1
|
1
|
64
|
11
|
55
|
|
2
|
Real Madrid |
20
|
16
|
3
|
1
|
48
|
17
|
51
|
|
3
|
Villarreal |
20
|
13
|
3
|
4
|
40
|
21
|
42
|
|
4
|
Valencia |
20
|
12
|
4
|
4
|
33
|
23
|
40
|
|
5
|
Espanyol |
20
|
12
|
1
|
7
|
28
|
26
|
37
|
|
6
|
Atlético Madrid |
20
|
9
|
3
|
8
|
31
|
24
|
30
|
|
7
|
Sevilla |
20
|
9
|
2
|
9
|
30
|
32
|
29
|
|
8
|
Athletic Bilbao |
19
|
9
|
2
|
8
|
29
|
31
|
29
|
|
9
|
Mallorca |
20
|
8
|
3
|
9
|
23
|
25
|
27
|
|
10
|
Getafe |
20
|
8
|
3
|
9
|
29
|
32
|
27
|
|
11
|
Real Sociedad |
20
|
8
|
1
|
11
|
30
|
33
|
25
|
|
12
|
Hércules |
19
|
6
|
4
|
9
|
22
|
28
|
22
|
|
13
|
Deportivo |
20
|
5
|
6
|
8
|
15
|
27
|
21
|
|
14
|
Racing Santander |
20
|
5
|
5
|
10
|
15
|
29
|
20
|
|
15
|
Sporting Gijón |
20
|
4
|
7
|
9
|
18
|
27
|
19
|
|
16
|
Zaragoza |
20
|
4
|
7
|
9
|
18
|
32
|
19
|
|
17
|
Osasuna |
20
|
4
|
6
|
10
|
19
|
28
|
18
|
|
18
|
Almería |
20
|
3
|
8
|
9
|
20
|
34
|
17
|
|
19
|
Málaga |
20
|
5
|
2
|
13
|
27
|
45
|
17
|
|
20
|
Levante |
20
|
4
|
3
|
13
|
20
|
34
|
15
|
Check out Barcelona Tickets for the remainder of the season by visiting our homepage.
