Latest Spanish Football tickets match reports from FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol La Liga games

FC Barcelona 2 - Real Madrid 225-01-2012

What a game and what an atmosphere this evening at the Camp Nou Stadium. The crowd was an amazing support for the team today, proceeding to the next round.

The best team in the beginning stage was Real Madrid. They seemed very sharp and willing to do everything to win this game and especially, beat FC Barcelona. Ozil launched a shot like a rocket that ended on the crossbar. It was very hard for FC Barcelona to play their own game so Real Madrid really seemed to believe in a good result. And right at that moment Lionel Messi stepped up. Between 3 Madrid defenders Leo managed to pass the ball to Pedro who scored the 1-0. And just when everyone thought it was halftime, Dani Alves scored with an absolute screamer, right in the top corner letting Camp Nou explode. 

The second half began very well from the side of Barcelona. The fast game play was lovely to see but during the second half Barca's play was a bit sloppy leading to chances for Real Madrid. After one of those sloppy moments it was Cristiano Ronaldo who brought the excitement back into the game by scoring the 2-1. The Blaugrana's looked surprised and Karim Benzema even made it worse by scoring the 2-2. The Camp Nou was quiet. Real Madrid was back in the game and it looked like they where going to score the 2-3. Luckily Barcelona kept their heads cool and controlled the game. Ramos did not manage to keep his head cool as he was sent off after his second yellow. Real Madrid collected 8 yellow cards this match.

FC Barcelona proceeded to the next round because of their 2-1 win in Bernabeu. The only disappointments of the game where the injuries of Alexis Sanchez and Andres Iniesta. In the semi finals Barca will play against Levante or Valencia.

Malaga 1 - FC Barcelona 422-01-2012

Barcelona had an easy victory in La Rosaleda. Pellegrini's Malaga was no match for the Blaugranas. Barcelona dominated the game from the first minute with some chances from Alexis and Messi but goalie Caballero had no trouble yet. On the other side also Malaga created some chances, Valdes had to make some effort to prevent a goal. Iniesta and Thiago had some chances too but it was Lionel Messi that opened the score with a beautiful header. Barcelona was up 1-0 and just controlled the game, waiting for half-time.

In the second half it was Alexis Sanchez who scored the second goal quite quickly. The Chilian international paid good attention by scoring the rebound. Shortly after the second goal, the game was definitely over. Messi scored his second goal with a perfectly timed shot, leaving Caballero no chance. The topscorer was hungry for more and almost made a hattrick out of a free kick. His shot crushed the crossbar. A few minutes later he did manage to do it. Leo turned a beautiful solo run into a goal, again a hattrick.

Rondon scored the only goal for Malaga, but it was after all a very easy victory for FC Barcelona with Messi as the star player. Messi scored 22 goals in 19 games so far.

Real Madrid 1 - FC Barcelona 218-01-2012

FC Barcelona did a tremendous job by beating Real Madrid once again in the Bernabeau Stadium. Just like the previous match, played for La Liga, Real Madrid scored the first goal of the game. An easy shot from Ronaldo surprised Barca goalkeeper Pinto. Shortly after the goal from Madrid Alexis almost equaled the score. A nice header landed on the post. Barca played a really good game in the first half but they were not able to score because of Real's well organized defense.

Barca began the second half really good with a quick equalizer. Puyol scored with a header out of a corner kick. For the first time the Real Madrid defense did not look good by letting Puyol have that much space. The Blaugranas kept pushing on and with quick combinations Real Madrid was under heavy pressure. Iniesta hit the post with a deflected shot. But also Real Madrid created some chances, Benzema's header crushed the post.

Just like previous games, the game got really raw en hard in the second half especially with Ramos and Pepe. The Portugese defender showed again great sportsmanship by walking over Messi's hand on purpose. Luckily Barca kept their concentration en kept dominating the game. 15 minutes before injury time the reward came: 2-1.  Messi saw Abidal sneaking through the defense and received the ball just in time. The Frenchman controlled the ball and passed it easily behind Iker Casillas. 

After this goal it was game over for Real Madrid today. This result was a nice present for Guardiola who celebrated his 41th birthday. Next week Barca will have to finish the game in the return played in Camp Nou.

FC Barcelona 4 - Real Betis 215-01-2012

Sunday night FC Barcelona had to play against the newcomer in the league Real Betis from Sevilla. Guardiola expected a though game because Betis is in the right form at the moment, and he was right. 

Real Betis played the first minutes of the game with flair and Valdes had to make some effort to prevent the first goal. But even with the attractive play from the side of Betis, Barcelona was up 2-0 within 15 minutes. The first goal was a simple goal by Xavi. The second goal was scored by Lionel Messi. Barca tried to finish the game in one half by building up the score but the last goal of the first half was scored in the other goal: 2-1.

In the second half both managers brought in a substitute. Barca brought Alves and Betis brought Santa Cruz. This was a good change of the game for Betis because Santa Cruz scored the equalizer. Both teams tried to create chances so it was a great game to see for the supporters from both sides. Eventually it was Barcelona that scored the 3-2. Sanchez scored with a deflected shot. In the last minutes Barca even received a penalty, something that is a done deal for Lionel Messi: 4-2. 

Espanyol 1 - FC Barcelona 108-01-2012

FC Barcelona was not able to bring the three points back to Camp Nou. Just before injury time Espanyol scored the equalizer and stole a point.

FC Barcelona dominated the game in the first half with most ball posession but they had trouble with the final pass because Espanyol's defence was well organised. The first big chance of the game was created by Espanyol but Pique managed to clear the ball after a nice save from Valdez.

Not a long time after that Fabregas scored with a header from long distance to equal the scores.  The second half was similair to the first one. Besides FC Barcelona striking the post twice, there was not much to see at the Estadi Cornella- El Prat.  The end of the game was quite hectic with the result of Espanyol scoring the equalizer before injury time.

Real Madrid are now 5 points ahead on FC Barcelona with 21 games to go.

FC Barcelona 4 - Osasuna 004/01/2012

With Messi on the bench and Iniesta outside the squad it seemed that Barcelona would have trouble to bring their A-game. But with so much diversity and quality players in the team Barcelona was able to win this match without some of their key players. 

In the very first minute of the game Osasuna received a free kick at a dangerous place but could not get past the wall of defenders. This wakeup call was a sign for Barca to start playing their game by looking for a quick goal. After 14 minutes it was Cesc who scored the first goal with assistance from Xavi. 2 minutes after the goal Cesc received a unnecessary yellow card for arguing with the referee. 5 minutes later Cesc made it up by scoring the second goal after a sneaky chip over the goalkeeper.

In the second half Pep gave Messi the sign to start his warm-up, something that made the whole stadium stand up and cheer. In the 59th minute Messi entered the pitch and the pace of Barca's play was way higher from that moment on. Osasuna was not able to keep up with Barca and that led to a 79 percent ball posession during the game.

In the 72th minute Lionel Messi scored the 3th goal with his head. This goal was again assisted by Xavi. And just before injury time Messi was able to score another goal. And because the last goal was also assisted by Xavi and because of his 4 assists he was of course the Man of the Match.

By this victory Barca is almost sure of a place in the quarterfinals. The return of the game in Pamplona next Thursday at 22:00. In the next round Barca could meet Real Madrid, if they manage to beat Málaga.

FC Barcelona 4 - Santos 018/12/2011

Barcelona was untouchable in this World Cup Final for club teams. The Blaugranas had no trouble with Neymar's Santos. Directly from the start of the game FC Barcelona took the initiative by pressing Santos' defense and not letting them play their game. 

The Brazilians couldn't handle the force of Barca's midfield. As a result of this Barca had some really good chances to score in the first half. A shot from Messi was saved by the goalkeeper, and also Thiago's rebound was captured. But after 15 minutes Messi opened the score beautifully. A marvelous touch from Xavi was the beginning of a wonderful goal. Only seconds after the first goal Xavi shut the game down by scoring the second. Barcelona kept dominating the game and it was Fabregas who secured a 3-0 score before halftime.

In the second half Barca continued the pace and game play of the first half. Fabregas almost score his second goal of the match but the goalkeeper could prevent it. After 15 minutes Barcelona slowed the game down as it was already a fact that they would win. And because of this Santos was able to create some chances with Ganso and Neymar but it would never got really dangerous. Messi ended the show with the 4th goal en by this victory Barca can now call themselves the best team in the whole world. 

FC Barcelona 4 - Al Sadd 015-12-2011

Without too much effort FC Barcelona made it to the finals against Santos. Before the game it was clear that Al Sadd was no match for Barcelona. For some moments it looked like Al-Sadd could surprise Barcelona after their long trip to Japan but it didn't happen. 

Actually Al-Sadd played with a very defensive strategy to prevent a monster score. The first goal was made by Adriano due to a ridiculous mistake from the goalkeeper of Al-Sadd. The Brazilian Adriano was on a role with scoring also the second goal with a shot from outside of the box. 

In the second half Barcelona was the only team who tried to play football by controlling the game. After a terrific through ball by Messi the third goal of the match was scored by Keita. The 4th goal was also not scored by a striker. Thiago passed the ball to Maxwell who scored the last goal of the evening. The whole game was eventually a disappointment because of the loss of David Villa. The Spanish all-time top scorer broke his leg in the second half and will be out for the whole season. 

FC Barcelona made it to the finals where Neymar's Santos is the opponent. 

Real Madrid 1 - Barcelona 310-12-2011

With this victory Barcelona made a huge step to win the title. Although Real Madrid played one game less, Barcelona is now the leader of the league with the same amount of points but with a better goal average.

The start of the game was horrible for Barca. Within only 25 seconds Karim Benzema scored the first goal after a huge mistake from Victor Valdez. Barcelona tried to stay calm after this goal but the game play was very sloppy in the first half. Real Madrid had with Cristiano Ronaldo the best chances to build up the score. Eventually it was Barca that scored the equalizer. Messi began an amazing run on his on half and passed it right on time to Alexis Sanchez, who did not hesitate. 

Like the previous Clasico's, Real Madrid played very rough and hard in the second half. Lass deserved a yellow card, but got away. Barcelona began to play their usual game play with quick combinations focused on ball possession. The 2-1 was a lucky goal. A volley from Xavi was deflected and Casillas had no chance. After that goal Barcelona really dominated the game, something that frustrated Real Madrid.  El Clasico would not be complete without a yellow card for Pepe, so the Portuguese received his card after some wild tackling.

Ronaldo had another huge chance but his header was way off target. On the other side Fabregas scored after a perfect counter-attack. Iniesta had also a chance to crown his perfect performance but he failed. The next reckless tackle came from newcomer Coentrao, this time Iniesta was the victim. Barcelona controlled the game and Real Madrid could only watch the almost perfect field play of the Catalans. Again Bernabeu was quiet as their team is just no match for FC Barcelona.

Barcelona 4 - BATE Borisov 006-12-2011

With the focus on the game against Real Madrid Pep Guardiola showed up with a B team. Barcelona was already qualified for the next round so Pep selected only 6 players from the first team. And even with mostly Barcelona B players, BATE Borisov had no chance.

Rafinha, Thiago's younger brother played with his brother for the first time. In the beginning of the match the best player was Cuenca who seems to develop himself every game. After a few good chances Roberto was finally able to score the first goal of the evening.

In the second half it was great to see that even the players from Barcelona B showed great tactical skills and passing, just like the first team. After a great through ball from Cuenca, Montoya scored the 2-0. The 3th goal was a beauty. After a cross from Cuenca, Pedro scored with his back heel through the legs of the goalkeeper. BATE was no match for Barcelona. The last goal of the evening was a penalty scored by Pedro. Barca can prepare now for the game of the season this Saturday at 22:00 against Real Madrid. 

Barcelona 4 - Real Zaragoza 0

From minute 1 it was clear that Zaragoza only came to Barcelona to keep the damage limited. Just like many other teams, Zaragoza was only focused on defending.

Because of this fact the pace was way to slow in the first half. With Villa, Iniesta and Abidal on the bench and Pedro and Busquets outside the team, Cuenca started as a left-winger and just like old times Carles Puyol was the brave defender of the Catalans. He showed that he is with 33 years old still a world class defender with some great challenges.  

After 20 minutes it was Gerard Pique who scored the first goal after a free kick from Xavi. After that Maxwell, Messi and Alexis had more chances but Zaragoza's keeper Roberto prevented more goals. But two minutes before half time Messi scored the second goal after a trough ball from Fabregas.

In the second half the game play stayed the same. Barcelona attacking, Zaragoza defending. The 3-0 came from Carles Puyol who topped his good performance with a goal. With the substitutes Iniesta, Villa and Thiago the hunt for more goals continued. It was eventually David Villa who scored the fourth and final goal after a cross from Cuenca.

Athletic Bilbao 2 - Barcelona 206-11-2011

FC Barcelona saved one point in the always tough away game against Bilbao. Messi showed again that he is the true leader of the Catalan Dreamteam. 

It was wet in Bilbao. The rain had effect on the play of Barcelona. The usually quick combinations were slowed down by the pitch and Bilbao took the advantage of that. With conditions like these you have to fight for every ball and that is not what Barcelona likes and where their strengths are. The Basques played tactically excellent and with some young talents in their team they were able to create some danger.

Due to the pitch Mascherano slipped and the road was clear for Herrera to score, which meant a goal against Valdes after 800 minutes. Within 5 minutes Fabregas scored the equalizer with his head after a brilliant cross by Abidal. 

The condition of the pitch began to get worse every minute. Barcelona had trouble to create chances and to make matters worse Pique scored an own goal in the 80th minute. It seemed that Barcelona was heading for a defeat but in the very last minute someone prevented that and you don't even have to guess who that was. Lionel Messi scored his 14th goal in his 11th game.  

The league gets more exciting every week with Madrid being 3 points ahead of Barcelona. Madrid will play the next game on the 19th of November away against Valencia and Barcelona will play a home game against Real Zaragoza on the 19th of November. Order your Barcelona tickets here right now while still available!

Viktoria Plzen 0 - Barcelona 401/11/2011

Barcelona managed to achieve an easy victory in the cold city of Prague. More important is the fact that Barcelona now definitely reached the knock-out stage of the Champions League.

Pep's men began the match quite sloppy. Lots of lost possession and the switch from attack to defense was also not how it is supposed to be. Due to that Viktoria was the first team with a chance after a quick counter attack. After that Barcelona finally seemed to be awake. When Messi was brought down the referee gave a penalty. 1-0. Before half time Messi scored the second goal and the match was decided. 

In the second half Barcelona played very controlled and without too much effort. Cuenca shows that he has skills, after some nice crosses. With a nice header Fabregas scored 3-0 and after a beautiful back heel-pass from Pique Messi scored a hattrick, just like in the last game against Mallorca.

Victor Valdez has achieved a personal success. He is defending Barcelona's goal for 887 minutes without a goal against. 

Barcelona 5 - Mallorca 030/10/2011

Barcelona didn't start with the best team possible. Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol and Cesc Fàbregas were given rest, but the presence of Lionel Messi seemed enough.

With a clear hattrick in the first half, Messi has now scored 199 goals in 286 matches, an incredible average. The critics in Barcelona spoke about Messi being out of shape by not scoring in the last three games, because that's quite rare for Leo.  Messi showed that there is no reason to doubt his skills and he is still in perfect shape. 

After Messi's hattrick in the first half - which included one penalty he scored unlike the penalty against Sevilla- Isaac Cuenca scored the 4th goal for the Catalans. It was the first goal for the 20-year old homegrown Catalan player from Barcelona B. Two minutes before stoppage time Dani Alves scored the fifth goal after a beautiful shot in the top corner. Barcelona is now one point behind on Real Madrid.

Granada 0 - Barcelona 125-10-2011

Without too much effort Barcelona took the 3 points back home. The Blaugranas started the game focused on ball possession. Granada played (of course) with a defensive strategy so Barca tried to break through with long range shots. Pedro had the biggest chance with a header but Xavi Hernandez scored from a free kick in his 392th game for FC Barcelona. 

The second half was equal to the first. Granada's defender Jaime was sent off after he received his second yellow card. Shortly after that Pedro went over his ankle and left the pitch on a stretcher. He will be out for a couple of weeks. It was an easy but very important victory for FC Barcelona. Levante stays due to a victory the leader of the league with 1 point ahead on Real Madrid and 2 points ahead on FC Barcelona. The league stays incredibly exciting.

Barcelona 0 - Sevilla 022-10-2011

The loss of point tonight was remarkable. It was unfair that Sevilla was rewarded with a point for their ultra defensive strategy. All the credits go to Sevilla's goalie Varas, who played the game of his life, in particular the penalty he stopped in injury time. 

Barcelona began as usual with their offensive play but they had trouble to create chances. Sevilla's defense was like a white wall that was very hard to breach. Iniesta and Messi had the best chances in the first half but they just missed the little bit of luck they had in this season so far.

In the second half Barcelona tried to play more up-tempo with unbelievable quick passing all over the pitch but the final pass just wasn't good enough. In the very last minutes of the game Andres Iniesta slipped to the defense and was brought down. Penalty. In the replay everybody saw that this penalty was easy given and it looked that again the luck was on Barca's side.

Sevilla tried everything to disturb Messi's concentration to take the penalty by kicking the ball away and start a brawl which Kanouté was sent off for. It all worked out because Messi's penalty was incredibly weak. La Liga stays incredibly exciting with a new leader: Levante.

Barcelona 2 - Viktoria Plzen 019-10-2011

Before the game you would expect that Viktoria would play with a defensive strategy to try to keep the damage limited, and that is exactly what happened. The game was filled with beautiful touches, passes and great chances. Within only two minutes, Pep's men already created 2 huge chances. Finally, the third chance was succesful. After some great passing by Iniesta and Messi, right trough the hart of the defense, the 1-0 was a fact.

After the 1-0 Viktoria kept playing very defensive, as like they knew it was unthinkable to try to create chances. Barca's play was really easy-going and they just seeked for a hole in Viktoria's defense. A free kick from Messi that landed on the post was after the  1-0 the only highlight of the first half.

In the second half it was clear that Messi was only focussed on scoring his 40th goal in his 60th Champions League game. Ten minutes before the end of the game, Messi was tackled by Limbersky but David Villa was able to score the second and last goal of the evening. In the last minutes of the game, Pep brought in Isaac Cuenca, a original Catalan player from Barca B.

Barcelona 3 - Racing Santander 0

Messi, too quick to follow

It was unfair to see how chanceless Racing was. With an overall posession of almost 76% Racing was no match for Barcelona. The injury of Gerard Pique was a dissapointment for Guardiola as he just recovered from an injury. To recover from this hamstring injury, Pique will be out for about two weeks.

The first goal of the evening was set up by Lionel Messi. After an amazing through ball to Iniesta, Messi reveiced the ball back and with some quick skills the first goal was a fact.

After 15 minutes Xavi scored an for him unusual goal, a header. The team played really well, especially Leo Messi. He showed great ball control and he played like it was a training match for him. He even scored his 10th goal of the season after a quick reaction. 

Barcelona stays the leader of the league and will welcome Sevilla next week at Camp Nou.

Lionel Messi, a goal scoring hero05-10-2011

Lionel Messi scoring a hattrick

Messi has scored 14 goals in 11 games, brutal statistics. He is the topscorer of the current league and he was the topscorer in the Champions League for the last three seasons.

There are still some personal challenges remaing. For example, do the same as another Barça player, Pedro Rodriguez, did during the 2009/10 season. Pedro scored goals in all competitions (Spanish Super Cup, European Super Cup, League, Spanish Cup, Champions League, and World Club Championship).He just needs to score in the Spanish Cup and the World Club Championship, which he may well do before Christmas.

Messi has scored already 2 hattricks this season which means he scored 11 hattricks for FC Barcelona so far.

New Focus12-10-2011

Little by little the team welcomes back the players which were active for their national team the last week. This afternoon the Spanish internationals Valdes, Puyol, Pique, Thiago, Xavi, Busquets, Pedro and Villa and the French international Abidal joined the training.

Thursday the South Americans are back, which include Messi, Mascherano, Adriano and Alves. So Thursday the focus is on the game against Racing Santander, the number 18 of the league. With a big sell-out of tickets, a fully packed Camp Nou will be expected. 

Next week there is a cracker in La Liga when Sevilla is visiting FC Barcelona the 22 of October at 22:00. Come witness this exciting game and order your tickets here while still available!

Sporting Gijón 0 - Barcelona 102-10-2011

Barcelona is the leader of La Liga after this close victory. This was not a game to remember, yet a very important win for the team. Gijón was a very tough opponent for Barcelona because they slowed Barcelona's play down. The only goal of the game was quite lucky. Xavi's shot hit the post and Adriano scored in the rebound. 

Sporting Gijón created one chance but Daniel Alves' interruption was enough to prevent an equalizer. Besides one huge chance for Messi and Keita's goal that was blown off because he was offside, nothing special happened. 

As said earlier, this was a very important win for the team and Barcelona is now the leader of the league. 

Bate Borisov 0 - Barcelona 528-09-2011

The game was over before you knew it. With an own goal, a header from Pedro and a header from Messi, the game was done before haltime. Messi knew that he was only 1 goal away from breaking Barcelona's legend Laszlo Kubala's record of scoring 194 goals for the club. And just like everybody would expect, Messi did it. With a powershot in the top corner, Messi scored his second goal of the evening.

There is now only one Barcelona legend to beat. Cesar Rodriguez scored 235 goals from 1939 untill 1955. Seen Messi's age of 24, his love for FC Barcelona and his skills, Messi will probably will become Barcelona's topscorer of all time.

The fifth and final goal was scored by David Villa after a quick interception of the ball. Barcelona dominated this game as usual, and they now have the lead in the Champions League group stage.

Barcelona 5 - Atletico Madrid 024-09-2011

Atletico's defenders have no grip on Messi

All eyes were on Lionel Messi because of his hattrick against Atletico Madrid last year. So you would think that Atletico's defenders would not let this happen again...

Barcelona started the game with great possession, a lot of moving players and quick combinations. It was Atletico that had the first chance though, a shot that landed on the bar. Barcelona kept playing their own game which eventually will always lead to chances.

After 15 minutes David Villa turned a chance into a goal. Xavi's perfect pass landed on Villa's chest and seconds later the ball hit the net. Only minutes later Atletico's Miranda scored an own goal after a run from Messi. It is true that the luck is on Barcelona's side but the play is on the other hand beautiful to see. The last goal of the first half was Messi's first this evening. Messi threw the ball to Thiago, who passed the ball back immediately. Lionel ran through the defence like they were living statues and also the goalie was no match for him, 3-0 halftime.

In the second half Barcelona dominated the game but they had trouble with scoring the 4-0. It was time for one of Barcelona's stars to step up and that is exactly what happened. Messi scored his second goal this night after an individual run. Atletico was overwhelmed by the atmosphere in Camp Nou and could only be a witness of the show that Messi and his friends performed.

By scoring in the last minute Messi achieved his second hattrick in a row. He has now scored 8 goals in 4 La Liga games, so what would that promise for the coming season? Well, one thing is for sure, Lionel Messi is unstoppable.

Valencia 2 - Barcelona 221-09-2011

Now this was a game with everything in it. Excitement, passion and great football from both sides. In the beginning Valencia dominated the game and they showed that they are a worthy leader. The strong perfomance of Valencia resulted in a goal. Although it was an own goal, you could say that it was due to Valencia's play. They couldn't enjoy it very long because after two minutes Pedro scored the equalizer.

Barcelona tried to play their usual game but they had much trouble with Valencia who were sharp, alert and very strong in the defence. In the 22th minute Valencia took the lead again after a goal from Pablo Hernandez. And if Soldado didn't miss the huge chance he got in the first half it would be 3-1. 

The second half was quite the same as the first half. The game went from left to right because both teams tried to create chances to win the game. The football was from the highest level and after a beautiful trough ball from Messi Fabregas scored the 2-2. He scored his 4th goal in 4 games and he is already one of the most important players of Barcelona. 

So Valencia is still the proud leader of the Primera División but Barcelona is chasing with 2 points less.

Barcelona 8 - Osasuna 017-09-2011

Messi scoring 1-0

Now this is the answer to the criticasters who claimed that Barcelona had an easy-going attitude the last two games which ended both in a draw. In the 5th minute Messi scored the first goal for Barcelona and it was a beauty. In the 14th minute Fabregas scored the 2-0 after a beautiful pass from Messi. 

The play that Barcelona showed in the first half was unbelievable. The difference of quality between Barcelona and Osasuna was incredible. With a possession for Barcelona of 82% (!), the usually hard to defeat Osasuna looked like an amateur football club compared to the Catalans. With David Villa scoring in the 34th minute, an own goal, and a goal from again Lionel Messi the half time score was quite clear: 5-0.

In the second half Barcelona kept playing with the same mentality and greed for more goals. In the 58th minute Xavi scored after a nice chip. In the 77th minute Villa scored his second goal after Fabregas had shown that he is not selfish. And like usual, Lionel Messi himself ended the show by scoring the 8-0 after a nice individual run.

The focus now needs to be on next Wednesday 22:00 when Barcelona is visiting the leader, Valencia.

Barcelona 2 - AC Milan 213-09-2011

Iniesta about to give a cross

With Pato scoring after only 24 seconds you could say that this was a dreamstart for AC Milan. Due to some great acceleration Pato was right in front of Valdez and the Brazilian striker did not fail. It didn't seem to matter Barcelona. They knew that their chances would come with so much attacking skills. After Pato's goal Barcelona just began to play their usual game. Quick combinations, one-touch passes and waiting for the right time for a trough ball. 

After more than 20 minutes Messi's free kick ended on the post, that was the best chance so far. Barcelona kept holding pressure on AC Milan's defense and in the 36th they scored the equalizer. This time it was Messi who showed incredible speed and acceleration which let Abate no chance to prevent a cross to Pedro.

Barcelona kept playing their own game and AC Milan had just like almost every team no answer to that. After the break Barcelona received a free kick 10 yards outside the box. With a beautiful curl Villa's shot ended in the top corner, 2-1 for Barcelona. With a 70 % possession Barcelona seemed to be able to score more goals but they had trouble with the final pass. In the very last minute Seedorf's corner kick landed on the head of Thiago Silva, 2-2.

Just like the game against Real Sociedad this result was unnecessary. Still, there are enough chances for Barcelona to proceed to the next round, which probably would not be a problem.

Barcelona - Atletico Madrid

What a clash between two of the best teams of the Primera Division. Barcelona will play against Atletico Madrid on Saturday the 24th of September at 22:00 h. Will Messi be able to score a hattrick against Atletico Madrid just like last year? Found out and order your tickets now while still available!

Barcelona - OsasunaPosted Tue 13 Sep 2011

Barcelona will play against Osasuna next Saturday, the 17th of September at 20:00. They expect a fully packed Camp Nou for this thrilling game against the number ninth of last season. So order your tickets right while still available!

Real Sociedad 2 - Barcelona 211-09-2011

How unnecessary. After having a two goal lead, Barcelona gave it away in the end. Even with Messi, Villa and Iniesta on the bench the start was quite promising. Guardiola believed that these players needed rest, keeping the game against AC Milan this Tuesday in mind. 

In the 10th minute, Xavi scored after some quick combinations and one-touch football. Only 1 minute later Fabregas did the same so it looked like an easy victory. Aggiretxe did not agree with that by scoring in the second half. You could see that the players of Barcelona did not see that coming and they seemed quite confused. 

Even with Messi, Iniesta and Villa brought in, Barcelona looked helpless. After an awful pass from Villa, Aggiretxe was right in front of Valdez. His shot hit the bar but Griezmann was able the score the rebound. The draw was probably not even the worst thing that happened tonight. In the second half Alexis Sanchez left the game with an injury and the expectation is that it will take him at least two months to recover. On the other side, Barcelona should be able to deal with the loss of Sanchez seen the great variety of strikers.  

The focus now needs to be on Tuesday when FC Barcelona plays the clash against AC Milan. 

Barcelona 5 - Villarreal 029-08-2011

Fabregas scoring his first goal

What a start to the season. With only 1 defender (Abidal) and 3(!) midfielders playing in the defence (Keita, Mascherano and Busquets), you can call Pep's experiment at least a success. With so much diversity in the team, Guardiola gave his newcomers Fabregas and Sánchez immediately the chance to prove themselves by letting them start against Villarreal. 

Last season's number 4 had no answer to the play of the Catalan Dreamteam, it was like one-way traffic. The chances just kept coming and it was clear that goalie Diego López was not having a clean sheet today.  In the 25th minute of the game, Thiago Alcántara scored his first goal of the season after a nice solo run. Villarreal did manage to create one chance, but Rossi's shot ended via the leg of Valdez on the bar. After a nice trough ball from Messi, Fabregas completed his strong performance in the first half with a goal. 

After the break, Barca picked up the pace from the first half and you could see that they were hungry for more goals. Within 2 minutes of the second half another debutant scored his first goal. The Chilean Alexis Sanchéz did not hesitate in a one-on-one confrontation with Diego López. The newcomer was so happy with his goal that he took off his shirt, so the referee had a little surprise for him, a yellow card. The play of the Catalans was lovely to see for every football fan. Due to some quick passing and high level combinations, Messi scored his 100th goal as a player for Barcelona which let Camp Nou explode of joy and happiness.

Even with a 4-0 score, and with the substitutes Xavi and Villa brought in, Barca was still eager for more and they kept putting pressure on Villareal's goalkeeper. And of course nobody but Lionel Messi himself ended the show by scoring his second goal of the evening by an assist from Thiago Alcántara. This game promises a spectacular season were it again all seems to come down to the games against Real Madrid, to see who will become champions.

Preparing for the 2011-2012 SeasonAugust 2011

Cesc Fabregas

It will be almost impossible for FC Barcelona to improve on last season given that Barca re-captured the Champions League Cup and stormed to what in the end, was an easy La Liga title for them. Barcelona finished with a 4 point lead, having cruised through their last few games with many second team players also given a run out, for some much needed experience.

This season everybody will expect a lot from the newcomers, especially from Cesc Fabregas. On the 15th of August he signed a contract which made him a Blaugrana for the next five years. As an authentic product from the youth academy 'La Maisa', Cesc claimes that this feels like coming home. After all he once was the captain of Barcelona's Baby Dreamteam featuring players like Piqué and Messi. After moving to Arsenal and being a Gunner for 7 years, the job for Fabregas now is to show that he is worth €40.000.000.

El Niño Maravilla (the wonderkid) is how they call him back in Chile. Alexis Sanchez is 22 years old and is considered to be Chile's greatest talent. Last summer FC Barcelona bought him from Udinese for €26.000.000 and with that comes high expectations. Known for his courage and determination to succeed, that will not be a problem.

Malaga 1 Barcelona 322ND MAY 2011

This really was more of an exhibition game as opposed to a real La Liga game and it was not even a first team exhibition game. Barcelona in effect played a full second team. In the English Premiership, resting the full 1st team would incur a serious fine from the English FA, but this is not an issue in Spain. With the Champions league final just a few days away, it seems logical to rest the players ahead of what is a vital game, to end the season.

In this last la Liga game for the season, Barcelona had already won and received the Champioship trophy and there was really nothing to play for except pride. The Barcelona second team in fact had little pronblem to see off Malaga, despite going down 1-0. Three goals over a 40 minute period left Barcelona easy winners. All eyes now to this coming Saturday. Manchester United v Barcelona.