FC Barcelona News

It all went very wrong for Barça last night in a shock 2-1 defeat by Rubin Kazan.

The Russian team put in the first goal of the night right at the start of the match, when Aleksandr Ryazantsev surprised Victor Valdes with a shot from 30 metres. However, Barça dominated possession and it looked like it was going their way when Ibrahimovic scored right after the break.

Despite nearly 80% possession in the second half the next goal wasn’t a breakthrough for Barcelona. Instead a Karadeniz counter-attack resulted in a second goal for the visitors and the first loss for Barça this season.

Elsewhere, Inter Milan were held to a 1-1 draw by Dynamo Kiev, leaving Barça, Dynamo and Rubin Kazan on 4 points each and Inter on 3.

0-1 Ryazantsev (min 1)
1-1 Ibrahimovic (min 46)
1-2 Karadeniz (min 73)

Barcelona took the top spot in Champions League Group F last night after a 2-0 win over Dynamo Kiev.

Despite the two goals from Barça, their killer edge seeming to be missing and much of the 90 minutes lacked excitement. With a strong defence from Dynamo and sluggish attack, it looked for a while like the match was going nowhere – and in minute 20 it looked like it might go the wrong way for Barça.

However, as frequently is the case, Leo Messi pulled something together and minute 25 saw the first goal of the match. With one goal behind them, the squad started to make some impact on the defence, only to be stopped by the keeper;  and then Dynamo got through, only to have it ruled offside .

In the second half Barça stepped up the pace slightly, although they failed to totally dominate as is their norm. Finally it was Pedro who scored the second goal of the match in minute 76, putting all the points beyond the reach of Dynamo and Barça on top of the Group.

1-0 Messi (min 25)
2-0 Pedro (min 75)

Barça go into the home leg against Inter Milan with the advantage after a goal-less draw last night.

The first few minutes of the game suggested that Barcelona was going to dominate, with attacks from Messi and Abrahimovic in the first few minutes. However, as the home team settled down it became clear that the two sides were evenly matches and it was going to be no walkover for either. Indeed, possession during the first half was almost 50-50, with neither team dominating play.

In the second half though things looked a little different, with much of the play in Inter’s half. For a while it looked as if the visitors would break through and get at least a single goal, but it simply was not to happen.

Barcelona’s next Champions League match is against Dynamo Kiev at the Camp Nou on September 29. Check the home page for details of this and other Barcelona tickets for La Liga and Champions League matches.

It took them a few minutes to get into the game against Manchester United, and those early minutes included some unnerving play by Cristiano Ronaldo, but once Barça stepped up the pace they controlled the game completely.

Once in control came the first goal from Samuel Eto’o who took the ball past the Man United defence and knocked in the ball so gently that many people didn’t believe it had gone in. However, when it was clear that the goal had been scored, Barcelona erupted.

From that point Barcelona lifted the game up a notch and Manchester never really looked like they were contenders. While a second Barça goal looked likely, it wasn’t until the 70th minute that Xavi crossed to Messi, who headed the ball into the net.

At the end of the match the Barcelona sky was lit with fireworks, while people all over the city celebrated the treble – Copa del Rey, La Liga and Champions League.

1-0 Eto’o (min 10)
2-0 Messi (min 70)

Barcelona took another step closer to the Champions League trophy last night after a 1-1 draw against Chelsea thanks to a last minute goal from Iniesta.

Following the match were ugly scenes from several Chelsea players, unhappy at some of the refereeing decisions, which admitadly had been variable in both legs.

The final will be played in Rome on 27th May against Manchester United – please note we are unlikely to have tickets for the final.

Last night’s goalless draw at the Nou Camp was the first match this season that Barcelona failed to score at home, and despite the hosts controlling play from the start, they were unable to capitalise on that control. At many moments during the match it seemed that Chelsea was playing with 11 men in defence, with Leo Messi heavily marked and no room for the strikers to make any real moves.

And strangely enough it was Chelsea who came the closest to scoring when a massive mistake by Marquez towards the end of the first half meant that Drogba had the time and space to shoot. Luckily Victor Valdes was awake and deflected the shot, conceding a corner.

While Barcelona drew 1-1 in the away leg of the quarter final against Bayern Munich, thereby securing their expected semifinal place, things were different in England.

Barcelona won 4-0 at the Nou Camp last week, ensuring anything but a miracle for the Germans would see the Catalan club go through. In the end Barça played an uninspired match, and while possession was in their favour it hardly looked like their hearts were in it.

Chelsea v Liverpool was a different matter entirely. After Chelsea’s win at Liverpool it looked like the semifinal was already in the bag. However, Liverpool weren’t at Stamford Bridge for anything but a win and the hard fought battle meant it was touch and go.

Both teams played daring attacking football, but despite Liverpool’s persistence it was Chelsea who go though to play FC Barcelona. The final result was 4-4, with Chelsea winning 7-5 on aggregate.

Barcelona’s 4-0 defeat of Bayern Munich last week means that the Catalan super club is almost certain to play in the semi-final. Playing at the Nou Camp, Barça completely demolished the visitors in the first half to such an extent that the German team could feel nothing but complete shell shock and demoralisation.

1-0 Messi (min 8 )
2-0 Eto’o (min 12)
3-0 Messi (min 37)
4-0 Henry (min 43)

The return leg takes place on April 14th, after that FC Barcelona will play either Liverpool or Chelsea – barring a miracle from Bayern – on April 28th.

It was goals galore last night as FC Barcelona dominated Olympique Lyon to a 5-2 victory at the Nou Camp. After an indifferent result in the first leg it was all or nothing for Barça – and they chose all.Thierry Henry scored the first goal in the 24th minute off a ball from from Rafa Márquez and quickly followed up with his second just three minutes later. Ten minutes later Messi moved into the penalty area and shot the ball past the Lyon keeper and Samuel Eto’o then made it 4-0 with a goal in minute 42, but to show that Barça couldn’t have it all their own way, Makoun scored for Lyon just one minute before the half time whistle.

Coming on after the break Lyon quickly stepped into the breach with a goal  from Juninho in the 47th minute, but it took until the very last moment for Keita to score the final goal of the night for a 5-2 victory for Barcelona and a place in the quarter finals.

1-0 Henry (min 24)
2-0 Henry (min 27)
3-0 Messi (min 37)
4-0 Eto’o (min 42)
4-1 Makoun (min 44)
4-2 Juninho (min 47)
5-2 Keita (min 90)

Barcelona played in the first leg of the last 16 in Champions League last night, paying a visit to Olympique Lyon. However, the host team played the match on their own terms and scored in the seventh minute.

Despite the French team’s control of the match, they were unable to make better use of the ball and the first half ended 1-0. Eventually Henry was able to head the ball into the back of the host’s goal in the 67th minute and a 1 -1 draw, giving Barcelona the advantage going into the home leg on March 11th.