La Liga | Simply Barcelona Tickets

Spectacular victory kicks off second half of season

January 26th, 2009

We have FC Barcelona tickets for all competitions at the Nou Camp

The last time they faced Numancia – the first match of the season – was the last league match lost by Barça, who gained another three points on Saturday night. The day had been blowing with 100 mph winds, which although they had lost much of their force by the evening were still in evidence.

First the first half it looked as if it wasn’t going to go all Barcelona’s way, with the Numancia defence preventing the attack from getting through. However, in the second half Barça’s stamina started to show, with Messi and Eto’o both scoring in the space of three minutes.

Going two goals down prompted a response from Numancia, and Barkero put the ball past Victor Valdes in the 60th minute. However, with Barcelona dominating possession up front it was only a matter of time before they scored again. Henry and Messi put in two more goals and secured another spectacular win for Barcelona.

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	20	17	2	1	63	14	53
2	Real Madrid	20	13	2	5	42	27	41
3	Sevilla	20	11	5	4	28	18	38
4	Valencia	20	10	4	6	39	30	34
5	Villarreal	20	9	7	4	33	26	34
6	At. Madrid	20	9	5	6	43	31	32
7	Malaga	20	9	5	6	32	28	32
8	Deportivo	20	9	3	8	23	28	30
9	Santander	20	7	7	6	23	23	28
10	Athletic	20	7	5	8	28	31	26
11	Getafe	20	6	6	8	29	31	24
12	Valladolid	20	7	3	10	28	31	24
13	Almeria	20	6	6	8	22	29	24
14	Gijon	20	8	0	12	27	44	24
15	Huelva	20	6	5	9	18	28	23
16	Betis	20	6	3	11	25	27	21
17	Numancia	20	6	2	12	25	41	20
18	Mallorca	20	4	5	11	21	38	17
19	Espanyol	20	3	7	10	18	33	16
20	Osasuna	20	2	8	10	21	30	14

Posted in La Liga, Match report

Barça creates new Liga record

January 19th, 2009

Leo Messi, Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o provided a feast of goals in the 5-0 annihilation of Deportivo de la Coruña on Saturday night and in doing so created a new record for the most goals scored in the first half of the season.

The onslaught was started by Messi, after a pass from Xavi, when he completely threw off the Deportivo defence to put the ball in the net in the 21st minute; six minutes later it was Henry’s turn, with a header from a cross from Alves; and in the 41st minute Deportivo’s keeper defelcted the ball only to have it rammed home by Eto’o.

With the score at 3-0 it looked as if all the exitement could be all over for the night, and after the break the pace was much slower, but with just 8 minutes to go Henry scored his second of the night. And then Carles Puyol, who was playing up front by this time, was brought down by Deportivo’s keeper resulting in a red card – and the second goal from Eto’o in the 86th minute from the penalty spot.

The result leaves Barça on 50 points, ahead of Sevilla and Real Madrid both on 38.

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	19	16	2	1	59	13	50
2	Sevilla	19	11	5	3	28	16	38
3	Real Madrid	19	12	2	5	41	27	38
4	Valencia	19	10	4	5	38	27	34
5	Villarreal	19	9	6	4	32	25	33
6	At. Madrid	19	9	4	6	42	30	31
7	Malaga	19	9	4	6	31	27	31
8	Deportivo	19	9	3	7	23	27	30
9	Athletic	19	7	5	7	27	29	26
10	Santander	19	6	7	6	21	23	25
11	Gijon	19	8	0	11	26	39	24
12	Valladolid	19	7	2	10	27	30	23
13	Almeria	19	5	6	8	20	28	21
14	Betis	19	6	3	10	25	26	21
15	Getafe	19	5	6	8	24	30	21
16	Huelva	19	5	5	9	17	28	20
17	Numancia	19	6	2	11	24	37	20
18	Espanyol	19	3	6	10	17	32	15
19	Mallorca	19	3	5	11	18	37	14
20	Osasuna	19	2	7	10	20	29	13

Posted in La Liga, Match report

Barcelona takes all points against Osasuna

January 12th, 2009

Despite a goal at the end of the first half from Eto’o to put Barcelona ahead, it was only goals from Xavi and Messi in the closing stages of the match that took the three points.

Conditions were poor, with cold weather and poor visibility due to fog to contend with. And after a first half dominated by Barça, Osasuna came on in the second half clearly on the offensive, the result being goals from Flaño in minute 62 and Pandiani ten minutes later.

However, Barcelona continued fighting, resulting in an equalising goal from Xavi 10 minutes before the final whistle, followed four minutes later by Messi.

Barcelona remain unbeaten since their first league fixture and look favourites to win the Spanish league by a long way.

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	18	15	2	1	54	13	47
2	Sevilla	18	10	5	3	27	16	35
3	Real Madrid	18	11	2	5	38	26	35
4	Valencia	18	10	4	4	36	24	34
5	At. Madrid	18	9	3	6	41	29	30
6	Villarreal	18	8	6	4	30	25	30
7	Deportivo	18	9	3	6	23	22	30
8	Malaga	18	8	4	6	27	27	28
9	Gijon	18	8	0	10	26	37	24
10	Athletic	18	6	5	7	24	27	23
11	Valladolid	18	7	2	9	26	27	23
12	Santander	18	5	7	6	20	23	22
13	Getafe	18	5	6	7	24	29	21
14	Numancia	18	6	2	10	24	36	20
15	Almeria	18	5	5	8	19	27	20
16	Betis	18	5	3	10	22	25	18
17	Huelva	18	4	5	9	15	28	17
18	Espanyol	18	3	6	9	17	28	15
19	Mallorca	18	3	5	10	18	35	14
20	Osasuna	18	2	7	9	19	26	13

Posted in La Liga, Match report

Barcelona continues to dominate: 3-1 victory against Mallorca

January 5th, 2009

Despite conceding a goal in the 15th minute, Barcelona kept up their pre-Christmas form with a 3-1 victory against Mallorca on Saturday night. Henry, Iniesta and Touré Yaya were all on form to put the ball in the back of Mallorca’s net, in a match that saw plenty of yellow cards, finally resulting in the visitors going down one man.

On a cold night,both teams were slow to get into the game, and it almost seemed that Barça needed to let Mallorca score that first goal in order for them to get down to business. Whatever the reason, once they stepped up to the challenge they started to really dominate the match and any doubt that their return from the Christmas break would be anything less than spectacular was shattered.

Barcelona are now 11 points ahead of Valencia, with next weekend’s match being played against Osasuna, and we still have FC Barcelona tickets available for the match against Atletico de Madrid on January 14th (Copa del Rey) and against Deportivo on January 17/18.

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	17	14	2	1	51	11	44
2	Valencia	17	10	3	4	33	21	33
3	Sevilla	17	9	5	3	24	15	32
4	Real Madrid	17	10	2	5	35	26	32
5	At. Madrid	17	9	3	5	39	26	30
6	Deportivo	17	9	3	5	22	19	30
7	Villarreal	17	8	5	4	27	22	29
8	Malaga	17	7	4	6	25	26	25
9	Valladolid	17	7	2	8	25	25	23
10	Getafe	17	5	6	6	24	27	21
11	Santander	17	5	6	6	19	22	21
12	Gijon	17	7	0	10	24	36	21
13	Athletic	17	5	5	7	21	25	20
14	Almeria	17	5	4	8	17	25	19
15	Betis	17	5	3	9	21	23	18
16	Numancia	17	5	2	10	22	36	17
17	Huelva	17	4	4	9	14	27	16
18	Mallorca	17	3	5	9	18	32	14
19	Espanyol	17	3	5	9	15	26	14
20	Osasuna	17	2	7	8	17	23	13

Posted in La Liga, Match report

FC Barcelona ends year 10 points ahead

December 22nd, 2008

FC Barcelona’s win against Villarreal on Sunday night mean they finish 2008 10 points ahead of Sevilla in second place.

Once again Barça has shown no mercy for a team that should be amongst their toughest competitors, and that was with the twin disadvantages of conceding the first goal and finishing one man down.

Villarreal scored at the beginning of the second half, after a battle for possession in the first, but just a few minutes later Keita equalised off his head off a cross from Dani Alves. Keeping up the heat, Xavi helped Henry score the winning goal.

While things looked to be going Barcelona’s way, Pique was yellow carded twice within the space of a few minutes, the first Barcelona player to be sent off this season, although the second card appears to have been unwarranted.

La Liga Table – year end 2008

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	16	13	2	1	48	10	41
2	Sevilla	16	9	4	3	23	14	31
3	At. Madrid	16	9	3	4	38	23	30
4	Valencia	16	9	3	4	30	20	30
5	Real Madrid	16	9	2	5	34	26	29
6	Villarreal	16	8	5	3	27	21	29
7	Deportivo	16	8	3	5	20	18	27
8	Valladolid	16	7	2	7	25	24	23
9	Malaga	16	6	4	6	24	26	22
10	Getafe	16	5	6	5	23	25	21
11	Gijon	16	7	0	9	24	35	21
12	Athletic	16	5	4	7	20	24	19
13	Betis	16	5	3	8	21	22	18
14	Santander	16	4	6	6	18	22	18
15	Numancia	16	5	2	9	21	33	17
16	Almeria	16	4	4	8	16	25	16
17	Mallorca	16	3	5	8	17	29	14
18	Espanyol	16	3	4	9	14	25	13
19	Huelva	16	3	4	9	11	26	13
20	Osasuna	16	2	6	8	16	22	12

Posted in La Liga, Match report

Late goals see Barça take the “classico”

December 15th, 2008

Late goals from Eto’o and Messi on Saturday night ensured the “classico” went to Barcelona, the first time they had beaten Real Madrid at the Nou Camp for three years.

The visiting team had obviously decided to target Leo Messi from the start, who came in for a barrage of hard tackles in the pouring rain, but a solid Barça worked steadily throughout to hold all three points on offer.

Despite high possession, it wasn’t until the 83rd minute that Samuelk Eto’o scored, perhaps to make up for missing a penalty earlier. And Messi sealed the match when he scored the second goal in injury time.

The result sees Real Madrid drop into 6th place in the league, with Barcelona now 8 points ahead of Valencia and Sevilla, both on 30.

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	15	12	2	1	46	9	38
2	Valencia	15	9	3	3	30	19	30
3	Sevilla	15	9	3	3	23	14	30
4	Villarreal	15	8	5	2	26	19	29
5	At. Madrid	15	8	3	4	35	21	27
6	Real Madrid	15	8	2	5	33	26	26
7	Deportivo	15	7	3	5	16	17	24
8	Valladolid	15	7	2	6	22	20	23
9	Malaga	15	6	3	6	23	25	21
10	Getafe	15	5	6	4	21	20	21
11	Betis	15	5	3	7	21	21	18
12	Gijon	15	6	0	9	23	35	18
13	Santander	15	4	5	6	17	21	17
14	Almeria	15	4	4	7	16	24	16
15	Athletic	15	4	4	7	19	24	16
16	Numancia	15	4	2	9	17	30	14
17	Mallorca	15	3	4	8	17	29	13
18	Huelva	15	3	4	8	10	22	13
19	Espanyol	15	3	4	8	12	22	13
20	Osasuna	15	1	6	8	11	20	9

Posted in La Liga, Match report

Barcelona dominate Valencia

December 8th, 2008

Thierry Henry was the star of Saturday night’s match against Valencia, when he scored three out of Barcelona’s four goals, the other scored by Dani Alves.

Once again the blaugranas dominated possession an while Valencia are theoretically contenders for the league title and currently in third place, they remained powerless against Barça’s onslaught.

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	14	11	2	1	44	9	35
2	Villarreal	14	8	5	1	26	18	29
3	Valencia	14	8	3	3	28	18	27
4	Sevilla	14	8	3	3	22	14	27
5	Real Madrid	14	8	2	4	33	24	26
6	At. Madrid	14	7	3	4	33	21	24
7	Deportivo	14	7	3	4	16	14	24
8	Valladolid	14	6	2	6	19	20	20
9	Betis	14	5	3	6	21	19	18
10	Getafe	14	4	6	4	17	19	18
11	Malaga	14	5	3	6	21	25	18
12	Gijon	14	6	0	8	23	32	18
13	Santander	14	4	4	6	16	20	16
14	Almeria	14	4	3	7	15	23	15
15	Numancia	14	4	2	8	17	28	14
16	Athletic	14	3	4	7	16	24	13
17	Mallorca	14	3	4	7	16	25	13
18	Espanyol	14	3	4	7	11	20	13
19	Huelva	14	2	4	8	9	22	10
20	Osasuna	14	1	6	7	11	19	9

Posted in La Liga, Match report

Barcelona takes three points in Sevilla

December 1st, 2008

Barcelona walked off with three points once again, in a match that they dominated possession seemingly without the will to score.

Their first goal of the night was scored by Samuel Eto’o, top goal scorer in the Spanish league, but it wasn’t until the 78th minute that Messi was to provide another, followed by a third in injury time, by then playing against 10 men after Luis Fabiano was sent off in the 86th minute.

Sevilla were unlucky not to have scored three minutes before the end of the first half following a free kick, but the shot ricocheted off the inside of the cross bar and remained in front of the line.

Real Madrid losing on Saturday, falling into third place behind Villarreal and Valencia, who Barça are playing next Saturday.

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	13	10	2	1	40	9	32
2	Villarreal	13	8	4	1	23	15	28
3	Valencia	13	8	3	2	28	14	27
4	Real Madrid	13	8	2	3	30	20	26
5	Sevilla	13	7	3	3	18	11	24
6	At. Madrid	13	6	3	4	28	19	21
7	Deportivo	13	6	3	4	14	14	21
8	Valladolid	13	6	1	6	16	17	19
9	Malaga	13	5	3	5	21	23	18
10	Gijon	13	6	0	7	21	27	18
11	Betis	13	5	2	6	20	18	17
12	Getafe	13	4	5	4	14	16	17
13	Santander	13	4	3	6	15	19	15
14	Almeria	13	4	3	6	14	21	15
15	Mallorca	13	3	4	6	14	22	13
16	Athletic	13	3	3	7	15	23	12
17	Espanyol	13	3	3	7	10	19	12
18	Numancia	13	3	2	8	15	27	11
19	Osasuna	13	1	5	7	8	16	8
20	Huelva	13	1	4	8	6	20	7

Posted in La Liga, Match report

Barça’s winning streak broken by Getafe

November 24th, 2008

Barcelona winning streak came to and end against Getafe last night, in a match played well by both sides.

Playing Getafe is never a walk in the park and provided the first real challenge of the season. Possession was evenly matched and perhaps because Lionel Messi was out of action, they were missing an ingredient.

Getafe scored in the 19th minute, with Manu del Moral shooting from the edge of the area, while Barça kept up the pace, but failing to make the most of the opportunities they made.

Henry and Pedro were brought on in exchange for Bojan and Hleb in the second half, and Barcelona came close to scoring in minute 62. However, they had to wait until the 72nd minute for Keita to provide their only goal of the match, with a header from an Alves cross.

With Real Madrid beating Recreativo on Saturday, it leaves Barcelona just three points ahead, and this is while their arch rival is supposedly in crisis.

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	12	9	2	1	37	9	29
2	Real Madrid	12	8	2	2	29	17	26
3	Villarreal	12	7	4	1	21	14	25
4	Valencia	12	7	3	2	25	12	24
5	Sevilla	12	7	3	2	18	8	24
6	At. Madrid	12	5	3	4	24	18	18
7	Deportivo	12	5	3	4	13	14	18
8	Betis	12	5	2	5	18	15	17
9	Valladolid	12	5	1	6	13	17	16
10	Santander	12	4	3	5	14	15	15
11	Malaga	12	4	3	5	17	21	15
12	Almeria	12	4	3	5	14	20	15
13	Gijon	12	5	0	7	20	27	15
14	Getafe	12	3	5	4	11	15	14
15	Mallorca	12	3	4	5	14	19	13
16	Espanyol	12	3	3	6	10	18	12
17	Numancia	12	3	2	7	15	25	11
18	Athletic	12	2	3	7	13	23	9
19	Osasuna	12	1	5	6	6	12	8
20	Huelva	12	1	4	7	5	18	7

Posted in La Liga, Match report

Barcelona widen the gap

November 17th, 2008

Barcelona widened the gap at the head of the league after a 2-0 away victory against Recreativo last night, their ninth consecutive league win.

Despite Barcelona’s impressive winning streak, and strong offensive play by Leo Messi in particular, it wasn’t until the second half that the Argentinean broke the deadlock with a goal from a Xavi free kick. The match was put firmly in Barcelona’s hands only a few minutes from the end, when Keita came on in place of Toure Yaya and a pass from Eto’t in the 85th minutes enabled him to put the ball home.

In addition to collecting three points from the match, the weekend was good to Barça. Real Madrid lost against Valladolid on Saturday, the surprise of the weekend, while Valencia were beaten by Sporting Gijon and then on Sunday, Villarreal drew at Malaga.

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	11	9	1	1	36	8	28
2	Villarreal	11	7	4	0	21	11	25
3	Valencia	11	7	2	2	25	12	23
4	Real Madrid	11	7	2	2	28	17	23
5	Sevilla	11	7	2	2	18	8	23
6	At. Madrid	11	5	2	4	23	17	17
7	Deportivo	11	4	3	4	10	13	15
8	Almeria	11	4	3	4	13	17	15
9	Gijon	11	5	0	6	19	25	15
10	Betis	11	4	2	5	16	14	14
11	Malaga	11	4	2	5	15	19	14
12	Getafe	11	3	4	4	10	14	13
13	Valladolid	11	4	1	6	10	17	13
14	Santander	11	3	3	5	11	15	12
15	Mallorca	11	3	3	5	12	17	12
16	Espanyol	11	3	3	5	10	15	12
17	Numancia	11	3	1	7	14	24	10
18	Athletic	11	2	3	6	12	20	9
19	Huelva	11	1	4	6	5	17	7
20	Osasuna	11	0	5	6	3	11	5

Posted in La Liga, Match report

FC Barcelona News

La Liga Table – year end 2008