FC Barcelona News
Barcelona Bulldoze Racing
October 16th, 2011Lionel Messi starred on Saturday night, as FC Barcelona eased their way to a 3-0 win at the Camp Nou against Racing Santander. The Argentine dynamo was in fine fettle and notched his side’s first and last goal, separated by a Xavi header, sending Barça back to the Primera División, one point ahead of Real Madrid.
The home team had welcomed Andrés Iniesta back into the starting lineup, after a month-long absence with a muscular injury. Puyol and Piqué were also making a rare, and unfortunately short lived, outing as a central defensive pair. Other than that it was a conventional 4-3-3 for Barcelona, although they were without a recognised defensive midfielder, with Xavi, Thiago and Iniesta playing across the middle.
Early on the Cantabrians, still winless in the league, worked hard to close Barça down, and almost caught Valdés in possession once or twice. There was also another injury setback for Gerard Piqué, when he was forced off after no more than ten minutes to be replaced by Éric Abidal.
But Barcelona soon settled, and scored with their first real attack; Messi set Iniesta free on the right hand side of the box. The midfielder held the ball up before nudging it back to the Argentine forward, who surged through with his first touch, dummied round Toño and passed the ball home into the empty net.
Racing had posed a minor threat before the opening goal, but wouldn’t trouble the Barça defence again before half time, as Guardiola’s men assumed total control and created chance after chance. Messi was denied by a last-ditch block, before Pedro worked some space down the left wing against Francis and delivered and inviting cross for Xavi to head down into the bottom right corner.
In the last 15 minutes of the half Pedro and Messi both went close, but perhaps the best chance fell to Villa, who was found by a delightful Messi through-ball and rounded Toño only to see his effort hit the side-netting.
Valdés was forced into action early in the second period, pushing away Koné’s low show after the forward found a yard of room in the area. Unaffected, Barcelona then resumed their dominance, keeping possession and probing the Racing defence. Xavi had a shot deflected wide and Messi was twice foiled by Toño. He also might have won a penalty when he set off on a thrilling run, beating three players before tricking his way past Álvaro González, only to be felled by the defender just inside the area.
Barça’s number 10 would exact his revenge moments later; he guided a pinpoint diagonal pass for Iniesta, who wriggled past two defenders and slammed a shot against the far post for Messi to follow up and grab his second of the night.
Guardiola’s men closed the game out with little trouble, and might have extended their lead when David Villa clipped the top of the crossbar and Éric Abidal saw a spectacular overhead kick saved at full-stretch.
1-0, Messi (min 11)
2-0, Xavi (min 27)
3-0, Messi (min 68)
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)
Barcelona held to surprise draw in San Sebastián
September 11th, 2011FC Barcelona let slip a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 away at Real Sociedad on Saturday evening. Guardiola’s men had been in total control by half time, leading through goals by Xavi and Fàbregas, but two moments of defensive sloppiness allowed their Basque opponents back into the match.
Blessed with a squad that handle a certain amount of rotation, Guardiola had clearly looked upon this trip to San Sebastián as an opportunity to rest some of his prized talents following a busy international fortnight. This time Iniesta, Villa and Messi all took to the bench, with Sánchez, Fàbregas and Pedro forming an unorthodox front-line. Barça also returned to a 4-3-3, after the successful switch to a three-man defence against Villareal two weeks prior.
Here Barcelona started the first half with real purpose, opening the scoring within the first ten minutes; Cesc dropped deep and spotted the run of Alexis Sánchez, finding him completely free in the area with a ball over the top. The Chilean squared for Xavi, who finished with ease into the empty net.
Just two minutes later, Barcelona extended their lead with a similar move. This time Xavi provided the impetus, clipping a sumptuous lofted pass over the static Sociedad defence for Cesc. The former Arsenal man then laid the ball on for Pedro, before reacting first to Claudio Bravo’s save to finish with ease from seven yards.
Barring a muted call for a penalty when a shot from just outside the area collided with Andreu Fontàs’ shoulder, Real Sociedad offered little attacking threat in the first half. Really, Barça were comfortable, and might have added another goal when yet another high ball from Cesc found Pedro, who saw his attempted lob deflected wide by Bravo.
The second half was a remarkably different contest; Sociedad took to the field with renewed purpose, while a mixture of tiredness and complacency from Barça offered their opponents a route back into the match.
The warning signs were there right from the restart, when Imanol Agirretxe found some space in the Barcelona area before dragging a shot wide on the turn. Barcelona responded with a couple of half chances, for Pedro and Villa, on for the injured Alexis, but the home side was growing in confidence.
Sociedad’s first goal came via a swirling Xavi Prieto cross from the right flank. The flight of the ball caught Sergio Busquets slightly flat-footed, and Agirretxe was able to head the ball home practically unopposed.
Just a few seconds later it was David Villa’s turn to make a gaffe, when he turned just inside the Sociedad half and aimed an ill-advised back pass at Víctor Valdés. Agirretxe latched onto the ball, rounded Valdés and struck the crossbar, but Griezmann was on hand to head the ball home.
Guardiola threw Messi on in search of a winner, but Sociedad were now playing with confidence, and Barcelona had to settle for an unwelcome draw.
0-1 Xavi (min 9)
0-2 Cesc (min 11)
1-2 Agirretxe (min 59)
2-2 Griezman (min 61)
Barça Overcome Shakhtar in Emphatic Style
April 7th, 2011There were five different scorers for FC Barcelona as they overcame tricky opposition with staggering ease at the Camp Nou on Wednesday night. Guardiola’s men will take an apparently insurmountable 5-1 lead to Donetsk next week, although the manager will be anxious to warn against complacency.
As the Blaugrana side has experienced in the past, Lucescu’s Shakhtar team are a smart outfit, boasting plenty of pace and creativity thanks to a quartet of young Brazilians and two of Europe’s most exciting attacking fullbacks. And in truth, some stiff resistance had to be overcome in this match.
Iniesta opened the scoring in just the second minute, taking advantage of a deflected through ball to slot home at Pyatov’s near post. As ever, Barcelona were taking the initiative, pressing high and circulating the ball at speed. Messi looked lively, beating three men before having his shot blocked by a last-ditch challenge.
Still, Shakhtar possessed startling pace and directness in the counter attack; Striker Luiz Adriano spurned a one-on-one opportunity, shooting woefully wide after being released by fellow countryman, Jadson. The Ukrainian side also looked dangerous on the flanks through Willian and Douglas Costa, and Dani Alves appeared tentative as he sold Víctor Valdés short with a weak backpass.
Recovering from these early scares, Barça began to tighten their stranglehold on the game, and Shakhtar Donetsk, like so many before them, struggled in the face of such concerted pressure.
Just after the half-hour mark the home side crafted a goal of real beauty. A lofted pass by Iniesta found an angled Dani Alves runs. The Brazilian wingback controlled the ball on the penalty spot with his instep, before rounding the ‘keeper and flicking home to double the lead.
The dormant Shakhtar threat resurfaced early in the second half; Luiz Adriano lacked composure as he failed to control a dangerous deep cross.
Once again the away team was punished almost instantly, as Piqué latched onto a low corner by Xavi and sent the ball home via a deflection off centre half Rakitskiy. Minutes later, the same Shakhtar player scored a potentially crucial away goal at the other end, guiding a neat header past Valdés to make the score 3-1.
Aware that their cushion was suddenly looking a bit slim, Barcelona bit back straight away.
Just a minute after Shakhtar’s goal, Keita increased home side’s lead, lashing a ferocious first-time shot into the top-left hand corner after wonderful work by Messi on the right. The Blaugrana side pushed on and produced their best football of the night during the last half hour, with some lovely combinations.
Although largely subdued, Shakhtar Donetsk did muster one late counter attack, culminating with Luiz Adriano striking the post from an acute angle. Once again Barcelona retaliated with a goal – Alves created space on the right side of the area and found his captain Xavi, who made no mistake from 10 yards and capped a satisfying night’s work for Guardiola’s team.
1-0, Iniesta (min 2)
2-0, Alves (min 33)
3-0, Piqué (min 53)
3-1, Rakitskiy (min 59)
4-1, Keita (min 60)
5-1, Xavi (min 86)
Barça outguns Gunners
March 9th, 2011After losing 2-1 against Arsenal in the first round, FC Barcelona only needed a 1-0 victory to go through to the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals. However, 1-0 was never going to be enough against a team such as Arsenal and the reality was that Barça made things unnecessarily complicated for themselves thanks to a second half own goal by Busquets.
Barcelona came on looking like they intended to win and possession throughout the match was close to 70 percent. The majority of the play was in Arsenal’s half, which perhaps was just as well with Puyol still of through injury and Piquet serving a suspension. However, Arsenal was dealt a poor card in the 18th minute, when goalkeeper Szczesny was substituted through injury.
Arsenal started to look ruffled and things got heated, losing their cool. Meanwhile Barça continued a relentless attack on the Arsenal goalmouth and Barcelona really looking like they’d deliver the goods. However, Arsenal were still still unnerved by Barça’s dominance continued going in hard. The result was a yellow card for Van Persie for a foul on Alves and he was perhaps lucky not to have been sent off immediately.
2 mins into injury time Messi came close to scoring, and then a minute later out the ball home to end the first half 1-0.
If the score had remained 1-0, Barcelona would have gone through. Unfortunately things are never that simple and while defending the Barça goal Busquets scored an own goal for the visitors, which changed things completely. However, once again the balance tipped in Barcelona’s favour, whenVan Persie was shown a second yellow card for proceeding after the offside whistle blown – a controversial decision, which the player contested with the ref.
1-0 Messi (min 48)
1-1 Busquets p.p. (min 52)
2-1 Xavi (min 69)
3-1 Messi (p) (min 71)
Round one of the Barcelona derby goes to Barça
December 20th, 2010It doesn’t seem that long ago since I was wondering if Barça would really be able to step up their game and compete with Real Madrid for the Spanish League title. Coincidentally, that was the moment that Barça DID really start to get things together and the following matches have seen an astounding number of goals, including against their arch-rival.
Following that comment, Barcelona beat Sevilla 5-0; they then went on to beat Getafe and Villarreal 3-1 each; then 8-0 against Almeria; 5-0 against Real Madrid; 3-1 with Osasuna; 5-0 again against Real Sociedad; and now 5-1 in theBcelona derby on Saturday night. The goal tally has been astounding and Barça’s reputation must strike fear into any team the play at the moment – I pity the poor goalkeepers in particular.
In theory Espanyol should have been a fairly tough match, but other teams with an even better reputation have been dropping like flies against this new Barcelona dream team, so why should this be an exception? Perhaps the most unusual feature of the match on Saturday was the lack of goals from Messi; I can’t wait until the league gets going again right at the beginning of the new year to see how this season will play out.
0-1, Pedro (min 19
0-2, Xavi (min 30)
0-3, Pedro (min 60)
1-3, Osvaldo (min 62)
1-4, Villa (min 75)
1-5, Villa (min 84)
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
|
1
|
Barcelona |
16
|
14
|
1
|
1
|
51
|
9
|
43
|
|
2
|
Real Madrid |
16
|
13
|
2
|
1
|
39
|
12
|
41
|
|
3
|
Villarreal |
16
|
10
|
3
|
3
|
30
|
14
|
33
|
|
4
|
Valencia |
16
|
8
|
4
|
4
|
24
|
19
|
28
|
|
5
|
Espanyol |
16
|
9
|
1
|
6
|
18
|
22
|
28
|
|
6
|
Atlético Madrid |
16
|
8
|
2
|
6
|
27
|
19
|
26
|
|
7
|
Getafe |
16
|
8
|
2
|
6
|
26
|
22
|
26
|
|
8
|
Athletic Bilbao |
16
|
8
|
1
|
7
|
25
|
27
|
25
|
|
9
|
Real Sociedad |
16
|
7
|
1
|
8
|
22
|
26
|
22
|
|
10
|
Mallorca |
16
|
6
|
3
|
7
|
16
|
20
|
21
|
|
11
|
Sevilla |
16
|
6
|
2
|
8
|
21
|
27
|
20
|
|
12
|
Hércules |
15
|
5
|
3
|
7
|
18
|
22
|
18
|
|
13
|
Deportivo |
16
|
4
|
6
|
5
|
13
|
19
|
18
|
|
14
|
Osasuna |
16
|
4
|
5
|
7
|
15
|
20
|
17
|
|
15
|
Racing Santander |
15
|
5
|
2
|
8
|
13
|
23
|
17
|
|
16
|
Levante |
16
|
4
|
3
|
9
|
18
|
26
|
15
|
|
17
|
Almería |
16
|
2
|
7
|
7
|
15
|
25
|
13
|
|
18
|
Málaga |
16
|
4
|
1
|
11
|
20
|
35
|
13
|
|
19
|
Sporting Gijón |
16
|
2
|
6
|
8
|
13
|
24
|
12
|
|
20
|
Zaragoza |
16
|
1
|
7
|
8
|
14
|
27
|
10
|
El clasico 2010 – the shame of Real Madrid
November 30th, 2010FC Barcelona v Real Madrid is probably the biggest fixture of the year worldwide, and while it always has a huge build-up it is sometimes quite a let down.
That wasn’t the case last night though, particularly if you are a Barça fan. While the Catalans came on to play the beautiful game, the visitors showed what happens when you hire a bunch of expensive thugs who have no idea what sportsmanship is.
And that was nowhere better demonstrated by Cristiano Ronaldo, who was bought for talent that he can never show when the odds are too high and behaves like a petulant prima dona when things don’t go his way.
Such as when he took the ball from Pep Guardiola and pushed him back around 30 minutes in – honestly, I know tensions run high but was that in any way necessary. I’m not condoning violence at football matches, but if I’d been in Guardiola’s place I think I would have decked him.
Okay, so now I have that off my chest….
It was a pretty miserable night from the point of view of the weather – cold and raining and nobody likes much to be out in that, but support for Barça – particularly on a Monday night – was outstanding. Perhaps it was something to do with the Catalan elections on Sunday, perhaps it was simply the event itself, but people were going out of their way to ignore the rain as best they could and support Barcelona.
The team went on with one intention – to beat Real Madrid, and they showed how intent they were to do that from the start. Messi came close in minute six, but Xavi put an Iniesta assist into the goal just four minutes later to open up the scoring. Seven minutes later it was Villa’s pass to Pedro that put the hosts 2-0 up.
That’s when Real Madrid really started to show how nasty they can be, with Ronaldo’s push of Guardiola at around the half hour mark. That earned him a yellow card, but the scuffles on pitch afterwards looked like the ref might start showing the red. In the end it was only Victor Valdes who earned a yellow.
A few minutes later when Valdes tangled directly with Ronaldo in the Barça area it looked like the visitors would be awarded a penalty. When it wasn’t given, Valdes just laughed in the face of his opponent. And what happened at the end of the first half? Leo Messi was clearly elbowed in the face, but it was him that was shown the yellow card!
After the break there was no let up for Barça. In the 54th minute David Villa scored his first; and three minutes later he did it again! Did I imagine it or had Jose Mourinho said that Villa can’t score??!!.. Oh yeah? Mourinho’s sour look on the bench told a story – his face had been well and truly rubbed in the dirt.
4-0 good enough for Barça? Not when it can be 5-0, as Jeffren made it right at the end. And when the stadium was just waiting for the fat lady, Ramos was shown a red for completely unnecessary behaviour and started pushing Puyol, Xavi and other players around. Umm… aren’t you supposed to be team mates in the Spanish selection, Ramos?
At 63% possession, Barça looked like they were playing a second rate team, not against so-called galacticos, thereby leapfrogging them in the league.
Conclusion?
Barça walked all over Madrid in the first half and after scoring the first two goals they simply tried dirty play to put Barça off their stride and break their flow. Real Madrid – you really ought to be ashamed. At least Jose Mourinho was suitably humbled after the match and said that Barça deserved to win.
And man of the match – definitely Cristiano Ronaldo, but for all the wrong reasons. He is a disgrace.
1-0, Xavi (min 10)
2-0, Pedro (min 17)
3-0, Villa (min 54)
4-0, Villa (min 57)
5-0, Jeffren (min 91)
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
|
1
|
Barcelona |
13
|
11
|
1
|
1
|
38
|
8
|
34
|
|
2
|
Real Madrid |
13
|
10
|
2
|
1
|
33
|
11
|
32
|
|
3
|
Villarreal |
13
|
8
|
3
|
2
|
26
|
12
|
27
|
|
4
|
Espanyol |
13
|
8
|
1
|
4
|
15
|
15
|
25
|
|
5
|
Valencia |
13
|
7
|
3
|
3
|
19
|
13
|
24
|
|
6
|
Mallorca |
13
|
6
|
3
|
4
|
15
|
13
|
21
|
|
7
|
Atlético Madrid |
13
|
6
|
2
|
5
|
22
|
17
|
20
|
|
8
|
Sevilla |
13
|
6
|
2
|
5
|
20
|
22
|
20
|
|
9
|
Real Sociedad |
13
|
6
|
1
|
6
|
19
|
19
|
19
|
|
10
|
Athletic Bilbao |
13
|
6
|
1
|
6
|
21
|
23
|
19
|
|
11
|
Getafe |
13
|
5
|
2
|
6
|
19
|
20
|
17
|
|
12
|
Osasuna |
13
|
4
|
3
|
6
|
12
|
14
|
15
|
|
13
|
Hércules |
13
|
4
|
3
|
6
|
14
|
20
|
15
|
|
14
|
Deportivo |
13
|
3
|
5
|
4
|
11
|
16
|
14
|
|
15
|
Racing Santander |
13
|
4
|
2
|
7
|
11
|
19
|
14
|
|
16
|
Levante |
13
|
3
|
2
|
8
|
14
|
23
|
11
|
|
17
|
Sporting Gijón |
13
|
2
|
4
|
7
|
11
|
21
|
10
|
|
18
|
Málaga |
13
|
3
|
1
|
9
|
15
|
27
|
10
|
|
19
|
Almería |
13
|
1
|
6
|
6
|
9
|
20
|
9
|
|
20
|
Zaragoza |
13
|
1
|
5
|
7
|
12
|
23
|
8
|
Barça rises to second place in the league
September 27th, 2010Barça finished the weekend second place in the league after beating Athletic Bilbao 3-1 away in miserable conditions thanks to torrential rain.
As usual the hosts played hard and by the end of the match both teams were down to 10 men. First off was Amorebieta after 35 minutes, although the replay looked like the referee was wrong; with a string of red cards to his name – he has one of the worst records in the Spanish league ever – perhaps his reputation meant the referee just didn’t give him the benefit of the doubt.
Keita meanwhile was working hard, and that work finally paid off in the 55th minute when the ball went home. Barcelona kept up the pressure and possession remained high throughout. Although several chances were wasted, eventually Xavi made it 2-0 in the 74th minute.
David Villa received a red card just 4 minutes before the end. It didn’t look like too much, but the reply clearly showed him throw his fist; what preceded that I’m not sure though.
And just when it looked like that was going to be it, Gabilondo scored for Athletic, suddenly putting the three points in danger. However, that threat was short-lived, with Busquets putting the ball home to make it 3-1 for the visitors.
0-1 Keita (min 55)
0-2 Xavi (min 74)
1-2 Gabilondo (min 89)
1-3 Busquets (min 92)
The squad is heading of to Kazan today for their Champions League match on Wednesday against Rubin Kazan. They faced them last year in freezing temperatures, but this year the away leg is six weeks earlier than last year and so the temperature expected to be in the double digits (that’s Celsius for our American readers!).
The great news is the Lionel Messi has been included in the squad after making a much faster than expected recovery from his ankle injury. Whether or not he plays is a different matter, but it does show that he’s coming back to strength FAST.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
|
1
|
Valencia |
5
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
9
|
3
|
13
|
|
2
|
Barcelona |
5
|
4
|
0
|
1
|
9
|
4
|
12
|
|
3
|
Real Madrid |
5
|
3
|
2
|
0
|
6
|
1
|
11
|
|
4
|
Atlético Madrid |
5
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
9
|
4
|
10
|
|
5
|
Villarreal |
4
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
7
|
2
|
9
|
|
6
|
Espanyol |
5
|
3
|
0
|
2
|
5
|
8
|
9
|
|
7
|
Sevilla |
5
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
7
|
5
|
8
|
|
8
|
Hércules |
5
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
5
|
3
|
7
|
|
9
|
Athletic Bilbao |
5
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
8
|
7
|
7
|
|
10
|
Getafe |
5
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
8
|
8
|
7
|
|
11
|
Mallorca |
5
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
4
|
5
|
7
|
|
12
|
Málaga |
4
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
9
|
8
|
6
|
|
13
|
Almería |
5
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
5
|
|
14
|
Osasuna |
5
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
3
|
5
|
4
|
|
15
|
Racing Santander |
5
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
3
|
6
|
4
|
|
16
|
Real Sociedad |
5
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
5
|
9
|
4
|
|
17
|
Sporting Gijón |
5
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
4
|
9
|
4
|
|
18
|
Levante |
5
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
4
|
10
|
4
|
|
19
|
Deportivo |
5
|
0
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
5
|
3
|
|
20
|
Zaragoza |
5
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
8
|
2
|
Check out prices and availability of Barcelona Tickets from our homepage.
La Liga race continues
May 3rd, 2010Barcelona collected three points against Villarreal on Saturday night in a 4-1 win, with goals from Messi, Xavi and Bojan. Meanwhile Real Madrid’s match against Osasuna looked like it would end in a 2-2 draw; however, a last minute goal from Cristiano Ronaldo ensured that Madrid kept hold of the points and are still snapping at Barça’s tail, just one point behind in the league.
0-1 Messi (min 18)
0-2 Xavi (min 33)
0-3 Bojan (min 42)
1-3 Llorente (min 67)
1-4 Messi (min 87)
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
|
1
|
Barcelona |
35
|
28
|
6
|
1
|
87
|
21
|
90
|
|
2
|
Real Madrid |
35
|
29
|
2
|
4
|
92
|
31
|
89
|
|
3
|
Valencia |
35
|
19
|
8
|
8
|
55
|
35
|
65
|
|
4
|
Mallorca |
35
|
17
|
8
|
10
|
56
|
39
|
59
|
|
5
|
Sevilla |
35
|
17
|
6
|
12
|
55
|
43
|
57
|
|
6
|
Villarreal |
35
|
15
|
7
|
13
|
51
|
50
|
52
|
|
7
|
Getafe |
35
|
15
|
6
|
14
|
52
|
46
|
51
|
|
8
|
Athletic Bilbao |
35
|
14
|
8
|
13
|
46
|
47
|
50
|
|
9
|
Deportivo |
35
|
12
|
8
|
15
|
33
|
44
|
44
|
|
10
|
Atlético Madrid |
35
|
12
|
7
|
16
|
53
|
56
|
43
|
|
11
|
Espanyol |
35
|
10
|
11
|
14
|
27
|
42
|
41
|
|
12
|
Osasuna |
35
|
10
|
9
|
16
|
32
|
42
|
39
|
|
13
|
Almería |
35
|
9
|
11
|
15
|
35
|
48
|
38
|
|
14
|
Sporting Gijón |
35
|
9
|
11
|
15
|
34
|
47
|
38
|
|
15
|
Zaragoza |
35
|
9
|
10
|
16
|
40
|
58
|
37
|
|
16
|
Racing Santander |
35
|
8
|
12
|
15
|
38
|
52
|
36
|
|
17
|
Málaga |
35
|
7
|
14
|
14
|
39
|
44
|
35
|
|
18
|
Tenerife |
35
|
9
|
8
|
18
|
37
|
67
|
35
|
|
19
|
Valladolid |
35
|
6
|
15
|
14
|
34
|
54
|
33
|
|
20
|
Xerez |
35
|
7
|
9
|
20
|
33
|
60
|
30
|
Barça beats Getafe with 2 men down
February 8th, 2010Barcelona retain their 5 point lead over Real Madrid this weekend after both teams won their respective matches. While Madrid soundly beat Barcelona’s second team, RCD Espanyol, Barça won against Getafe despite finishing the match with just 9 players.
Barça started strongly, resulting in a great goal from Messi in the sixth minute. However, when a harsh decision from the ref resulted in Pique’s expulsion for a foul on Rafa in minute 25 the game changed.
One man down meant Barça were unable to dominate the game in their normal style, but Victor Valdes held up well in goal. Meanwhile Barcelona were on the counter attack and in the 66th minute Xavi scored after being set up by Messi. And at the very last minute Marquez was quite unfairly sent off; Getafe score in minute 92 from the penalty spot to make it 2-1.
1-0, Messi (min 6)
2-0, Xavi (min 66)
2-1, Soldado (min 92)
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
|
1
|
Barcelona |
21
|
17
|
4
|
0
|
52
|
11
|
55
|
|
2
|
Real Madrid |
21
|
16
|
2
|
3
|
50
|
14
|
50
|
|
3
|
Valencia |
21
|
12
|
6
|
3
|
38
|
18
|
42
|
|
4
|
Mallorca |
21
|
11
|
4
|
6
|
35
|
23
|
37
|
|
5
|
Sevilla |
21
|
11
|
3
|
7
|
32
|
24
|
36
|
|
6
|
Deportivo |
21
|
10
|
5
|
6
|
24
|
22
|
35
|
|
7
|
Athletic Bilbao |
21
|
10
|
3
|
8
|
27
|
27
|
33
|
|
8
|
Getafe |
21
|
10
|
1
|
10
|
28
|
26
|
31
|
|
9
|
Osasuna |
21
|
8
|
5
|
8
|
21
|
21
|
29
|
|
10
|
Villarreal |
21
|
7
|
5
|
9
|
31
|
30
|
26
|
|
11
|
Racing Santander |
21
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
24
|
28
|
25
|
|
12
|
Atlético Madrid |
21
|
6
|
6
|
9
|
31
|
34
|
24
|
|
13
|
Sporting Gijón |
21
|
6
|
6
|
9
|
21
|
25
|
24
|
|
14
|
Espanyol |
21
|
6
|
5
|
10
|
14
|
29
|
23
|
|
15
|
Almería |
21
|
5
|
7
|
9
|
22
|
31
|
22
|
|
16
|
Málaga |
21
|
4
|
9
|
8
|
23
|
26
|
21
|
|
17
|
Zaragoza |
21
|
5
|
5
|
11
|
25
|
43
|
20
|
|
18
|
Valladolid |
21
|
3
|
9
|
9
|
24
|
38
|
18
|
|
19
|
Tenerife |
21
|
4
|
5
|
12
|
17
|
40
|
17
|
|
20
|
Xerez |
21
|
2
|
5
|
15
|
12
|
38
|
11
|
For more information on buying Barcelona tickets see the homepage.
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