Barcelona - NouCamp Faithful

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Manchester City 0 - 2 Barcelona : Barca too strong for 10-man City

1st Leg

Lionel Messi and Daniel Alves punished 10-man Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie at the Etihad Stadium.

Four-time World Player of the Year Messi struck from the penalty spot with 54 minutes gone after being brought down by Martin Demichelis, who was sent off.

City had their chances but Barcelona dominated possession throughout and were rewarded when Alves struck the second in the last minute.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Real Sociedad 3 - 1 Barcelona : Barca shocked by Sociedad

Barcelona endured another miserable trip to the Anoeta on Saturday as Real Sociedad produced a brilliant team display to beat the under-par Catalan giants 3-1.

The Basque outfit, who defeated Barcelona 3-2 in the corresponding fixture last term, went ahead in the 32nd minute when Gorka Elustondo's header found the net via the shoulder of visiting defender Alex Song.

Lionel Messi equalised four minutes later with a typically clinical finish, but further home goals in the first 14 minutes of the second half - scored by Antoine Griezmann and David Zurutuza - ensured the Primera Division champions left San Sebastian empty-handed for the third time in four seasons.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 4 - 1 Almeria : Messi on target again

Barcelona closed to within a point of Primera Division leaders Real Madrid after an emphatic, if not always totally convincing, 4-1 victory over Almeria at the Nou Camp.

After Real and city rivals Atletico Madrid had played out a 2-2 draw earlier in the day, Sunday's late contest afforded Barcelona the chance to get right back in the title mix after their costly defeat at Real Sociedad last weekend.

Alexis Sanchez set the hosts on their way in the 10th minute before a superb Lionel Messi free-kick made it 2-0 inside 25 minutes.

A moment's sloppiness in the Barca backline allowed Angel Trujillo to pull one back for Almeria and at 2-1 Barca endured more than one or two nervy moments as the visitors probed for a leveller.

It took until the 83rd minute for Barcelona to finally put the contest to bed, Carles Puyol following up with a smart finish after Messi's header had come back off the bar, while there was still time for Xavi to inflate the scoreline further with a sumptuous fourth.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

[Tai_zi21]

Rossi shocks Barca

Relegation-battling Real Valladolid caused one of the upsets of the La Liga season after inflicting a 1-0 defeat on reigning champions Barcelona.


Real Valladolid
Barcelona

7(2) Shots (on goal) 13(6)
15 Fouls 14
4 Corner kicks 3
2 Offsides 3
25% Time of Possession 75%
5 Yellow Cards 1
0 Red Cards 0
6 Saves 1

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Originally Posted by Tai_zi21

Rossi shocks Barca

Relegation-battling Real Valladolid caused one of the upsets of the La Liga season after inflicting a 1-0 defeat on reigning champions Barcelona.


Real Valladolid
Barcelona

7(2) Shots (on goal) 13(6)
15 Fouls 14
4 Corner kicks 3
2 Offsides 3
25% Time of Possession 75%
5 Yellow Cards 1
0 Red Cards 0
6 Saves 1

Unbelievable....look at the disparity in Table standings....

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Real Valladolid 1 - 0 Barcelona : Rossi shocks Barca

Relegation-battling Real Valladolid caused one of the upsets of the La Liga season after inflicting a 1-0 defeat on reigning champions Barcelona.

The clubs were separated by 40 points and 16 places coming into the match but it was third-bottom Valladolid who emerged victorious thanks to Fausto Rossi's first-half strike.

Second-placed Barcelona had several chances to get back into the match but could find no way past Valladolid keeper Diego Marino, and Gerardo Martino's men could now find themelves four points adrift of Real Madrid if the pacesetters beat Levante on Sunday.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 2 - 1 Manchester City : Barcelona show their class

2nd Leg (Barcelona wins 4-1 on agg)

Lionel Messi and Dani Alves both scored again as Barcelona claimed their place in the Champions League quarterfinals with a 2-1 win over Manchester City.

The pair, who both struck in the 2-0 first-leg win, were on target in the second half at the Nou Camp as Barca completed a 4-1 aggregate win.

City were briefly level at 1-1 after a late Vincent Kompany effort but it proved mere consolation for the visitors, who had Pablo Zabaleta sent off for two bookable offences.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 7 - 0 Osasuna : Messi hits record-breaking treble

Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick to become Barcelona's all-time top scorer as the Catalan club cruised to a commanding 7-0 win over Osasuna.

The 26-year-old opened the scoring after 19 minutes to equal Paulino Alcantara's record of 369 goals in all competitions - including friendlies - for Barcelona. Alexis Sanchez and Andres Iniesta increased the hosts' advantage before the break.

Messi struck again in the second half to move onto 370 goals and become the club's undisputed top marksman, and then completed his treble with a simple finish in the 87th minute, after substitute Cristian Tello had rammed in the fifth goal.

There was still time for a seventh goal, however, Messi adding an assist to his goal haul by teeing up Pedro.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Real Madrid 3 - 4 Barcelona : Messi hat trick wins thrilling clasico

Barcelona reignited their title challenge with a 4-3 victory over Real Madrid in a pulsating clasico that had a little bit of everything.

There were stunning individual performances on both sides, three penalties, a red card, and somewhere amid it all, a Lionel Messi hat trick. Karim Benzema and Angel Di Maria bossed the first half, but both found themselves substituted in the second as Madrid moved into crisis management.


Andres Iniesta put Barca ahead just four minutes in, but Benzema's brace turned it around before Messi levelled before the break. Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty restored Madrid's lead but after Sergio Ramos brought down Neymar in the area, Madrid were down to 10 and two Messi penalties won it for the visitors.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 3 - 0 Celta Vigo : Valdes injury mars Barca victory

Goals from Neymar and Lionel Messi meant Barcelona kept the pressure on title rivals Atletico and Real Madrid with a comfortable 3-0 win over Celta Vigo but the evening turned sour when Victor Valdes was carried off with a serious knee injury that could end his Barca career and rule him out of the World Cup.

The goalkeeper struggled to hold on to a free-kick from Fabian Orellana midway through the first half and landed on his right knee as he gathered the ball, and was seen crying as he was taken off the pitch, replaced by Jose Pinto.

It could be Valdes' last appearance for the club, with the player set to depart Barcelona in the summer when his contract runs out.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Espanyol 0 - 1 Barcelona : Messi decides the derby

Lionel Messi scored his third penalty in six days to give Barcelona a 1-0 win at local rivals Espanyol and boost their chances of retaining the Primera Division title.

With 14 minutes remaining of a difficult afternoon for Gerardo Martino's side, the prolific Argentina forward calmly sent his spot-kick the other side of Espanyol goalkeeper Kiko Casilla, who was then sent off for handling another shot from Messi outside his area.

Defender Javi Lopez, who had given away the penalty, went in goal for the remaining eight minutes, but Barca were unable to take further advantage.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 1 - 1 Atletico Madrid : Neymar leveller rescues Barcelona

1st Leg

Neymar cancelled out a stunning opening goal by Diego Ribas to ensure it ended all square between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the Nou Camp, with everything to play for in the Champions League quarterfinal second leg next week at the Calderon.

Brazilian forward Diego came on to replace Atletico's talisman Diego Costa after half an hour and unleashed an unstoppable drive from 30 yards to put the visitors ahead 11 minutes into the second half.

But compatriot Neymar finished off a fine pass by Andres Iniesta to level the score 15 minutes later and set up the fourth successive draw in the meetings between the two teams this season as the match finished tied at 1-1.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 3 - 1 Real Betis : Barca pile on pressure

Barcelona produced an unconvincing display against Real Betis but still beat the Primera Division bottom side 3-1 to keep the pressure on league leaders Atletico Madrid.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 15 minutes and Jordi Figueras, who had conceded the spot-kick, doubled Barca's lead with an own goal midway through the second half.

Betis striker Ruben Castro quickly pulled one back for the visitors but Messi struck again in the 85th minute, reacting quickly to having a penalty saved to send the ball in on the rebound and seal the three points.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Atletico Madrid 1 - 0 Barcelona : Atletico make history

2nd Leg (Atletico wins 2-1 on agg)

Atletico Madrid reached the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time following a 1-0 win over Spanish rivals Barcelona.

Koke's fifth-minute strike was enough to send Atletico through to the last four, although Diego Simeone's men could have killed the tie off in a breathless first 20 minutes.

Atletico, without injured star striker Diego Costa, hit the woodwork three times during their early burst and wasted several other chances late on.

It was the sort of profligacy that Barca might have been expected to punish, but they never found any consistent attacking threat - with Lionel Messi largely ineffective - to send the Catalans to their earliest exit in seven years.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Granada 1 - 0 Barcelona : Brahimi strike stuns Barca

Barcelona's title hopes were dealt a crushing blow as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at struggling Granada, completing a nightmare week for the Catalan club after being dumped out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid.

The match was settled by a solitary goal by Yacine Brahimi after 15 minutes, the Algerian racing through a Barca defence containing no natural centre-backs and scoring past Jose Manuel Pinto.

The visitors, who began without midfield metronome Xavi and first-choice full-backs Dani Alves and Jordi Alba, were unable to respond - thwarted on a number of occasions by Granada's outstanding goalkeeper Orestis Karnesis, who was making only his second start of the season.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)