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Tag: Barca

  • Suarez strikes late as Barca snatch victory at Rayo Vallecano

    Late goals from Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez earned La Liga champions FC Barcelona a 3-2 win at struggling Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.

    The victory helped to keep them clear at the top of the standings.

    Suarez slotted in a cross from Jordi Alba from close range to give Barca a deserved lead in the 11th minute.

    That was after they had made a flying start at a ground where they had eased to victory in their previous five visits and had not lost since 2002.

    But Rayo, 19th in the table and with only one win all season, fought their way back into the game and midfielder Jose Pozo smashed an equaliser in off the post in the 35th minute.

    Rayo winger Alvaro Garcia sent the raucous home fans into delirium early in the second half by stabbing his side in front on the rebound.

    Striker Raul de Thomas had struck the post with a diving header.

    Barca might have had a sense of deja vu from their shock 2-1 defeat in Madrid by Leganes two months ago in which they also threw away the lead.

    The Catalans adopted no nonsense tactics to get back into the game, throwing defender Gerard Pique up front and playing frequent high balls into the box.

    Substitute Dembele got Barca out of trouble with a perfectly struck half volley in the 87th minute after a knockdown by Pique.

    Suarez, who scored a hat-trick in last week’s drubbing of Real Madrid, completed the comeback three minutes later.

    He arrived at the far post to steer in a cross from Sergi Roberto, striking a fifth goal in two games and a ninth in total to move top of the league’s scoring charts.

    Ernesto Valverde’s side lead La Liga with 24 points, four ahead of Atletico Madrid.

    Alaves can move within one point if they beat Eibar on Sunday.

  • Real’s Gareth Bale denies Barcelona a Clasico win

    REAL Madrid forward Gareth Bale lashed home to deny La Liga champions Barcelona victory in an ill-tempered ‘Clasico’ which finished 2-2 at the Nou Camp on Sunday after the home side had Sergi Roberto sent off at the end of the first half.

    Luis Suarez volleyed unbeaten Barca into the lead after 10 minutes following a gut-busting run and cross from Roberto while Cristiano Ronaldo levelled for Champions League finalists Real five minutes later from close range.

    However, the Portugal forward hurt his ankle in the process and was substituted at halftime.

    Bale had risked getting sent off for raking his studs against Samuel Umtiti’s leg but escaped without a booking on that occasion and Roberto was sent off moments later for hitting Marcelo following an off-the-ball tussle.

    Lionel Messi scored a mesmerising, record-extending 26th goal in the Clasico to put 10-man Barca back in front after 52 minutes but Bale then silenced the Nou Camp with a thumping strike from the edge of the area.

    Both sides pushed for a winner and Real could have had a penalty when Jordi Alba caught Marcelo but Barca clung on to remain unbeaten in the league with three games to go.

    Champions Barca have 87 points while Real are third in the Liga standings with 72 after 35 games. Atletico Madrid are second on 75 but have played one game more.

  • Messi agreed to Barca exit clause in case of Catalan independence, media report says

    Messi agreed to Barca exit clause in case of Catalan independence, media report says

    Lionel Messi could leave FC Barcelona without a transfer fee if Catalonia ceded from Spain and the club did not compete in any of Europe’s top four leagues.

    El Mundo, a leading Spanish newspaper, on Friday reported this, citing a clause in his new contract.

    Barca’s all-time top goalscorer signed the contract in November, seven months before his old deal expired.

    It runs until June 2021 and contains a 700 million euro (£623 million) buy-out clause.

    But, according to the Spanish daily, it would also allow the five-times World Player of the Year to leave the club where he has spent his entire career for free.

    This will be if Catalonia’s independence push resulted in Barca exiting Spain’s top flight, and not joining either the English Premier League, the Bundesliga or Serie A.

    A Barca spokesman declined to comment directly on the report, but added: “In the interests of confidentiality, the club never comment on contracts signed with players and never will.’’

    Messi’s management team could not immediately be reached for comment.

    The political crisis triggered by Catalonia’s independence drive remains unresolved after separatists won a slim parliamentary majority in a regional election last month.

    Argentinian Messi’s latest contract was signed on Nov. 25, before that vote.

    But, after an autumn referendum on independence which authorities in Madrid declared illegal, it dissolved the region’s political institutions after they ratified it.

    The referendum had direct ramifications for FC Barcelona who, on the day that it was held, chose to play their La Liga game against Las Palmas behind closed doors.

    The decision was however in response to police violence against would-be voters.

    The president of La Liga, Javier Tebas, has repeatedly said FC Barcelona would be booted out of the Spanish league along with all other Catalan clubs in the event of independence.

    This is because only teams from Spain and Andorra are legally entitled to compete in the Spanish leagues.

    Barca, who have won 24 Liga titles and lead this season’s standings by nine points, said after the referendum they would not speculate on the future.

    However, they were “not planning for any other scenario than playing in the Spanish league. The club is competing in this competition and wants to win it.”

  • El-clasico: Barca beat real Madrid 3-0 to move 14 points clear

    Barcelona produced a superb away performance to secure a victory over Real Madrid that all but eliminates their arch rivals from the Spanish title race.

    A second-half Luis Suarez strike and Lionel Messi’s penalty, after Dani Carvajal was sent off for handball, helped move Barca nine points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga, and increased their advantage over defending champions Real to 14 points.

    Karim Benzema hit the post and Cristiano Ronaldo missed two good chances in the first half, but the home side were blown away after the restart in the first El Clasico meeting of the Spanish league season.

    Los Blancos started with Gareth Bale on the bench, and although he forced a save form Marc-Andre Ter Stegen having been brought on following Carvajal’s dismissal, the Wales forward was unable to spark a comeback.

    Instead, late substitute Aleix Vidal added further insult in injury time with a third for Barca, as his shot from inside the box squeezed over the line after Messi’s cut-back, despite the Argentine losing his boot in the build-up.

    It is the first time Barca have won three consecutive away league matches at the Bernabeu, and the result leaves Zinedine Zidane’s side fourth in the table.

  • UEFA Champions League:Chelsea do not fear Barca or PSG-Hazard

    UEFA Champions League:Chelsea do not fear Barca or PSG-Hazard

    Eden Hazard says Chelsea do not fear facing Paris St Germain or Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 after his side were held to a draw by Atletico Madrid and missed out on top spot in their group.

    As it stands, Turkish side Besiktas are the only other possible opponents for the Blues in the knockout stages.

    “It’s not a problem who we get, we are Chelsea,” said the attacker.

    “We know PSG and Barcelona are very good but we are a top team too. We can do anything.”

    Chelsea had dominated against Atletico until the opening goal, with Alvaro Morata going close and Hazard almost weaving through the visiting defence.
    But Saul Niguez escaped the attentions of Tiemoue Bakayoko to plant home a header from Fernando Torres’ near-post flick-on after 56 minutes.

    Chelsea piled forward as time ebbed away, and Stefan Savic turned Eden Hazard’s cross into his own net as the pressure told.
    But, with Roma beating Qarabag in the Italian capital, Chelsea could not find the second goal and the victory needed to regain the lead in Group C.

    BBC Sports

  • Barca held by Celta, Messi ends goal drought

    Barca held by Celta, Messi ends goal drought

    La Liga leaders FC Barcelona were held to a 2-2 home draw by Celta Vigo on Saturday as their former assistant coach Juan Carlos Unzue dented their title hopes.

    The Catalans dropped points for the second game in a row for the first time this campaign.

    Celta striker Iago Aspas silenced the Nou Camp by putting the visitors ahead in the 20th minute.

    He knocked in on the rebound after splitting the home defence with a darting run through the middle.

    Lionel Messi quickly replied at the other end, finishing off a sweeping team move two minutes later to score.

    He was scoring for the first time in six games in all competitions and was netting his 13th league goal of the season.

    Suarez had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside before the break, the second time Barca have cursed their luck with referees in a week.

    Messi had been denied a clear goal in the 1-1 draw at Valencia when his shot had clearly gone over the goal-line.

    The Argentine helped set up what looked to be the winning goal for Luis Suarez in the 62nd minute as the striker thrashed home a Jordi Alba cutback.

    But Barca were denied victory by another Uruguayan striker in Maxi Gomez.

    He slotted in from close range after another searing run by Aspas, who capitalised on defender Samuel Umtiti injuring his hamstring as he tried to keep up with the Spanish forward.

    The France international is in danger of missing the “Clasico” against champions Real Madrid on Dec. 23 after Valverde said he believed the player had torn the muscle.

    “The injury cost us the goal, it was an accumulation of catastrophes, because of the draw and the injury,” the coach told a news conference.

    “Losing Samuel right now is a big loss, he was in excellent form.”

    Gerard Pique missed a gilt-edged chance to hit the winner but struck the near post from close range.

    Messi, who also hit the woodwork earlier in the game, sent a free kick deep in stoppage time just wide of the post.

    “We kept trying to win the game and had chances to do that. We have dropped two points but this is nothing that hasn’t happened before,” Valverde added.

    Barca still lead the standings with 36 points but second-placed Valencia can cut their deficit on the leaders down to two if they beat Getafe on Sunday.

    Later on Saturday Atletico Madrid, third on 27 points, host Real Sociedad while champions Real Madrid, also on 27, visit struggling Athletic Bilbao.

  • Barca confirms Neymar’s departure to PSG

    Barcelona confirmed Neymar’s wish to leave the Catalan giants on Wednesday but insisted the Brazilian’s 222 million euro ($260m) buyout clause must be paid as his potential world record move to Paris Saint-Germain moved a step closer.

    “Neymar Jr, accompanied by his father and representative, communicated to FC Barcelona this morning his decision to leave the club,” Barca said in a statement.

    “The club have informed them that the buyout clause in his contract that from July 1 is 222 million euros must be paid in full.” Such a fee would smash the current record £89.3 million ($111 million, 105.2 million euros) Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba last year.

    Neymar has also been given permission to not participate in training after making a brief appearance at Barca’s training ground on Wednesday.

    Speculation over the 25-year-old’s future has dominated the first few weeks of new Barca boss Ernesto Valverde’s reign. Neymar arrived back in Barcelona on Tuesday from a fleeting promotional tour to China.

    He turned up for training at 9 am local time (0700GMT) on Wednesday morning, but left less than an hour later after telling teammates “he is leaving”, a Barca spokesperson confirmed.

    Presuming both clubs don’t come to a late agreement, the buyout clause would have to be paid to Barcelona via Spain’s La Liga to free the player from the contract he signed last year and runs until 2021.

    However, La Liga president Javier Tebas has threatened not to accept PSG’s money over what he perceives as a failure on the French side’s part to comply with UEFA’s financial fair play rules (FFP).

    Clubs can be sanctioned by UEFA for making a loss of more than 30 million euros over a three-year period. “We will not accept this money from a club like PSG,”

    Tebas told Madrid sports daily AS on Wednesday.

    “Especially when this club is infringing rules and laws.” Barcelona have also threatened to report PSG to UEFA over any potential breach of FFP.

    PSG have already been fined and saw their Champions League squad limited by UEFA for breaches of FFP in 2014.