Sports

FC Barcelona have beaten Atletico Madrid thanks to a Leo Messi hat-trick and in doing so have broken the record for consecutive wins in the league. The win leaves them momentarily ten points adrift of Real Madrid.

Barça is the highest scoring team in any of the main European soccer leagues. Guardiola’s side has scored 67 goals in the domestic championship, more than other league leaders like Manchester United, Milan, Lille and PSV.

Barça, the team that has won the trophy the most times, are into their 35th Copa del Rey final. For coach Pep Guardiola this is already his seventh final since taking his place on the bench, and his second appearance in the domestic cup final.

Barça qualified for the final of the Copa del Rey after continuing the good work in the semi final first leg by increasing their aggregate score against Almería to 8-0 following classy goals from Adriano, Thiago and Afellay.

FC Barcelona go out to defend a convincing 5-0 first leg win over Almería as they seek to qualify for yet another final (20.00h). Guardiola is taking his full squad, and only the injured Puyol, Jeffren and Iniesta have no chance of playing.

Josep Guardiola has given a cautious press conference two days after Barça extended its lead on Real Madrid and one before being able to make it into the Spanish Cup final. He is still concerned about the all-whites and Almería.

Barça recorded their 15th La Liga win on the trot in Alicante on Saturday night to set a new Club record and equal the competition’s best ever run which has been in place for 50 years.

Barça beat Hercules 0-3 tonight to record their 15th La Liga win on the trot. Pedro opened the scoring in the first half and two late strikes from Messi sealed the win and the points.

Barça midfielder Sergio Busquets this morning signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2015. The deal also includes the chance to extend the contract based on games played in its final season.

Barça got the job done with an excellent result in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi final against Almeria. Goals from Messi (2), Villa and Pedro in the first half and a late strike from Keita have FCB as good as in the final.

Pep Guardiola expects the game with Almeria to be tough. The manager knows how important this week is and just how special the Cup is.

It was another party night at the Nou Camp tonight as Barça began the second half of the season with a convincing 3-0 win over Racing, who were chasing the game from the very first minute.

Josep Guardiola has warned that Racing are capable of causing Barça problems if his team fail to play with maximum concentration. The boss also commented on Alves’ and Pinto’s situation.

Barça have qualified for the semi finals of the Copa del Rey despite losing 3-1 at Betis. All of the goals were scored in a gripping first half, with Messi on target for Barça and also missing a penalty. It’s the first time FCB have lost since September 11.

Barça’s supremacy is made patently clear in the all star eleven named on the UEFA official website, where users have picked six Barça players in Piqué, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, and Villa.