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FC Barcelona rallied back from two goals down to defeat Eibar 4-2 on the final day of the league campaign, but it was not enough to claim the title. Luis Enrique's men men dug deep for their manager on what was his final league game and got the three points, though Real Madrid’s 2-0 win at Málaga ultimately sees the title go the way of the side from the Spanish capital. It was not the fairytale ending Luis Enrique would have wished for on his last league game but the players showed their commitment to the cause with a rallying display, and his tenure could still end with silverware after next Saturday’s Copa del Rey final.

FC Barcelona supports holding a vote on Catalan independence by joining the National Pact for the Referendum (PNR). The club announced their decision through a press release before their game in La Liga on Saturday. One of the first people to congratulate this decision was Catalonia’s president, Carles Puigdemont, who wrote the following in a tweet: “democracy joins forces”. The National Pact for the Referendum is a campaign to collect signatures from institutions, organizations, elected representatives, and private individuals, both within and outside of the country in support of holding a referendum on the political future of Catalonia. The group is comprised of the Catalan government, political parties, and organizations.

There is only one thing that FC Barcelona can do between now and the end of the Liga season, and that’s keep winning games to put the pressure on Real Madrid, who may be second in the table but do still have a game in hand. Fifth-placed Villarreal were always going to be a tricky opponent, and that did indeed prove to be the case. But after some intensely tight opening minutes, the home side produced the magic in front of over 90,000 fans and spurred by the trident and a majestic Neymar Jr ended up romping home to a 4-1 win.

The joint bid between Andorra la Vella, the capital of the Principality of Andorra and the closest Catalan town, La Seu d’Urgell, to organize the 2018 Special Olympics Games has been successful. The Mayor of Andorra la Vella, Marc Pons, and the mayor of La Seu d’Urgell, Albert Batalla, made this public last week. The two mayors said the games would be a challenge and there will promote the two cities as sports centers and towns of solidarity. The event will be held from the 4th to 7th of October and will bring more than 2,400 people from more than seventeen international delegations. This will be the first time that the Special Olympic Games, the most important international sports event for athletes with mental disability, will be held in the Pyrenees.

Braces for Gomes, Messi and Alcácer, and a first ever Barça goal for Mascherano, earn the points up in style. FC Barcelona cruised to a 7-1 win over Osasuna at the Camp Nou on Wednesday night, with braces for André Gomes, Leo Messi and Paco Alcácer, plus a first ever Barça goal for Javier Mascherano from the spot. All the talk in the build-up to the game was about Messi who, after his brace at the Bernabéu, reached 500 goals for the club. An enormous flag with the message ‘Grácies Messi’ (Thank you Messi) was revealed before kick-off and it would not take long for Messi to repay the gratitude.

The 65th edition of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell -commonly called the Conde de Godó tournament- has begun this weekend and runs through until the 30th April. The tournament goes back a long way as it was held for the first time in 1953. The competition is organized by the Barcelona Royal Tennis Club (RCTB) and has a big impact on the city of Barcelona and the European clay court circuit given the presence each year of club member Rafael Nadal. In this 2017 edition, the Godó can count on the presence of world number one Andy Murray and Henri Kontinen, the leading players on the ATP single and doubles rankings respectively.

FC Barcelona left it as late as they possibly could but it was worth every gruelling second as Leo Messi popped up deep into injury time to seal an epic 3-2 Clásico victory to move level on points with Real Madrid at the top of the table. Ahead of the game, Luis Enrique described it as “a final” for his men, and the scenes after Messi’s strike resembled a trophy-winning moment. The team dug deep to breathe new life and optimism into the title race in the most dramatic of fashions. There was a never-say-die attitude from Barça, as they first came from behind to go ahead in the second half, before a late Madrid leveller looked like the points had been taken away from them, but Messi, as ever, appeared at the crucial moment to earn a priceless win.

FC Barcelona said farewell to the Champions League on Wednesday night at the quarter-final stage, with Luis Enrique’s men simply unable to break down a resilient Juventus> backline in a 0-0 stalemate at the Camp Nou  (0-3 aggregate). The game began with the frenetic intensity envisaged, but without the early chances, or goal, seen in the comeback against  PSG last month. A blazed strike over the bar from each side, first from  Gonzalo Higuain and then from Ivan Rakitic were about as close as either came to goal inside the first quarter of an hour.

On a wet evening, Barça put in a slick attacking performance to earn another valuable three points, with a goal from Suárez and two from Messi. The Uruguayan opened the scoring against Jorge Sampaoli’s side to kick start a victory that takes Barça temporarily to the top of the table in La Liga. “The team are still confident about our chances,” said Suárez shortly after the final whistle at a rainy Camp Nou. “In the games that remain the mentality has to be a winning one in order to get our fate back in our own hands.” Barça coach Luis Enrique chose to highlight his team’s first half performance against Sevilla in which they scored all three of their goals in the win. “Probably we have put in the best first half performance of the season,” said the coach. “I am happy because it is a positive victory over a great team and because of how we controlled the game.”

Barça battle the league's fourth-placed side at 7.30pm CET on Wednesday night at Camp Nou, where a victory will provisionally vault them over Real Madrid and into first place. The clash comes soon after Barça’s 4–1 victory at Granada on Sunday, meaning the Catalans have completed a grand total of two training sessions — a recovery session on Monday followed by a normal workout on Tuesday — in a race against the clock to prepare for a vital midweek test against a top-tier opponent that will almost certainly have major implications on the final standings when they are etched in stone in late May. Barça manager Luis Enrique Martínez was his unvarnished, candid self at Tuesday’s pre-game press conference, where he cast aside criticism of Los Blanquirrojos, in light of their recent stumbles, and heaped a pinch or two of flattery upon the Andalusian side. “I think we’re talking about an extraordinary season for them,” he said.

FC Barcelona kept up their push for the league title on Sunday evening with a 4-1 win at Granada, with goals from Luis Suárez, Paco Alcácer, Ivan Rakitic and Neymar Jr. Without Leo Messi through suspension, it was up to his fellow forwards to step up and guide the team to victory, and so they did. It took fair while for the game to really get going after a timid start from both sides, but the first half soon became a one-on-one battle between Luis Suárez and Granada goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. Sunday’s 4-1 win at Granada for FC Barcelona made it 11 wins from 12 matches against the Andalusian club since their return to the top flight in 2011. In the last three seasons with Luis Enrique, Barça have won on three successive occasions in the Nuevo Los Cármenes stadium.

The famous Camp Nou has seen more incredible moments than most, but it will take an almighty effort to top what was witnessed on 8 March 2017. Barça pull off one of the most epic comebacks in the history of the Champions League to get into the quarter-finals, scoring three in the last seven minutes to clinch a 6-5 aggregate win. But if anyone was to achieve the inconceivable, it was always going to be Barça, as the hosts struck thrice late on, with Sergi Roberto clinching a heart-stopping 6-5 aggregate win over PSG. After eventually catching his breath, Luis Enrique was kind enough to share his thoughts on the epic 6-1 win over PSG which seals the team’s passage to the last-eight of the Champions League. “The joy we gave to all Barça fans is dedicated to all those who had faith, who supported us each day, especially in the tough moments, after losing in Paris”, he said. 

Difficult. Very, very difficult. But not impossible. At the club and all around the city there is a shared belief that the team can turn around the 4-0 deficit. What's certain is that Barça will not be going out without a fight... No team has ever managed to turn around a four-goal deficit in UCL knockout history, but after seeing some glorious football in the last two games at the Camp Nou, there is a very strong belief among both players and fans that on Wednesday night from 8.45 CET, we could be about to see one of the most remarkable comebacks in sporting history. Barça boss Luis Enrique knows full well what a difficult task lies ahead, but like his players, knows that if they give it their best shot, anything might happen. “We have to score a lot of goals, which we have done plenty of times before” he told a packed pressroom on Tuesday. “But let’s not get crazy, tomorrow we have nothing to lose and everything to win.”

In 23 games against FC Barcelona, coach Unai Emery only had one win. Now he has two. And it’s a win that cannot be begrudged. His Paris Saint Germain side was simply the best on the day, and a 4-0 win in Tuesday’s Champions League first leg puts the French club on very good course for a place in the quarter finals. All Barça can do is lick the wounds and start thinking about March 8, when the action resumes at Camp Nou. It’s an almost impossible task that they have before them, but if there is any team in the world that’s capable of doing the impossible, then that’s FC Barcelona. Goals from Di Maria (2), Draxler and Cavani make it a miserable night at the Parc des Princes, leaving Barça with a massive job to do at Camp Nou in March. But if anyone can do this, then Barça can…

The Champions League is back with the blaugranes travelling to take on the French champions in the first leg of their last 16 tie in the Parc des Princes.  “We expect a tough tie against a daring PSG side who will put us under pressure in front of their own fans. “It will be an attractive game between two ambitious sides”, said Barça’s coach Luis Enrique, in his press conference ahead of Tuesday’s game. FC Barcelona have lost just once in their last 22 competitive fixtures, against Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey back at the beginning of January. Since then the blaugranes have won eight of 11 fixtures in all competitions, the most recent the 6-0 win in Mendizorroza against Alavés last weekend in the league.