Goals from Messi (2), Alexis, Keita, Pedro (2) and Thiago gave Barça a record win at Vallecas in a game the Catalans totally dominated. Further good news for FC Barcelona was the return of Ibrahim Afellay after his long injury layoff.
The Barça Manager isn’t resting any players with the Chelsea Champions League fixture in mind because “given our situation, the game with Levante is more important”. Guardiola believes they have to win at the Ciutat de València stadium because otherwise “we’ll have no chance of winning the League when we face Real Madrid”.
FC Barcelona’s Dutch player, after almost seven months on the injury list, has recovered from his ACL injury. Ibrahim Afellay is back in Josep Guardiola’s team ahead of the most decisive stretch of the season.
Barça are aiming to record their 10th consecutive victory against Getafe within the Spanish League. If they do so, they will temporarily close to within one point the distance with the leader, waiting for Real Madrid’s result.
The Champions League returns at a good time for Barça following the weekend’s slip up in Pamplona, which left them 10 points adrift of the Spanish League leaders, Real Madrid, leaving no time for regrets, as they pick up the title they won at Wembley last season. Barça take up the defence of their Champions League title in Germany on Tuesday evening (20.45 CET), taking on Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16.
Vila-real vs FC Barcelona is a crucial game for the Catalan club. Barça go to Vila-real with important absentees as they chase three more points to keep Spanish League leaders Real Madrid in their sights.
Who tops the Champions League group to be decided at San Siro. A Barça win would mathematically mean they finish top with one game to play. Alves, Iniesta, Adriano, Cassano and Gattuso amongst the players out.
The FC Barcelona travelling squad has arrived in Milan where they will face AC Milan in a battle to top their UEFA Champions League group. The injured Iniesta is the main absentee, with Adriano and Afellay also out through injury and Alves suspended. Barça’s assistant coach Tito Vilanova stays home for surgery.
Both the Barça centre backs will be able to play against Mallorca after being declared fit at the end of today’s training session. That means Guardiola has 19 players to pick from including the reserve team’s Isaac Cuenca.
FC Barcelona closed their league season with another away win, coming from behind to beat Malaga 1-3 with goals from Bojan (pen), Afellay and Bartra. Barça's squad was very young, with four players from the B team. The result and the performance will give added confidence ahead of the Champions League Wembley 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.
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.
PSV Eindhoven and FC Barcelona have reached agreement on a deal to bring Ibrahim Afellay to Barça, with only the personal terms between the player and the Catalan club to be settled over the next few weeks.