athletic

The Argentine’s time in Catalonia was perhaps marked more by brawls and incident than trophies and footballing artistry

Barça beaten in men’s and women’s Super Cups, while Espanyol halted at home to Osasuna

Just about everything is going wrong for the Catalan giants lately, with Messi even firing a warning shot to the club hierarchy

Goals from Messi and Paulinho split the teams in Bilbao to ensure the Catalans stay four points clear at the top of the Liga table

FC Barcelona spent over 40 minutes in an uncharacteristically precarious position but got three second half goals to knock Athletic Club Bilbao out of the Copa del Rey by a score of 3–1, 5–2 on aggregate, and qualify for the semi-finals for the sixth consecutive year. It was the third meeting in a 10-day span between the two sides — one in La Liga, two in the Cup — with FC Barcelona winning all three by a combined score of 11–2. It was also the sixth and final game between the two this season, with the initial three also coming in a cluster. The victory sees FC Barcelona extend their unbeaten streak to 25 games across all competitions, including five straight wins at Camp Nou.

On Wednesday at 9.30pm CET at Camp Nou the final part of the Barça v Athletic trilogy will be played out, the saga coming to an end in the second leg of their last 16 Copa del Rey tie. The opening encounter a week and a half ago saw Luis Enrique’s team storm to a 6-0 win at home in the league. Messi and Mathieu did not feature in the first leg, but are included in the 18 this time, which reads as follows: Ter Stegen, Masip, Piqué, Rakitic, Sergio, Dani Alves, Iniesta, Suárez, Messi, Neymar Jr, Mascherano, Bartra, Munir, Sergi Roberto, Adriano, Aleix Vidal, Vermaelen and Mathieu. “I'm expecting the same Athletic we saw in the first leg. Maybe even more dangerous.” Stated Barça’s coach, Luis Enrique.

A draw against Athletic Club Bilbao at Camp Nou in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup was insufficient to turn around the 4-0 deficit from the first leg with the Basques claiming their first trophy in 31 years. Barça gave everything and Messi put the Catalans ahead right at the end of the first half giving the blaugranes the lead. However a second half sending off for Piqué meant Barça reduced to ten men for the final half an hour. Equaliser from Aduriz sealed title for Athletic. The last five minutes saw the Basques reduced to ten men also with substitute Kike Sola sent off. It was too late to affect the tie and Barça now turn their attentions to the league and an opening weekend trip to none other than Athletic Club.

Catalans and Basques clash in Spanish Super Cup second leg at Camp Nou on Monday night at 10.00pm CET. FC Barcelona may have fallen in the first leg of the 2015 Spanish Super Cup Final versus Athletic Club Bilbao, but don’t be fooled. They are more than able to get back up and can score goals with the best of them. Correction: They are the best of them, which means that no deficit is insurmountable for the most prolific team in world football. Luis Enrique and his players are confident of a comeback following Friday’s disappointing defeat. The Catalans trained on both Saturday and Sunday in preparation for the big comeback attempt. The not-so-great news is, of course, that Neymar continues to be out with a case of the mumps.

Disappointing defeat means Barça have it all to do in Monday's second leg at Camp Nou. Striker Aritz Aduriz scored three times in the second half to lead Athletic Club Bilbao to a shocking 4–0 victory over FC Barcelona in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup at the New Sam Mamés on a misty Friday night in Bilbao, after Mikel San Jose’s opening goal from midfield. The frustrating defeat leaves the Catalans with but one choice — go all out in Monday night's return leg, scheduled for 10.00pm CET at Camp Nou. Despite the large deficit, the tie is far from over. The two teams are set to face off again and it would be foolish to think the Catalans have given up hope. At least, that’s what Luis Enrique thinks. “If anyone can come back in this tie, it’s Barça," he said.

The Basques host the Catalans just 76 days after the two sides met in the Spanish Cup Final at the Camp Nou. After the dramatic 5-4 defeat of Sevilla in Tbilisi to win the European Super Cup, Barça can now make it five titles out of a possible six in 2015 as they face Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup. The first leg is at the new San Mamés on Friday 14 August (10.00pm CET) and the return is at the Camp Nou at the same time on Monday 17. Neymar is still sick with the mumps, Alba and Douglas have hamstring injuries and Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal are both ineligible, but Luis Enrique insists that there are no new concerns and that the knocks taken by Pedro and Iniesta against Sevilla were minor affairs that won’t affect their availability on Friday night.

Pedro Rodríguez scored FC Barcelona’s fifth goal of the evening in the 115th minute as Champions League titleholders FC Barcelona hung on late in an exhilarating 5–4 extra-time triumph over a newly revamped Sevilla, the winners of last year’s Europa League, in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup Final on Tuesday night in Tbilisi, Georgia. Lionel Messi scored two free kick goals in the first half to erase an early 1–0 deficit and Rafinha, filling in superbly for the absent Neymar, started and scored to put Barça up 3–1 a minute before halftime. Messi was named man of the match. "We are delighted to start the season with this win, but it was tough," he said following the game. Only two more titles — this month’s Spanish Super Cup and this fall’s FIFA Club World Cup — stand between the Catalans and an unprecedented second sextuple. It is also FC Barcelona’s fifth UEFA Super Cup title, tying them with AC Milan for tops all-time.

Messi (2) and Neymar score as FC Barcelona claim 27th cup title and move one step closer to historic treble. Two down, one to go. FC Barcelona confidently disposed of Athletic Bilbao 3-1 in Saturday’s Spanish Cup Final at the Camp Nou and can claim a historic treble if they can repeat the trick against Juventus in Berlin next Saturday. Messi scored the second and third, with Neymar getting the one in between, and Williams’ late header was little more than some consolation for Athletic’s swatches of travelling supporters.

Camp Nou was jubilant for the 2014/15 La Liga title celebration and farewell to Xavi Hernández. Messi net two for Barça but Depor pulled both back with second-half strikes from Lucas and Salomão. Saturday afternoon was the perfect opportunity for FC Barcelona to enjoy a well-deserved rest stop. Nearing the end of a pleasant ten-month journey and just six days after one its biggest highlights, the time had come to pull off the highway, enjoy the scenery and — with the end of the road on the horizon and as visible as ever — refuel for the final two stops.It was a day for contentment, delight, and elation, an occasion to celebrate the 2014/15 La Liga title. But it was also a moment for goodbyes, the ones that nobody likes to make, the time to bid a final farewell to Xavi Hernández, one of the perennial fixtures of this barnstorming band of first-class footballers, who recently told his buddies that this year’s trip would be his last.