barça

Gerard Deulofeu’s opener after two minutes set Barça on their way to another home win, which keeps them at the top of the La Liga table

Catalans maintain perfect start thanks to an early own-goal, Messi’s 100th European goal, and one from Digne

High-flying Barça returns home Tuesday night for a Week 5 Liga date with Eibar and a chance to stay perfect on the young season

Barça will pay homage to all the victims of the recent terror attacks

Camp Nou payed tribute to their guests, Chapecoense, at the emotional and supportive 52nd Joan Gamper Trophy

The Champions League victory is one of the candidates to win 'Best Sporting Moment of the Year'

The Club refers to the buy-out clause of 222 million euros

Daniel Kahl, a German Barça fan, was not allowed to enter the stadium at the Copa del Rey final for carrying the ‘Estelada’

FC Barcelona claimed the Copa del Rey with a 3-1 win over Alavés at the Vicente Calderón, becoming the first side since the 1950s to win the trophy three years in a row. In a hotly-contested affair, the class of Leo Messi stood out as he scored a fine opener as well as setting up the third goal for Paco Alcácer just after Neymar regained the lead for Barça. It was a scrappy start without any clear goalscoring chances for either side, with the Alavés defence standing firm to Barça intricate passing in the final third.

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.

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.

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.