Barça are away to Pamplona to play with Osasuna on Saturday (8 pm CET). On Monday the Catalans go to Milan for the third match of the Champions League group stage, which is to be played on Tuesday. Milan game will come four days earlier than the clásico against Real Madrid, to be played on Saturday 26th October at FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou.
Cesc Fàbregas’ goal gives Barça the win against Celtic, a year on from last season's defeat, when the Scots beat the Catalans 2-1 despite the visitors’ dominating possession.Now, FC Barcelona made the ball their own once again, but with their lesson learnt. Barça patiently probed and looked to open up the flanks through Neymar Jr and the advanced Adriano and it was from the wings that their best chances arose.The win in Glasgow, together with Milan’s 1-1 draw in Amsterdam against Ajax means Barça stay top of the Champions League’s Group H and look favourites to progress to the knock out stages.
Barça take on Celtic in the second round of the Champions League group stage in Celtic Park this Tuesday evening (20.45 CET). Martino's men come into the match after securing the best ever start to a league campaign in club history, but they'll be without Messi, who is injured and out of the pitch for the next two weeks at least. Celtic Park is a stadium that Barça know well seeing that the Blaugrana have played there four times in the last decade. The most recent clash between the two teams was played last year, when Barça lost 2-1 in the group stage of the Champions League.
FC Barcelona celebrated their 22nd Spanish League title on Monday evening with a parade through the city centre. Together with Barça’s women team, who also won the league title, the players and coaching staff saluted more than a half million fans from open top buses through the claret and blue lined streets.
Barça have won their 22nd Spanish League title, their fourth in the last five years. Without counting the times FC Barcelona have won consecutive league titles, this is the first time that the Blaugrana have managed to win again the League after losing it the year prior. With four matches left on the schedule this year, Vilanova’s men claimed La Liga with 88 points (28 victories, 4 draws and 2 defeats).
Barça failed to make it to the 2013 Champions League final at Wembley this month – it’ll be an all German affair between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. Bayern confirmed on Wednesday night their place at the final, finishing 7-0 winners on aggregate after beating Barça 0-3 at the Camp Nou. Without the injured Leo Messi, Tito Vilanova’s side went for the fight back, but a Robben goal at the start of the second half ruined their hopes and settled the tie, with two more goals coming before the end - an own goal by Piqué and another from Müller- to confirm the first ever all-German Champions League final.
The FC Barcelona Manager believes that his players need to go into tomorrow's match against Bayern Munich with cool heads: “we have to play a good game and be the better team, then the goals will come”. “We have to hold our heads high if we are eliminated, we cannot give up; we need to make our fans proud”, he said. “We have to be ourselves and try to play a good game of football. We need to score goals through our style of play”, Vilanova added. “If we are going to mount a comeback we need our fans at the Camp Nou”, he concluded.
Barça Manager gave his first official press conference since he returned to Barcelona from New York, where he received treatment for his illness. “There were problems due to the distance. But in New York, my day to day life was generally good, and I was able to keep in contact with the team thanks to new technologies”, he said. “If ever I get two days off, I don’t know what to do. This job is no burden to me and the doctors told me that the best thing I could do was to work”, he explained.
The German Champions’ physical superiority helped them brush aside Barça in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final played in Munich. Heynckes’ team came into the game on a great run of form and they continued that with a powerful performance against a Barça side who looked duller both physically and mentally, with Messi failing to live up to his normal stellar standards, but who dominated possession and can consider themselves unlucky to be on the end of such a big defeat.
Bayern and Barça meet on Tuesday in the Champions League semi final first leg in Munich (20.45 CET). It’s Spring’s Catalan national day, Sant Jordi, people are flocking on the streets to buy books and roses for those they love, and in the evening they will sit down together to enjoy one of the greatest games of the year. All four of the last Champions League finals have included one or other of these two clubs, FC Barcelona or Bayern. Barça won the title in 2009 and 2011, while Bayern finished runners-up in 2010 and 2012. And after they were drawn together in the semi finals this year, we already know for sure that one or other will be back in the final at Wembley next month.
Medical tests have confirmed that the injury in Messi’s right leg is no more serious and that there has been no change in the Barça player’s condition after his participation in the FC Barcelona vs. PSG game. The player will be continuing with his recovery schedule and his progress will determine whether he plays in the next few games.
A courageous Barça display has seen them into the last four of the Champions League against a powerful Paris Saint-Germain side. Messi made a huge difference when he came on and Pedro’s goal saved the day. PSG was lethal in attack and pushed Barça right to the limit. FC Barcelona are into the Champions League semi finals for the sixth year in a row.
Barça’s Assistant Manager, Jordi Roura says that Barça will be ambitious against PSG on Wednesday’s second leg game. Roura, who take care of Barça during Tito Vilanova’s absence, notes that only victory would guarantee a spot in the semi-finals of the Champions League. On Messi, Adriano and Pedro's fitness, Barça's assistant manager says that “we have to wait and see how they feel and we especially have to see the results from their latest medical tests”. Nevertheless, Messi trained on Tuesday with the rest of his team-mates, although he has not received the medical all-clear yet.
Three goals from Cesc Fàbregas and a brace from Alexis gave Barça a 5-0 win over Mallorca in a game that marked the re-appearance of Eric Abidal after being one year out of the pitch due to a liver transplant. Furthermore, Tito Vilanova re-appeared at the Cam Nou bench after returning from New York where he received cancer treatment. The FC Barcelona fans warmly welcomed Vilanova and Abidal, in a true night to remember. So, with Tito back on the bench and Abidal on the pitch, Barça rounded off the perfect preparation for Wednesday night’s Champions League big game against PSG.
Leo Messi will miss the next Spanish League match after his injury in Paris, in the first leg of the Champions League’s quarters with the PSG. However, Messi’s availability after the weekend will depend on his progress and therefore he could be ready by Wednesday to face the PSG at the Camp Nou for the return leg. The last time Messi suffered a similar injury was on March 2008 against Glasgow Celtic and on that occasion he was out for five weeks.