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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.

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.”

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.

Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, the Leo Messi Foundation, the FC Barcelona Foundation and the IESE business school have joined forces to launch a campaign to get companies and the general public to help finance the new SJD Pediatric Cancer Center that is being planned for the city of Barcelona. The hospital, which is set to be Europe’s largest dedicated to infantile cancer and the third-biggest worldwide, will cost 30 MEUR. Once functioning, the centre could care for around 400 patients within its 5,137m² installation, which will be located next to Hospital Sant Joan de Déu. If the deadlines are met, the construction of the new centre will start in the second half of 2017 and be ready by 2019. The facility will allow the increase of the recovery rate for infantile cancer, which is currently around 80%, help develop new drugs and reduce the side effects of treatments used. 

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…

1-1 draw against Atlético puts blaugranes into Copa del Rey final against Celta or Alavés. The blaugranes have reached the domestic cup final in seven of the last nine seasons and are currently the team who have won the competition on most occasions, 28 to be precise. Luis Suárez’s tap-in just before half-time was enough to see the Catalans into fourth consecutive Copa del Rey final despite late drama which saw the visitors equalise and the Uruguayan sent off. The omens were strongly in Barça’s favour, with Atlético failing to win in their previous 16 games at the Camp Nou, but Los Colchoneros knew they had to go for broke, with a 2-1 deficit needing to be overturned, which led to an enthralling cup match. “It’s been a tough process and all our opponents have caused us problems,” recalled Luis Enrique about a run to the final that has seen Barça eliminate Hércules, Athletic Club, Real Sociedad and most recently Atlético Madrid.

Barça hold a 2–1 aggregate advantage as they look to deliver a knockout punch at home for the fourth straight round and continue down the path to a rare Copa del Rey three-peat. In this season's Copa, which Camp Nou has been the scene of an impressive trio of second leg victories — in the last 32, in the last 16, and in the quarter-finals. And on Tuesday night, at 9.00pm CET the Catalans, now in the semis, hope to vanquish visiting Atlético Madrid as well, and continue their chase for a third straight title. Neymar Jr misses the game through suspension, while Rafinha is out with a fractured nose sustained at the weekend but Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta and Lucas Digne are back to full fitness and get the nod. 

Whether the result means that Barça have gained one point or dropped two is a matter of opinion after a dramatic lunchtime encounter on Sunday ended 1-1. Betis have yet to lose at home under Victor Sánchez and today we got to see why, but right at the final gasp Luis Suárez made sure the Catalans at least got something out of this game. However, the role of goal-line technology in football will be a much-discussed topic in the bars of Barcelona for the rest the day. And probably most of the week. Certainly once, and maybe twice, the Barça equaliser could have come much earlier had hawk-eye have been allowed to watch.

Goals from Suárez, Neymar and Messi secure an action-packed victory that keeps alive the quest for a third consecutive Copa del Rey trophy. Manager was delighted with his team's performance in winning a place in Friday's Copa del Rey quarter final draw - and can't help singling out Leo Messi for special praise. "From what we could see from the two legs, our qualification was the fairest outcome”, said Luis Enrique. "Leo Messi was as decisive as ever. I hope he stays here for many more years”, he added. After two setbacks, the first victory of 2017 is in the bag and Barça will be one of the eight names featuring in Friday’s draw.

The dispute between Barça and UEFA over the display of Catalan independence flags, ‘estelades’, at the Camp Nou is definitely on track to reach a solution. The international body announced an agreement with FC Barcelona to end this litigation. The pact means that Barça will drop its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) over the economic sanctions imposed on the club, while UEFA compromises to establish a working group “involving both clubs and national associations to review the disciplinary framework” that nowadays prevents the display of political symbols in stadiums. The conflict began in the Champions League final in Berlin last year when a Ukrainian UEFA delegate, Anna Bordiugova, who was not in the Olympic Stadium, denounced the exhibition of 'estelades' after watching the game on television.