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The Catalans dominated from start to finish, but the goals just didn’t want to come. Barça were by far the better side, but Getafe limited themselves to neutralising that superiority and got away with a point. With Neymar absent through injury and his place in the Barça frontline occupied by Pedro, the game got off to a quiet start, with neither side doing anything of note for the first quarter of an hour. The second half saw Barça continue to pile on the pressure. Messi produced two fine free kicks, but one hit the woodwork and the other was saved by Guaita. This a game that Luis Enrique will be ruing as a valuable opportunity lost, takng into account Barça’s 23 goal attempts compared to just 4 for a Getafe.

It was a gripping encounter from start to finish. All that was missing was the goal. But just when it looked like Sunday's game between Barça and Valencia was heading for a 0-0 draw, in the third and final minute of injury time, Sergio Busquets produced a winner to secure three massive points for the Catalans. Either side could have won a high tempo match at Mestalla stadium, with Suárez being denied a second half goal for apparent offside.The only change with respect to the previous Liga game was Mascherano coming in for Rakitic, with Luis Enrique taking the gamble on playing the Argentinian alongside fellow defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets. The first half produced plenty of good quality football but little in the way of genuine chances for either side.The second half saw a change of script, with Valencia more willing to take the initiative.

This Wednesday's clash in Amsterdam at 20.45 PM CET is sure to be atypical, as Barça players looking to forget about recent defeats with a victory. FC Barcelona's fourth match in this year's UEFA Champions League group stage is shaping up to be something special. Perhaps most importantly, it is an opportunity for the Catalan team to take home three more points and bring them ever closer to qualifying for the round of 16.

Abertis, the international group which manages transport and telecommunications infrastructures, has announced it will list its telecom exchange business on the Stock Exchange in 2015. The Catalan company presented its new Strategic Plan for 2015-2017 to investors in London this week. The main objectives of the decision were to develop its business strategy, increase returns for shareholders and boost growth. The company currently owns 8,000 radio, television and mobile signal towers. Besides, Abertis presented its numbers for the first nine months of 2014 to the Spanish Stock Exchange Authority (CNMV), including a net profit of €560 million, an increase of 4.6%. The new Strategic Plan also envisages a dividend increase of 10% for its shareholders every year until 2017.  

FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol meet in the first ever edition of the Catalan Super Cup (9.30pm CET) in the Estadi Montilivi in Girona (north-eastern Catalonia). The tournament has been created as a complement to the Copa Catalunya and features Catalonia’s two top flight clubs, while lower division teams will continue to battle for the former trophy (along with the Barça and Espanyol reserve teams). The meeting between the two biggest clubs in Catalonia comes after neither side managed to collect three points at the weekend in the Spanish League. Barça were beaten 3-1 in the Clasico with Real Madrid, while Espanyol played out a dull 0-0 draw at home to Deportivo. Thirteen first team players have been included in the Barça squad, including Suárez and Adriano.

Barça fall as Madrid turn game round following an early Neymar score. Despite a dream start, when Neymar swept home an early opener, Barça went down 3-1 in Madrid on Saturday’s first Clasico of the season in a game in which Luis Suarez made his official debut and Claudio Bravo finally conceded. The game could hardly have started better for Barça, when after just 3 minutes, Luís Suárez sent a cross field ball from the right to Neymar and the Brazilian cut inside, leaving a couple of defenders trailing in his wake to fire low past Iker Casillas and open the scoring.

Great expectation in the press room at the Ciutat Esportiva just 24 hours before the Clasico in the Santiago Bernabéu. In the traditional pre-game press conference ahead of Madrid-Barça,Luis Enrique revealed his thoughts before his first Clásico as a coach. He revealed that Luis Suárez will appear at some point and Sergio Busquets is fit to take part. Furthermore he is clear about what he wants from his players: “We will go out there with the same footballing ideas and the same attitude as always. That, according to the coach, is “going after the from the start, without sitting back, having the ball and deserving the victory”.

The Uruguayan is ready to make his official Barça debut as his FIFA ban comes to an end and could do so on Saturday in the Spanish League game against Real Madrid. Luis Suárez played in the Joan Gamper Trophy and the Barça B friendly against an Indonesia Under 19 team and last week picked up his Golden Boot award for the 2013/14 season. Hopefully Suárez' FC Barcelona debut will post the same results as he managed on his debut for Liverpool, when he scored after just 11 minutes on the pitch, Ajax – a goal after 42 minutes and Groningen where he scored after 36 minutes.

First half scores from Barça’s lethal one-two punch of Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr gave the home side everything they would need, as a near total dominance of the ball kept Ajax safely at bay. In a match featuring a pair of sides with long, intertwined histories and similar playing styles, it was FC Barcelona who showed they were master of their domain. Despite a common past, this was just the third meeting ever between the clubs. By the end of the game, however, there was little doubt that Barça were the better squad. The result leaves Barça comfortably in second place in Group F with six points. Ajax are third with two points and Apoel are fourth with one point. For the moment, Paris Sant-Germain lead the group with seven points.

It’s no final, but Tuesday night’s game with Ajax is still of crucial importance for FC Barcelona following the 3-2 defeat in Paris a fortnight ago. Barça need three points at the Camp Nou to stay in contention for top spot in Group F of the Champions League. And there is the dangerous distraction of the visit to the Santiago Bernabéu for Saturday’s Liga match against Real Madrid, although Luis Enrique insisted in his pre-match conference that “right now the only important game is the one with Ajax.” There will be four days to think about Real Madrid after that, but the Champions League is the main priority for the moment.

Barça saw off a brave Eibar at the Camp Nou, with second half goals from Xavi, Neymar and Messi to confirm their top spot in the Spanish League and give the fans plenty of optimism a week before the trip to the Bernabeu to play against Real Madrid. With Ratikic and Busquets in the stands, Luis Enrique pushed Macherano into midfield alongside Xavi and Sergio Roberto, making his first league start, with Mathieu partnering Piqué in the heart of defence. Up front, Messi was accompanied by Pedro and Neymar , with Sandro and Munir coming on late in the second half. There were no surprises in the way the teams set about the game though, with Barça dominating possession and constantly probing the disciplined Basque defence.

The Barça coach warned his squad about sitting back against Saturday's rival. He said Pedro will start but that the rest depends on the circumstances. "I'm only worried about the next opponent, Eibar, and their potential. They're playing well and could create problems," assured Luis Enrique in Friday's press conference, rather certain that the international stoppage won't have any affect on his players, any imminent records, or next week's El Clasico against Real Madrid.

Luis Suárez is the golden boy. On Wednesday at the Damm Brewery in Barcelona he was presented with the Golden Shoe award that he shares this year with Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who both scored 31 goals in the Premiership and La Liga last season, respectively. Kenny Dalglish presented the Uruguayan with the award in recognition of the 31 goals that he scored last season at Liverpool. The new Barça signing was in glowing form alongside his wife Sofia at an event that attracted massive media attention, with more than 100 members of the press packed into the hall.

First half goals from Messi and Neymar kept Barça top of the Spanish League table, but with Rayo down to ten men for the last half hour, it could and perhaps should have been a bigger win for the league leaders. But they maintained their unbeaten record and have still to concede a league goal. Luis Enrique rang the changes in his selection for the game, with Piqué and Bartra starting at the heart of defence and Mathieu filling in at left back, with Mascherano and Jordi Alba both benched. In the middle, Xavi was handed another start alongside Iniesta and Busquets, while Munir got the nod over Pedro up front. Barça looked none the worse for the rotations though, as they began brightly against a Rayo team who made it clear from the off that they were prepared to go toe to toe with the league leaders.

On Friday early morning the 10km metro tunnel of Barcelona that links Universitat and Gorg stations became the track of the second edition of Discovery Underground. This is the only urban underground race in the world going through the centre of big cities and it is an original idea of the Spanish television channel Discovery MAX. 300 men and women with background stories that assimilate the channel's premise "ordinary people living extraordinary experiences" ran for about 1.45h, with the first two people arriving at the minute 39. 2014 Discovery Underground Barcelona marks the beginning of the celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the Metro of Barcelona.