semi-finals

Two first half goals from Neymar are enough to ensure Barça reach the final in Berlin with a convincing 5-3 aggregate. Barça booked their place in the 2014/15 Champions League Final in Berlin, despite losing 3-2 on the night in Munich. A stunning first half when Neymar scored twice and Ter Stegen pulled off some breath-taking saves to virtually put the tie out of Bayern’s reach was followed by a more subdued 45 minutes that saw Bayern pull a couple back for a pyrrhic victory on the night, but a 5-3 defeat over the two legs.It’ll be Barça who are back on German turf next month when they bid for their fifth Champions League trophy.

Less than a week ago a superb second half from the blaugranes at Camp Nou gave them a 3-0 victory over the German champions in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. Two exquisite goals from Leo Messi in his 100th game in Europe for the blaugranes and an injury time effort from Neymar mean that Pep Guardiola’s Bayern side have it all to do in the second leg in the Allianz Arena in Munich which kicks off at 8.45pm CET. Barça coach Luis Enrique decided to take his entire first team squad plus three players from the B squad, Munir, Sandro and Sergi Samper, to Munich. Jérémy Mathieu was included in that 26 man list after receiving the medical all clear after Sunday’s training session. Bayern boss Pep Guardiola still has plenty of injury headaches before the return leg at home to Barça. Arjen Robben, David Alaba, Franck Ríbery and Holger Badstuber all missed the defeat in Barcelona last week and they will also sit out the second leg

The Germans held out for 77 minutes, then two goals from Messi and one from Neymar secured a spectacular 3-0 win. It was proving to be a frustrating evening for FC Barcelona, with chance after chance going begging against Pep Guardiola’s well organised defence. But the last quarter of an hour produced a dramatic turn of events. Two fantastic goals from Messi suddenly put the Catalans in command, and a third in injury time from Neymar practically puts Barça on the flight to Berlin. There’s still the Allianz Arena to come next week, but with a 3-0 lead to defend, Barça are very much in pole position!

Leo Messi spoke to a packed press room this Tuesday morning ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Bayern and explained: “I’m really motivated by this game, for what it means and because we face a great team”. The Argentinean was cautious in his press conference, but admitted: "we are feeling good about things", at this key point in the campaign. Bayern is a team managed by Pep Guardiola of course, which gives an added edge, as does the memory of defeat to the Germans at this same stage two seasons ago, but Messi insisted: “it’s been a while since that game now and we are coming into it in a different situation  - this will be a different tie. There can’t be a favourite at this stage of the competition, we are both two big teams. There’s pressure, but we are both obliged to win”.

The stage is set and the semi-finals for the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League promises to be one for the ages. Friday's draw in Nyon paired off Barça with Bayern Munich and Juventus with Real Madrid in the final four of Europe's top club competition. The first leg will be played at Camp Nou on 6 May and the second leg will be at Allianz Arena on 12 May. Both games are set for 8.45pm. Luis Enrique's squad will be going up against their ex-coach Pep Guardiola — who led the Catalans from 2008 to 2012 — in a high-profile knockout series that pits two teams with wide-open attacking styles and that should produce a pair of very entertaining football matches, regardless of who comes out on top.

Two first half goals from Neymar were enough to book Barça a spot in Friday’s Champions League semi-final draw, as Luis Enrique’s side denied the French champions any chance of a comeback from last week’s 1-3 win in Paris with a performance that combined champagne moments and cool headed determination. Luis Enrique’s side got a 5-1 aggregate win over PSG.

Neymar Jr gets the first and Luís Suárez adds two absolute blinders to put Barça on fine course for the Champions League semi-finals. Barça unleashed all their class in the French capital on Tuesday evening to inflict a more than convincing 3-1 defeat on Paris Saint-Germain. In a wonderful performance all round for Luis Enrique’s team it was hard for any single player to stand out, but with two brilliant solo goals, Luis Suárez managed to do just that. Barça will start next week’s second leg at the Camp Nou with a two-goal head start. Things could not be better for a side that will have set legs trembling all around Europe after tonight’s exquisite display n Paris.

Barça have the advantage from the first leg and will be looking to secure their place in the Champions League quarter-finals for the eighth successive Seaton. Barça knocked out Manchester City at this stage of the Champions League last season and will be looking to repeat the feat on Wednesday at Camp Nou after the 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium last month in the first leg. FC Barcelona boss Luis Enrique boss named an 18-man squad on Wednesday morning, with Masip, Montoya and Douglas missing out, alongside the injured Vermaelen and Sergio Busquets. Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini welcomes back former Barça midfielder Touré Yaya to his squad after suspension.

The two sides meet in El Madrigal in the second leg of their Spanish Cup semi-final on Wednesday evening (20h CET). The blaugranes have the upper hand in the tie following their 3-1 win in the first leg last month at Camp Nou. In addition, Barça have the advantage in their Champions League last 16 tie against Manchester City following their 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium. Their 3-1 away victory in the Spanish League at the weekend over Granada has allowed them to cut Real Madrid’s lead at the top of the league to just two points. Now, only Villarreal stand between them and a 36^th appearance in the Spanish Cup final. Coach Luis Enrique has his entire first team squad available with the exception of the injured Thomas Vermaelen.

A Neymar brace and a Miranda own goal beat an Atlético side that finish with nine men. Never was the old adage of a ‘game of two halves’ more appropriate than it was tonight. A non-stop first half produced five goals, with Barça going behind twice but eventually leading 3-2 at the break. After Atlético were reduced to ten men at half-time, all the fire went out of the game, with Barça’s qualification for the last four of the cup never really looking in doubt.It all started like one of the classic Atlético v Barça games of the nineties. It was relentless end-to-end action from start to finish. The opening goal took just thirty seconds to come. Barça will find out who their opponents will be on Thursday night when Villarreal defend their 1-0 lead from the first leg against Getafe.

Barça and Atlético Madrid, , the two teams on the summit of Spanish football, face off in an exciting Champions League quarter-final tie this Tuesday evening at the Camp Nou (8:45 pm CET) for a spot in the competition's semi-finals. If FC Barcelona wins the challenge, it will have participated in seven consecutive sem-finals. The teams come into the match on form and under the leadership of two key players: Leo Messi and Diego Costa. This season they’ve scored 36 and 33 goals, respectively. Valdés is Barça most important absence, while Raúl García, who is suspended, is Atlético's.

A goal from Messi secures passage to the final of the Copa del Rey. Barça will face off against Real Madrid on April 19. The team managed by Gerardo Martino preserved their 2-0 advantage and they qualified without too much difficulty. When push comes to shove, this team responds: they are in the final after having won seven of their eight Cup matches this season and with Leo Messi, who scored the go-ahead goal in San Sebastián, as the highest goal scorer of the competition. In the final minutes of the match Griezmann netted the equaliser, but it was too little to late to trouble a Barça side that had completed one of the best first halves so far this season.

FC Barcelona are one step closer to the final of the Copa del Rey thanks to goals from Busquets and Zubikarai (og) in the first tie of the semi-finals. This Wednesday the Camp Nou experienced a match that had it all, from the stands to red cards to plays that bordered on the nonsensical, like Barça’s second goal of the night. Gerardo Martino sent in a nearly identical team to the one he fielded on the weekend, only Valdés – who was replaced by Pinto – wasn’t named to the starting line-up. Now FC Barcelona will have make good on their 2-0 advantage when they travel to Anoeta next Wednesday.