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An 84th minute goal from Cesc Fàbregas gave Barça the points against a defensive Llevant (also called Levante) at the Camp Nou on Saturday evening. Now the Spanish League title is just six points away. Abidal returned to a starting line up after 14 months, which was roundly applauded. This wasn’t the most exuberant FC Barcelona performance of the campaign, but the league leaders showed patience as they controlled the game. Now the league title is one step closer… but first, it’s time for Bayern on Tuesday evening!

The Barça Manager still insists that it is the Spanish League that matters most and that Levante won’t be an easy opponent. “Levante are on a bad run, but that sometimes works against you because they have nothing to lose” said Barça’s Assistant Manager Jordi Roura. In addition, he explained that Messi “has started training with the squad and he has dealt with his recovery period well and done everything he can to get fit again”.

54% of Catalonia’s external sales go to the international market while the remaining 46% go to the rest of Spain. The number of Catalan companies which sold their products outside of Spain in 2012 was 45,000 enterprises, representing a 6.3% increase in relation to the 2011 figures and 11,554 more companies than at the start of the economic crisis. The export sector represented €58.28 billion, which was 28% of Catalonia’s GDP in 2012. The figure represented a 5% increase compared to 2011 and a 15% growth on data from before the economic crisis. Sales outside the European Union increased by 16% last year, especially in Oceania (61%), Africa (24%) and Latin America (21%).

Spanish League leaders power past Zaragoza, despite playing without Messi, Iniesta, Sergio, Piqué and Pedro. Thiago and Tello were on target for Barça, who were two up at the break and three up before the hour mark, as they brushed aside Zaragoza. FC Barcelona are 13 points ahead of Real Madrid with just 21 points left to play for.

Four Members of the European Parliament representing three Catalan parties have asked the European Commission and the European Council to declare their position regarding the linguistic immersion model in place in Catalonia’s schools. The four MEPs are reacting to a series of court decisions deriving from Spanish Supreme Court sentences and to Spanish Government initiatives against the current Catalan school model, which has been in place for the last 30 years and guarantees knowledge of both Spanish and Catalan. In fact, this model has already been praised by the European Commission, in 2007. The four MEPs represent the Centre Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU), the Catalan Green Socialist and Communist Coalition (ICV-EUiA) and the Left-Wing Catalan Independence Party (ERC).

The Catalan Education Minister will appeal the decision to the Spanish Supreme Court and meanwhile will not follow the petition of the Catalan Supreme Court (TSJC). The Minister stressed that “the classroom language cannot change just because a child asks for it”. She emphasised that only 17 families have asked to have their children schooled in Spanish. These kids received individualised attention in Spanish but the TSJC thought it was not enough. In the last few years, the Catalan school model has been put in the spotlight by Spanish nationalism, despite having been in place for the last 30 years. The model has shown that pupils perfectly command both languages by the end of their studies. It has also been praised by international organisations, as it guarantees equal opportunities and social cohesion.

The leader of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, and the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, secretly met on Sunday in Madrid, along with the Secretary General of the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), Pere Navarro. Mas urged the PSOE to include the People’s Party (PP) in the debate on the reform of the Spanish Constitution and he warned that including the right to a self-determination vote is a “basic and essential condition” for a large majority of Catalans. The PSC, despite opposing Catalonia’s independence from Spain, backs its right to vote for self-determination, but Rubalcaba is completely opposed to it and considers it to be “impossible” to ever reach an agreement on such a vote. However, Rubalcaba insisted on the need to find a better relationship between Catalonia and Spain, in order to “remain together for centuries to come”.

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.

Artur Mas, the President of the Catalan Government and leader of the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU), is sceptical about the Spanish Executive’s desire to find a negotiated solution regarding Catalonia’s self-determination claims. Asked about the possibility of giving up the self-determination agenda in exchange for more economic resources for the Catalan Executive, Mas stated that “the Spanish Government will not exchange a better fiscal scheme for the self-determination vote”. However, he insisted that public finances are in “an emergency situation”. Therefore, he offered again for the Catalan Independence Party (ERC) and the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) to sit in the Cabinet because “the situation requires adding strength” in order “to guarantee the survival of Catalonia’s self-government”.

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.

“The United Nations respect self-determination processes” stated the Secretary General of the United Nations when he was asked about Catalonia’s and Scotland’s self-determination processes during his official visit to Andorra, a small independent country in the Pyrenees which has Catalan as its official language. Ban Ki-moon urged all the political leaders to talk and find a negotiated and peaceful solution. “All the pending issues among countries have to be solved via peaceful means and through dialogue, respecting the genuine will of the affected people”, he stated. As opposed to the United Kingdom’s Government, the Spanish Executive currently refuses to even talk about Catalonia’s self-determination claims, which are backed by November’s electoral results and recent opinion polls.

The number of people registered as unemployed at the Catalan Public Employment Service (SOC) was reduced by 0.17% in March, compared to data from February. The total number of unemployed people in Catalonia registered at the SOC was 664,050 by the end of March, 1,126 fewer than in the previous month. However, this is 25,083 more people than a year ago. In the whole of Spain, the number of unemployed people decreased by 4,979 individuals last month. However, there are still more than 5 million people officially registered as unemployed in Spain. At the end of March there were 284,376 more people registered as unemployed than were registered a year ago, which is an increase of 5.99%.

An 88th minute equaliser by the home team meant Barça were held to a 2-2 draw in a game in which Leo Messi set another record by scoring in every Spanish League game for half a season. However it was Celta who opened the scoring after Orellana beat the Barça back line and set up Isca on 38 minutes. Furthermore, Abidal made a much awaited return on the bench.

In early November, the Catalan Government decided to allocate the public tender privatising the service of the publicly-owned Aigües Ter-Llobregat – which supplies water to the 5 million people of Greater Barcelona – to a joint venture led by Acciona. This meant that the Catalan Executive cashed in €300 million in 2012 and €700 million was to be split over the next 50 years. The operation was aiming to reduce public deficit. However, Agbar appealed the tender because it thought that Acciona was not fully respecting the terms of reference. Now the Court have backed Agbar’s view and cancelled the tender. Acciona has already announced that it will appeal to the Spanish Supreme Court and, in the case that it loses the concession, it will sue the Catalan Government for damages, since the contract came in to effect on the 1st of January.

On Saturday evening, Barça will travel to Galicia to play with Celta Vigo (18h CET). Shortly after the Catalans have their Champions League quarter final first leg at the Parc des Princes (Tuesday 2nd April at 20.45 CET), which are the main focuses of the week ahead. FC Barcelona will train six times, the first with the internationals still away, and the last in Paris, the day before they face PSG.