suárez

FC Barcelona spent over 40 minutes in an uncharacteristically precarious position but got three second half goals to knock Athletic Club Bilbao out of the Copa del Rey by a score of 3–1, 5–2 on aggregate, and qualify for the semi-finals for the sixth consecutive year. It was the third meeting in a 10-day span between the two sides — one in La Liga, two in the Cup — with FC Barcelona winning all three by a combined score of 11–2. It was also the sixth and final game between the two this season, with the initial three also coming in a cluster. The victory sees FC Barcelona extend their unbeaten streak to 25 games across all competitions, including five straight wins at Camp Nou.

Barça have won the Club World Cup in Japan after beating River Plate 3-0.  After missing the semi-final through injury, Messi returned to action with a bang, scoring the first goal and playing a part in the other two. Luis Suárez scored the other two and added them to three that he notched in the semi-final. That made Suárez by far the top scorer in the competition, and also made him the natural choice to collect the MVP award. The victory over River Plate was the third Club World Cup title for FC Barcelona which makes Barça the only club to have won the FIFA Club World Cup three times. The win in Yokohama also represents the fifth trophy for the team this year, after also winning the Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League and European Super Cup, matching the haul of 2011. 

The Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (DIPLOCAT) organised a debate in Edinburgh with outstanding European figures from the academic, legal and economic fields to discuss the challenges and opportunities of Catalonia's independence. "It is nonsense to imagine that part of a Member State could be directly expelled from the EU if it becomes independent" stated University of Edinburgh professor and former judge at the Court of Justice of the European Communities Sir David Edward. "Scotland had the chance to freely and legally pronounce on their political future and this is still the shared wish of the majority of Catalans" stated Secretary-General of Diplocat, Albert Royo. The director of the Centre on Constitutional Change, Michael Keating, and the Catalan Government’s delegateto the United Kingdom and Ireland, Josep Suàrez, also attended the event.

The blaugranes are through to the last 16 of the Champions League as group winners thanks to another devastating performance with goals for Messi (2) Luis Suárez (2), Piqué and Adriano. Leo Messi returned to the side for his Champions League debut this season at Camp Nou and the Argentine's eagerness to make his mark was seen as early as the third minute. “I see the fans enjoying the team. I see the players really wanting to participate and I see the faces of those who can’t participate and they really want to.” stated Luis Enrique soon after the match. FC Barcelona are into the last 16 of this season's Champions League and they did so in style with another virtuoso performance to sweep aside AS Roma at Camp Nou and in doing so guarantee themselves top spot in Group E.

FC Barcelona turned in a virtuoso performance on Saturday night at the Santiago Bernabéu, meticulously carving up Real Madrid up and down the pitch to take the first El Clásico of the 2015/16 season by a score of 4-0. Suárez scored a double, while Neymar and Iniesta added one each, as the Catalans moved to six points up at the top of the table. With Real Madrid facing the ignominy of a whipping in front of their home fans, tempers began to flare, and in the 84th minute Isco was shown a straight red card for coming in high with the studs on Neymar and catching the league’s leading goalscorer. Following Barça's 0-4 demolishing of Real Madrid, head coach Luis Enrique appeared in the press room and expressed a high-degree of satisfaction with the way the game went. “I’m satisfied not just for the victory, but for the way we did it”, he stated.

The two halves of Sunday’s game were night and day for FC Barcelona. During the first half the action was set in midfield but after the break there was a much greater assertiveness on attack, especially for Barça. The Catalans scored on the stroke of one hour when Sergio Busquets came up with a loose ball following a Villarreal turnover in their own half and picked out Neymar on the left flank. Suárez made it 2–0 on a penalty kick in the 70th minute. But while FC Barcelona’s first two goals were the epitome of teamwork, the third and final goal of the day was a paragon of the Neymar–Suárez show and a quintessential exhibition of technical ingenuity by Barça’s number 11. By the end of 90 minutes of play, the Yellow Submarine, as Villarreal are known, was little more than a mangled wreck lying at the bottom of the sea floor, courtesy of two-third’s of Barça’s trident, who have performed brilliantly in the absence of Lionel Messi. With the win, the Catalans are now unbeaten in their last 15 games against Villarreal, including seven straight wins at Camp Nou across all competitions.

Neymar (2) and Luis Suárez provide the goals for a win over the Belarusians that mean the blaugranes now just need a point to top and group and make it to knock out stages. On the quarter of an hour mark Ivan Rakitic limped off with a calf injury and Munir was the man chosen to replace the Croatian. The substitute played a key role in the goal that put the blaugranes ahead on the half hour mark, forcing a penalty that Neymar turned into the first goal. Suárez broke the offside trap down the right hand side and his unselfish pass took out keeper Chernik and allowed his Brazilian team mate to slide the ball into an empty net for his second and Barça’s third of the evening. That was job done for the home side and although Suárez and Neymar himself seemed determined to add to their personal tallies, it ended 3-0 to the blaugranes.

Catalonia promoted itself as a leading tourist destination at London World Travel Market, one of the most important global events for the travel industry. This year, Catalonia’s strategy focused on its selection as European Region of Gastronomy 2016, so that routes based on local food and wine have been designed to add value to Catalonia’s traditional attractions. “We must appreciate the gastronomic richness of our country” stated Delegate of the Catalan Government to the UK, Josep Manuel Suárez, who highlighted the Mediterranean diet as “fundamental”. Throughout the week, Catalonia’s stand will offer to the 50,000 visitors expected to attend the fair an image of the territory that goes beyond sun and beaches, promoting the Pyrenees region and cities with a relevant Roman heritage such as Tarragona. The aim is to diversify Catalonia’s tourism and to become a city break destination as well. 

The Catalans rode the brute strength of their Uruguayan striker to another come-from-behind victory in La Liga, this time by a score of 3–1 at Camp Nou. Eibar opened the scoring in the 10th minute on Sunday, when Borja González struck home a long rebound following a diving stop by Barça goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. The Uruguayan first drew Barça even at 1–1 on the stroke of 22 minutes when he headed home a beautiful one-touch volley from Sandro Ramírez. Three minutes after the break Suárez put Barça into the lead with his second goal. Suárez's sealed his hat-trick, his second since debuting for Barça exactly one-year ago to the day, and the win, in the 84th minute. The victory was Barça’s third straight across all competitions, following last week’s win over Rayo and Tuesday’s Champions League triumph at Bate Borisov, and allows them to keep pace at the top of the La Liga table.

FC Barcelona returned in the second half against Bayer Leverkusen to record their first win of this season's Champions League. The first game without Leo Messi following his knee injury against Las Palmas saw coach, Luis Enrique bring Sandro into the Catalan team’s starting line up for the first time ever in the Champions League. Although the Germans had taken the lead after 22 minutes through defender Papadopoulos and had proved a match for Luis Enrique's side in the opening half, two goals from Sergi Roberto and Luis Suárez in the last 10 minutes of the contest settled the final score.

Barça suffered its first defeat (4-1) this season versus Celta at Balaidos. Also they lost their one hundred per cent record in the 2015/16 Liga season and their place at the top of the table. Former Barça man Nolito opened the scoring at the 26^th minute of the match. Four minutes later, Iago Aspas pounced on a Barça error in the middle of the park and raced away on the counter attack, finishing with a goal and make it 2-0. At the second half, Aspas again charged free and Celta were three in front. With eleven minutes left, Barça finally found the net thanks to Neymar, who slipped the ball home with style. But any chance of a late comeback was ended when John Guidetti found himself alone in the area at the other end, smashing home the final nail in the coffin. 

FC Barcelona began the Champions League with a 1-1 draw against AS Roma. Barça players deserved more after dominating most of the game, but it was a convincing display that might have ended very differently with a little more luck in the goal area. The Catalans began the game having control of the ball. A goal came after 21 minutes of play when Rakitic crossed from the right and Suárez headed home practically from the goal-line. But the lead only lasted for ten minutes. Just after the half hour point, Florenzi got the Italians back on level terms with an extraordinary goal from over 50 metres out. Barça stayed in control of the match despite the Roma goal, but there was no further scoring. The lowest point in the match was Rafinha’s injury after he was taken out from behind and carried off the pitch in a stretcher.

A draw against Athletic Club Bilbao at Camp Nou in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup was insufficient to turn around the 4-0 deficit from the first leg with the Basques claiming their first trophy in 31 years. Barça gave everything and Messi put the Catalans ahead right at the end of the first half giving the blaugranes the lead. However a second half sending off for Piqué meant Barça reduced to ten men for the final half an hour. Equaliser from Aduriz sealed title for Athletic. The last five minutes saw the Basques reduced to ten men also with substitute Kike Sola sent off. It was too late to affect the tie and Barça now turn their attentions to the league and an opening weekend trip to none other than Athletic Club.

Catalans and Basques clash in Spanish Super Cup second leg at Camp Nou on Monday night at 10.00pm CET. FC Barcelona may have fallen in the first leg of the 2015 Spanish Super Cup Final versus Athletic Club Bilbao, but don’t be fooled. They are more than able to get back up and can score goals with the best of them. Correction: They are the best of them, which means that no deficit is insurmountable for the most prolific team in world football. Luis Enrique and his players are confident of a comeback following Friday’s disappointing defeat. The Catalans trained on both Saturday and Sunday in preparation for the big comeback attempt. The not-so-great news is, of course, that Neymar continues to be out with a case of the mumps.

Disappointing defeat means Barça have it all to do in Monday's second leg at Camp Nou. Striker Aritz Aduriz scored three times in the second half to lead Athletic Club Bilbao to a shocking 4–0 victory over FC Barcelona in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup at the New Sam Mamés on a misty Friday night in Bilbao, after Mikel San Jose’s opening goal from midfield. The frustrating defeat leaves the Catalans with but one choice — go all out in Monday night's return leg, scheduled for 10.00pm CET at Camp Nou. Despite the large deficit, the tie is far from over. The two teams are set to face off again and it would be foolish to think the Catalans have given up hope. At least, that’s what Luis Enrique thinks. “If anyone can come back in this tie, it’s Barça," he said.