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FC Barcelona 4-2 Eibar: Comeback win, but title escapes Barça

May 22, 2017 09:46 AM | ANDREAS VOU

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.

MATCH REPORT: FC Barcelona 3-0 Sevilla: Quickfire treble brings the win

April 6, 2017 11:14 AM | ANDREAS VOU

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.”

MATCH REPORT: Granada 1-4 FC Barcelona: Keeping up the pressure

April 3, 2017 07:50 PM | ANDREAS VOU

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.

FC Barcelona 3-1 Athletic Club (4-3 on aggregate): The trident strikes again

January 12, 2017 11:16 AM | MIKE ROBERTS

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.

FC Barcelona open Champions League play with a 7–0 rout of Celtic FC

September 14, 2016 09:43 AM | MICHAEL HARRISON TOLL

Messi, Neymar and Suárez trio shone in their first match side by side in 115 days, helping FC Barcelona to their biggest ever Champions League win, a 7-0 victory over Celtic at the Camp Nou. It took just three minutes for Messi to get things going after he was played through by Neymar. It was a sign of things to come as the Argentine would go on to score his first hat-trick of the campaign, his sixth ever in the Champions League, a feat which makes him the player with the most hat-tricks in the history of the competition. “We practically didn’t commit any mistakes,” Luis Enrique beamed from the podium in the Ricard Maxenchs press room at Camp Nou following Barça’s opening round knockout. “The players had fun, and that allowed the Barça supporters to have fun,” he said.

Plane with world’s highest capacityto be in Barcelona this summer

June 16, 2016 08:51 PM | ACN

Emirates airline is bringing the airplane with the highest passenger capacity in the world to El Prat airport in the Catalan capital. Specifically, the plane will pass through Barcelona on the 25th of June and on the 16th, 29th, and 31st of July. It can hold 615 passengers, of which 557 will go in economy and 58 will be sat in business class, stated the CEO of Emirates in Spain, Fernando Suárez de Góngora, during lunch with the media on Wednesday. The airplane, which is a modified (to be able to hold as many passengers as possible) A-380, will use Barcelona’s international tourism as its asset: “it is a promising sign, and we are convinced it will be filled completely”, stated Góngora. Although it has apparently been “a real challenge”, according to the CEO, to completely fill the flights, Barcelona is becoming a more popular tourist destination in Asia in general and “in the Middle East in particular”. 

Puigdemont to do face to face radio show with Salmond on official trip to London

May 9, 2016 08:09 PM | ACN

Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont and former Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond, will be interviewed this Thursday on the radio programme ‘El Balcó’ of Cadena SER radio station. The conversation will take place during Puigdemont’s official trip to London, during which the Catalan President will give the talk ‘Mapping a Path Towards Catalan Independence’ at London’s Chatham House, one of the most important think tanks in the world. Puigdemont will be in London from Wednesday to Friday, and on the diplomatic trip he will also hold an interview with the BBC and attend business meetings in the financial heart of the city. London will be Puigdemont’s second official trip abroad, after visiting Belgium in the beginning of May.

Deportivo La Coruña v FC Barcelona (0-8): That’s more like it!

April 21, 2016 10:34 AM | MIKE ROBERTS

Luis Enrique’s team made their intentions clear right from the kick-off. They wanted goals. And with four goals and three assists, Luis Suárez had a night that Barça fans will be remembering for years to come. the Urguayan now has 49 goals in 48 games this season for the blaugranes. After the win in Galicia, he was only happy to have helped the team: “The most important thing is that the goals have served to help achieve a vital win given that we were coming off the back of a bad run. We will keep trying to reach our objectives. I am sure that the work will pay off.” Rakitic, Barta, Messi and Neymar Jr did the rest. The 8-0 win over Deportivo sends out a warning message. They said there were five finals ahead, and the first has been won with flying colours. Barça are back with a vengeance.

FC Barcelona take first-leg thriller in 2–1 victory over Atlético Madrid

April 6, 2016 09:48 AM | HARRISON MICHAEL TOLL

FC Barcelona stayed true to their billing as a team endowed with a heaping dose of resilience, valiantly bouncing back from Saturday’s stinging home league defeat to emerge victorious on the very same pitch in a good old-fashioned Champions League thriller, with two goals from Luis Suárez. In the 25th minute, Fernando Torres fired from two paces right of the penalty spot through the legs of Ter Stegen for a 1–0 lead. It was Torres’s 11th goal in 15 career matches against FC Barcelona. It wasn’t until the 63rd minute when Luis Suárez redirected a deflected shot from the boot of Neymar Jr into the net to tie the match. The Camp Nou exploded, with an 88,534-strong chorus providing the soundtrack as the Catalans pushed even harder to take the lead. Luis Suárez's second half brace reversed early one-goal deficit in heart-stopping quarter-final opener and meant another victory for Barça.

Arsenal FC v FC Barcelona: Premier victory in London (0-2)

February 24, 2016 10:24 AM | MIKE ROBERTS

Leo Messi scores twice in a scintillating Champions League encounter, including the 10,000th goal in FC Barcelona history, setting things up perfectly for the return leg at the Camp Nou on March 16. The game was intense from the very first second, with football of the kind of quality that one would expect from two sides like this. In the last minute of the half, things finally started to click but it wasn’t until minute 71 that the game finally got the only thing it was lacking. A goal. Neymar charged through on the Arsenal area and laid the ball off to Messi, who scored his first goal against Cech. The goal inspired the trident to unleash its full potential, and all three were involved in a lightning move that ended with Suárez slamming the ball onto the post. But Barça were now firing on all cylinders, and in the 83rd minute the lead was extended.

Sporting Gijón v FC Barcelona: A win worth waiting for (1-3)

February 18, 2016 02:39 PM | MIKE ROBERTS

Messi (2) and Suárez on target as Barça get all three points from their game in hand and go a mighty six clear at the top of the Liga table. The Argentinian put Barça ahead with a goal which wasn’t ordinary; It made him the first player to ever score 300 times in La Liga. With the goal, the game flashed into life. Just moments later, Carlos Castro got on the end of a nicely-worked move to get Gijón back level and a smoothly worked move between Suárez and Messi ended with the latter beating Cuéllar for the second time in six minutes. The Uruguayan skipped through the Sporting defence and lofted a fine left-footer into the net. Barça 3-1 up with 23 minutes left to play.

FC Barcelona vanquish Valencia 7–0, move to the brink of another final

February 4, 2016 04:06 PM | MICHAEL TOLL

Valencia were supposed to be a tough test, but Luis Enrique’s squad passed with flying colours, squashin Valencia by a score of 7-0 and leaving FC Barcelona's coach a happy man. Luis Suárez's four goals outdid Messi's three and Barça will take towering lead to Mestalla for next week's second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals. The monumental win extends FC Barcelona’s unbeaten streak to a whopping 27 games across all competitions, just one shy of tying the Club’s all-time record. It is also their seventh straight victory at Camp Nou, during which they have scored 30 goals and given up only three. "After the number of games we’ve played recently, to see the team respond with fluidity and confidence is deserving of congratulations,” stated FC Barcelona’s coach, Luis Enrique Martínez. "We have a very important objective — to continue conquering titles and providing enjoyment to the fans," he said.