villareal

Malcom scores and assists for Coutinho on his first start since mid-February, with Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez grabbing two late goals in a pulsating encounter

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.

FC Barcelona are headed back to the final of the Spanish Cup. Neymar’s two goals sandwich Suárez’s strike. The Brazilian scored two minutes after the opening kick off and again two minutes from the final whistle to lead the Catalans to a commanding 3–1 win over hosts Villarreal in the return leg of the Spanish Cup quarter-final. Barça duplicate score from first leg to knock out Villarreal 6–2 on aggregate, booking Barça a trip to the title-match where they'll face Athletic Club Bilbao. Jonathan Dos Santos managed the lone goal in the losing effort. Villarreal played the last 25 minutes with ten men as Tomás Pina was sent off after a vicious tackle on Neymar. And that wasn’t the only close-call for Barça, as Sergio Busquets left the game on a stretcher after what appeared to be an ugly ankle injury.

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.

In what was billed as a major test for two teams that rode into Camp Nou on a wave of impressive results, it was FC Barcelona who had more answers as they came back twice from a goal down to subdue Villarreal and extend their winning streak to eight games in all competitions, their fourth straight in La Liga. As the half hour mark arrived, Villarreal scored its first goal, but Neymar drew just before the break.In the 51st minute, Villarreal went back on top after Piqué misjudged a ball near midfield. However Barça’s reaction was almost immeditate; Rafinha got one goal and two minutes after Messi put the Catalans on top. For Barça, the win showcased their tremendous resilience, a powerful trait to have as they march toward a decisive stretch of the season.

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.

A late goal from B team youngster Sandro gave Barça the three points at El Madrigal in a hard fought game that Luis Enrique’s side dominated, though they found it tough going at times against a determined Villarreal defence. Sandro ensured Barça go into the international break with two Spanish League wins out of two, leading the domestic championship.From the off, Leo Messi, wearing the captain’s armband in Iniesta’s absence, again looked sharp as he combined well down the right with Dani Alves and the Argentinean and Pedro had the best of the early chances, as Villarreal were forced into some desperate defending.

FC Barcelona, full of pride, fought back from a two-goal deficit to claim the three points in Sunday evening's game against Villarreal. Barça are still in content for the Spanish League title. The situation was critical in the Madrigal stadium. Emotionally shattered by the death of Tito Vilanova and the two goals for Villarreal pinned Barça back, but two own goals and a third from Messi proved enough to win the three points.

After getting the job done in Europe (Celtic) and La Liga (Villarreal), FC Barcelona want to close out the Copa del Rey tie this Tuesday evening against Cartagena (22.00 CET). FC Barcelona will play the second leg without Xavi (as a precaution), Sergio and Piqué (for technical reasons). Tata Martino has named a total of 16 footballers to the squad. The 1-4 from the first leg 11 days ago gives Barça a huge advantage as the Blaugrana could lose 0-3 and still qualify for the next round of the competition. However, in Can Barça the challenge is always to win by playing good football.

Two Neymar goals bring FC Barcelona victory over Villarreal at the Camp Nou. FC Barcelona go five points clear of Real Madrid, who drew at Osasuna’s Stadium in Pamplona. They say that the best things are those you have to fight to earn. And on Saturday evening, FC Barcelona certainly had their work cut out to get the better of a defiant Villarreal at the Camp Nou. A Neymar penalty set things up nicely, but Musacchio’s early second half goal meant it was all back to square one for Barça. But some terrific football eventually paid off with Neymar grabbing his second goal of the evening to ensure three vital points.

Barça are looking to keep up the good work and consolidate top spot in the Spanish League in their game against Villareal this Saturday evening (20:00 CET). FC Barcelona could become the first club to ever lead la Liga for 54 consecutive weeks. Barça seem to have corrected their errors in Amsterdam and Bilbao with convincing wins against Cartagena in the Copa del Rey and Celtic in the Champions League, playing precisely the kind of football that has already brought the club one trophy this season, the Supercup, and put them in top spot in both the domestic championship and their Champions League group. However, following the setback at San Mamés, Barça’s lead has been cut down to mere goal difference, and an exciting weekend of football awaits.

Real Madrid dropped two more points with their second successive 1-1 draw against Villarreal in their last Spanish League game. After Barça’s win against Granada, the Catalans have reduce the gap from 10 to 6 points in only four days. The chase for the Spanish League’s leadership is livelier than ever.

A hard working display from Barça wasn’t enough to see off Villarreal in a hard fought game the visitors had the best chances in, including a shot against the woodwork from Cesc on 78 minutes.