Champions League 2011 Group Stages: No Defeat For Favourites Barcelona
From match-day 1, Barcelona always looked certain of reaching the knock-out stages of this season’s UEFA Champions League tournament with quite a lot of ease. Greek giants Panathinaikos suffered the mesmerizing cruelty of Barcelona’s distinctive possessive game as the Catalans kicked off their campaign by beating them 5-1 on home soil.
Later on, Panathinaikos went on to lose the second leg 3-0. Now if Rubin (away in Russia) and København (away in Demark) created a few headaches to Barcelona, they couldn’t prevent the 2009 Champions League winners from securing the top spot in Group D.
At the Camp Nou, resilient Rubin bowed to Barca’s authority under a 2-0 defeat in December 2010. The story had been exactly the same for København 2 months before.
Barcelona clinched Round of 16 tickets, grabbing 14 points, scoring 14 goals and conceding just 3 in Group D.
Below are Barcelona’s group stages results:
September 14, 2010: Barcelona 5-1 Panathinaikos
September 29, 2010: Rubin 1-1 Barcelona
October 20, 2010: Barcelona 2-0 København
November 2, 2010: København 1-1 Barcelona
November 24, 2010: Panathinaikos 0-3 Barcelona
December 7, 2010: Barcelona 2-0 Rubin
Champions League 2011 Knock-Out Stages: Goals & Controversies Against Arsenal & Real Madrid
Barcelona tested their potential against Arsenal in the Round of 16 and against Real Madrid in the semis. Remarkably, both ties were marked by controversial refereeing. Against the Gunners, it became interesting to see what Guardiola’s men had in store for their fans after going down 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium. The story followed with a 3-1 triumph in Spain where Van Persie’s controversial sending off rivalled Lionel Messi’s brace in the headlines.
Unfortunately for lovers of pure football, controversies multiplied in the semi-finals against Real Madrid. Either way, Barcelona managed to come out on top 3-1 on aggregate at the delight of their supporters. The video below shows highlights of Barcelona's victory over Arsenal at the Camp Nou:
The video below shows highlights of Barcelona's victory over Real Madrid at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu:
Champions League 2011 Quarter-finals: Barcelona Not Ready To Fall In Underdogs Trap
In between their Last 16 tie against Arsenal and their semi-final meetings against Real Madrid, Barcelona booked a meeting with Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk. In the quarter-finals of the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League, the Catalans were quick to avoid any upset and they succeeded in their plan. Barcelona did the most of the home factor in the first leg of that tie—being aware of Shakhtar Donetsk’s strength in the icing atmosphere of Ukraine. The video below shows Barcelona's 5-1 defeat of Shakhtar Donetsk at the Camp Nou:
Champions League 2011: Barcelona’s knockout stages results
Round of 16 Tie
February 16, 2011: Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona
March 08, 2011: Barcelona 3-1 Arsenal
Quarter-final Tie
April 6, 2011: Barcelona 5-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
April 12, 2011: Shakhtar Donetsk 0-1 Barcelona
Semi-final Tie
April 27, 2011: Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona
May 3, 2011: Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
Watch out for a thrilling 2011 Champions League final. Barcelona vs Manchester United will be LIVE on Live Soccer TV on May 28, 2011. The coverage has just started!
