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Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Report
Pedro Rodriguez kicked off the party with a goal inside the second minute of the match. Lionel Messi doubled Barcelona’s lead after 20 minutes with an unstoppable right-footed shot from a tight angle. Andres Iniesta made the killer pass leading to that goal. Pedro finished off Athletic Bilbao in the 25th minute with a low shot. Bilbao were left to chase the Catalans all over the pitch.
Xavi and Iniesta ensured Muniain had a miserable night despite all his efforts to put Athletic Bilbao in control of the game. Mascherano and Pique were like bricks in defence, leaving Fernando Llorente helpless in attack.
Barcelona vs Bilbao Copa del Rey final: A tribute to Pep Guardiola – Career recap
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“If there is something extra about this [Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Copa del Rey] final, it is the possibility of winning the title for our coach [Pep Guardiola], the possibility of him winning yet another title and leaving with his head held high.”
Cesc Fabregas was in a confident mood while declaring this statement at a press conference in mid-May. Barcelona have won several titles during the last four years in an unprecedented manner. If this season is considered as a disappointing one it is purely because the judgement of the public is based on comparisons with the Blaugrana’s achievements between the 2008/09 and 2010/2011 seasons.
Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Preview
Match analysis and pre-match quotes
There is so much at stake for both teams. The departure of Pep Guardiola has increased the hype ahead of the 2012 Copa del Rey final. It will be the 41-year-old’s last match in charge of Barcelona as coach. The public expects his players to play at their highest level since the motivation to dedicate the Copa del Rey title to Guardiola is there. However, the match comes at a rather bad time.
“We would have liked to play the match at an earlier date so that some of us could go on holiday, others could join their teams for Euro 2012 and others to prepare for their teams' World Cup qualifiers,” Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets explained during a pre-match press conference.
Lionel Messi rival Cristiano Ronaldo: I think the best player at the moment is me
There is a never-ending debate between sets of avid Messi fans and pro-Ronaldo supporters.“Sometimes, it makes me tired. For him [Lionel Messi] too because they compare us together all the time,” Cristiano Ronaldo told CNN World Sport.
“You cannot compare a Ferrari with a Porsche because it's a different engine. You cannot compare them. He [Lionel Messi] does the best things for Barcelona, I do the best things for Madrid.”
Cristiano Ronaldo finished the 2011/12 La Liga season with an incredible record of 46 goals. However, this feat could not win him the top scorer award as Barcelona’s Lionel Messi clinched a 50-goal tally. Ronaldo continued:
Messi wins Pichichi, Real Madrid enjoy glamorous bash, Falcao downs Villarreal
Champions Real Madrid clinch 100-point mark
Real Madrid won 32 games, drew 4 and lost only 2 in 38 matches. They finished 9 points above bitter rivals Barcelona. An emotional Jose Mourinho declared on Sunday night as the Spanish giants celebrated their La Liga trophy in grand style:
“As the best club in football history, Real Madrid try to win all the titles. This team has made history as the one that secured 100 points and these players are the ones who made that possible.”
In the 2009/10 Spanish Primera Division campaign, Barcelona fell a point short of hitting a century. On Sunday night, Real Madrid celebrated their league triumph at the Santiago Bernabeu in a ceremonious manner with lighting effects and a special performance by Spanish tenor Placido Domingo singing Nessun Dorma.
Real Madrid dethrone Barcelona as La Liga champions on thrilling football night
With this feat, Jose Mourinho has become the first coach to win a league title in four different countries. The Portuguese manager did it in the past in Portugal with Porto, in England with Chelsea, in Italy with Internazionale and now in Spain with Real Madrid. On their way to glory, Los Blancos clinched 30 victories and secured 4 draws. Their only 2 defeats thus far came away to Levante and at home to Barcelona in the first part of the 2011/12 La Liga campaign.
With 94 points and 2 games to go, there is no way Barcelona can catch Madrid at the top. May 2 is a happy night for Madridistas around the world.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi Pichichi fight – 43 goals each ahead of Day 36
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have redefined the duties of a striker although none of them is a typical number 9. Ronaldo, with the jersey number 7, is a winger. Messi, Barcelona’s number 10, was converted by Pep Guardiola from a winger to an attacking midfielder or to a second striker. At Real Madrid, CR7 is surrounded by pure strikers like Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain. At Barca, La Pulga has team mates like Pedro Rodriguez and Alexis Sanchez.
However, when Messi and Ronaldo are on the pitch, their team mates know what to do. Give them the ball, they can work wonders with it in front of goal. Between them, they have netted as many as 122 goals… and the 2011/12 football season is not over yet!
Barcelona’s Messi vs Real Madrid’s Ronaldo: Focus on Pichichi after European exit
Lionel Messi tipped to bounce back
An emotional Lionel Messi, devastated by Pep Guardiola’s decision to step down at the end of the season, will be under the spotlight against Rayo Vallecano. The young Argentine suffered the worst night of his career in midweek at the Camp Nou. He was part of the relentless Barcelona team that could not break down Roberto Di Matteo’s Chelsea.
Lionel Messi was given a glorious chance from the penalty spot to put his side 3-2 up on aggregate. However, in front of the Catalans’ multitude of fans at the stadium, Messi missed. His ball crashed against the post at the relief of Chelsea’s goalkeeper, Petr Cech.
Barcelona’s downfall means Real Madrid’s moment of truth has arrived
Camp Nou is falling apart
Football fans witnessed a spectacle like no other on April 24 in Barcelona as Chelsea beat the odds. Real Madrid’s eternal rivals had a numerical advantage over 10-man Chelsea following John Terry’s red card in the first period. Through Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta’s strikes, Barcelona also possessed a 2-goal lead until the Blues came back from the dead.
Ramires, who will miss the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League final through suspension, multiplied his efforts and netted a terrific strike on the stroke of half-time. After the break, Barcelona knocked incessantly for the gates of goals to open again and when Didier Drogba conceded a penalty, glory was there for Lionel Messi to clinch.
Can Chelsea pull off the 'impossible' and eliminate Barcelona at the Camp Nou?
Barcelona will look to silence their critics tonight
The very historic and well known Camp Nou will host yet another semi-final matchup tonight as Chelsea travel to Barcelona to defend a 1-0 lead. Although Barcelona go into the match at a disadvantage on aggregate, the Catalan's still have a chance to claim some silverware this season.
Having already guaranteed a spot in the Copa del Rey final against Atletico Bilbao, Guardiola and company will now turn their attentions to a 'do or die' match tonight. The Blaugrana are coming off a deflating defeat to long time rivals Real Madrid at the Camp Nou this weekend, but that could only fuel the fire, right?
Over the years Barcelona has managed to put together what some argue to be the best team in the history of the game. Will they be able to keep their hopes of raising yet another UEFA Champions League title alive tonight?
Champions League: Chelsea wary as Messi and Guardiola’s Barcelona remain confident
Barcelona enter tonight’s Champions League match against Chelsea with a 1-0 loss from the first-leg defeat in London to overturn. The competition’s titleholders have not beaten the Blues in their last 6 meetings but only a 2-0 margin victory at the Camp Nou would do. “We begin with a 1-0 disadvantage and we have 90 minutes to turn it around. […] I have no doubt that we will be in Munich, I have been thinking like this since the start of the season,” Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola revealed in Monday’s pre-match press conference.
“It is possible that we will have to score three goals [because Chelsea may score one]. I do not know if this [game] will be the biggest challenge since I have been a coach, but I always look at these matches with optimism because of the faith I have in these players.
Barcelona vs Chelsea Preview
Team News
Midfield maestro Xavi Hernandez will have to play through the barrier of pain unless coach Guardiola decides to organize the team without the number 8. The Spaniard, who had to come off 20 minutes from time in Saturday’s Clasico, has played 90 minutes of football only once in Barcelona’s last 7 matches in all competitions.
Another bad news for the Blaugrana is that defenders Carles Puyol and Javier Mascherano are a booking away from suspension. A yellow card against Chelsea would rule them out of the UEFA Champions League final should they make it.
Cristiano Ronaldo's world-class Real Madrid silence Barcelona in El Clasico 2012
Real Madrid have taken a gigantic step towards clinching the 2011/12 La Liga title. Jose Mourinho’s men are now 7 points ahead of the Blaugrana. Before the match, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola and midfield maestro Xavi Hernandez described El Clasico as a must-win battle.
“If they [Madrid] win or draw, La Liga is theirs,” Pep conceded at the pre-match press conference.
“We can only win and if not, they will be champions. I would then congratulate them and prepare for next year,” he added.
Echoing his manager’s thoughts, Xavi reportedly told the media: “If Barça win we will continue to have options in this league and if we lose, well, Madrid will have wrapped it up, so it is all or nothing.”
Barcelona vs Real Madrid Preview
Team News
The good news for neutrals is that there are no major absences. For Real Madrid, defender Ricardo Carvalho is a doubt. Meanwhile, Eric Abidal, David Villa and Andreu Fontas are the three men on Barcelona’s list of excluded players. Fresh reports indicate that Alexis Sanchez is doubtful but the former Udinese striker may shake off his injury worries in time to play in El Clasico.
Match analysis - What is at stake
Los Blancos and the Catalans will have their best players fit. However, we may not witness a game of high tension as both teams have scores to settle in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona: Blues get narrow advantage ahead of Camp Nou showdown
Roberto Di Matteo will be pleased with his men after they put up a brave performance. They created problems for Barcelona in every area on the pitch. Above all, luck and defensive composure played a big role for the Blues. Alexis Sanchez missed his goal opportunities, Ashley Cole executed a life-saving move to clear a Cesc Fabregas shot and Pedro Rodriguez hit the foot of the post in injury-time to leave the traveling fans embarrassed.
For Lionel Messi, scoring against Chelsea remains a feat he has never achieved. The Barcelona number 10 superstar made a number of impressive runs only to get shut by Chelsea's alert defenders. He won a few free-kicks but overall did not troubled the Blues as pundits had expected.
Messi or Ronaldo – Who will shine the most in the 2011/12 Champions League semis?
Lionel Messi - Barcelona’s record breaker
Lionel Messi has proven over and over again his potential in big matches for Barcelona. Messi is the sort of player that gives coaches and defenders a very hard time making plans to stop him.
The diminutive attacker made it look so easy when he scored 5 goals against Bayer Leverkusen in the Round of 16. With 4 assists and a tally of 14 goals thus far in the UEFA Champions League, Lionel Messi can be proclaimed as the best player in the competition, the one to shut down.
Pele claims Messi is not as good as Neymar
Pele has affirmed that he believes Lionel Messi isn't the best player in the world, not to mention the best of all time.According to the three-time World Cup winner, young Santos and Brazil striker Neymar is a better player than the Barcelona and Argentina superstar, and he also went on to say that Messi doesn't even deserve a place amongst the world's best ever players.
Messi, who has been named FIFA World Player of the Year for three consecutive years, has been brought to the conversation over who is the best player of all time, due to his absolutely sublime performances for European and world champions Barcelona.
Barcelona face Getafe with 1-point gap reduction against Real Madrid at stake
“Real Madrid will have to slog to win this league,” said Thiago Alcantara last weekend according to Mundo Deportivo. Unfortunately for Madridistas, the Barcelona midfielder has a point. Los Blancos are no more in comfort zone. The 10-point gap they boasted about in March has spectacularly reduced itself. Barca and Madrid are only four points apart now.
“The things that have happened to us and the injuries we have had have been a shame. When we were 10 points behind, I believed that the Liga would give us a chance, and here we are, happy,” Adriano declared during the press conference which followed the 4-1 triumph away to Zaragoza.
Barcelona and Real Madrid maintain La Liga heat by beating Osasuna and Bilbao respectively
Few weeks back, it looked like Real Madrid were going to finish their Liga campaign in style, as they could boast of a stunning 10-point lead at the top of the standings. Somehow though, traces of errors on behalf of Los Blancos - accompanied by relentless efforts from Barca - have supressed the gap to 6 points.The increasing pressure that Barcelona have been firing at their arch-rivals evidently gives much reasons for any football fan to give his attention to the league that currently contains the world’s best players. This is not an opinion, but rather a justifiable fact, as Barcelona dominated the 2011 FIFA Ballon d’Or nominations.
Milan vs Barcelona & Benfica vs Chelsea light up midweek Champions League action
On March 27, the Eagles of Benfica will welcome the Blues of Chelsea in what could turn into a close affair. Whereas Real Madrid will be trying to sort things out away to underdogs Cyprus, Roberto di Matteo will try to get a positive result at the Estadio da Luz.
The manner in which Chelsea qualified into the quarter-finals of this season’s Champions League is simply outstanding. Few are those who gave the Blues a chance to turn the tables around following their suicidal 3-1 defeat away to Napoli. Against all the odds, however, the Blues came back to life in a game that looked more like a heroic and happy-ending scripted story.