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Barça got the better of a plucky Almeria side with goals from Alexis, Messi, Puyol and Xavi. It took until the 83rd minute for Barça to secure the three points against Almeria. The eventual 4-1 win could easily have been achieved in the first half, but some great football was only reflected by two goals, and Almeria managed to grab one of their own to add to the drama. The intensity dipped in the second half, and the win was not decided until Puyol bravely stuck home FCB’s third, with Xavi making it four in the final minutes. A win was more essential than ever after the setback at Anoeta, and the 2-2 draw in the Madrid derby – between Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid – was surely the best result Barça could have wished for, and they now find themselves just one point short of the Spanish League’s lead.

The Board of Directors of FC Barcelona have called for a referendum, which will take place on April 5, to decide on the stadium’s renovation plan. Members of the Catalan sports club will vote on the Board’s project that includes a full renovation of the current stadium, the construction of a new Palau Blaugrana and the so-called Espai Barça. The initiative foresees adding a commercial ‘surname’ to the Camp Nou stadium in order to obtain additional revenue. The Board has issued the full details of the regulations governing the procedure for voting on the proposed project.

FC Barcelona have suffered painful defeat at home to Valencia, which brings an end to a wonderful run of 25 consecutive wins in league matches at the Camp Nou. The visitors, coached by former Barça man Pizzi, took a practical approach to the game and took their chances when they came. They go home with all three points from a match that looked to be safely under Barça’s control at half-time, but from that moment on, luck was simply not on Barça’s side. Not even Messi’s penalty to put Barcelona back in contention, or the immense pressure in the final minutes despite being a man down following Alba’s sending off, were enough to prevent Valencia from winning at the Camp Nou for the first time in a decade.

Barça once again take on Llevant (also called Levante) after the 1-4 from the first leg of the Spanish Cup quarter-final tie. It will be the third showdown between to two sides in ten days. Throughout the competition Tata Martino has had a policy of rotating players into the starting team for Cup matches, and it doesn’t look like there will be an exception tonight. Iniesta, Puyol, Song and Montoya are back in the squad, while Xavi, Busquets and Alves didn’t make the team. If Barça make good on the result from the first leg, it will be the team’s seventh semi-final Cup berth in eight years (they were eliminated in the quarter-final round in 2010).

According to FC Barcelona President Sandro Rosell, “the option of building a new stadium on a new site has been dismissed as the final cost could well mortgage the club’s future”. Moving to a new site and building brand new facilities had an estimate cost of €1.2 billion, while the alternative chosen costs €600 million. The project also includes building a new Palau Blaugrana and an Espai Barça. The members’ referendum on the new stadium to be built over the existing structure will be held on 5/6 April

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.

The Financial Vice-President Javier Faus says that the Board of Directors are studying options to build a new stadium or remodel the Camp Nou, which is Europe’s largest stadium by capacity with 99,700 seats. Faus stated “We want to secure patrimonial excellence for the next 100 years”. In addition, he explained that the FC Barcelona Board will only present building projects for referendum that are economically viable. Faus recognised that building a whole new stadium at Diagonal would be much more expensive than the rebuilding project at Les Corts. The first project would cost €600 million and the second, €300 million.

This Wednesday’s match will bring together two of the continent’s most storied football teams for what is considered to be a classic in European football, a Barça vs Milan showdown. A victory for FC Barcelona would see the Catalans qualify for the next round of the competition. Adriano Correia has been declared fit for this evening's match against the Italians. Tata Martino has named a total of 20 players to the team for this evening’s game. Rotations are expected, but perhaps not as many as usual. AC Milan, with Balotelli ready for action, have been unable to win in their last four matches.

While the city of Barcelona celebrated the Mercè festival, FC Barcelona made it six wins out of six at the Spanish League with a comfortable victory over Real Sociedad. Barça have equalled the club’s best ever start to a Liga campaign. The first 22 minutes saw a barrage of goals from Neymar, Messi and Busquets, and from then on it was complete dominance from the home side, with the visitor’s solitary goal doing nothing to worry the Camp Nou faithful. Neymar was outstanding with his penetrating runs from the left, and Iniesta was plethoric in an aggressive, dominant midfield in which Xavi and Busquets read every play to perfection. It was the Brazilian who first found the net after just four minutes.

Tata Martino's men come away with a one-all draw from the Vicente Calderón stadium in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup. Just as Martino predicted in the pre-match press conference, the tie between FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid will be decided at the Barça’s Camp Nou. The home team, who took the lead after 12 minutes thanks to a superb strike from Villa, took control of the game early on but loosened their grip as minutes ticked off the clock. Without Messi, who was brought off at the break due to thigh issues, but with Neymar, who was subbed in on 58 minutes, and Cesc, who came on for the Argentinean, Barça regained a little of its incisiveness. Neymar scored, his first official goal in the FC Barcelona strip.

The champions of the Liga – FC Barcelona – and the Spanish Cup – Atlético Madrid – come into the Super Cup first leg after defeating Levante (7-0) and Sevilla (1-3), respectively. The match in Madrid is chock full of interesting titbits, like David Villa’s reunion with his former team-mates. In addition, it is the first official game away from the Camp Nou for Barça’s new manager Tata Martino and the new star Neymar Jr. The Brazilian player could feature in the starting XI for the first time on Wednesday evening (11pm CET).

FC Barcelona’s 2013/14 Liga campaign begins on Sunday, playing at home in the Camp Nou (19pm CET) in a match against Levante. Barça have won 14 of their last 20 Liga openers and there are plenty of reasons to feel confident that Barça will get off to another positive start. Last season, in Tito Vilanova’s first game in charge, Barça stormed to 5-1 victory against Real Sociedad. Puyol, Messi (2), Pedro and Villa got the goals that night.

FC Barcelona home fans will have the first chance to see the team this season, after friendlies in Munich, Oslo and Gdansk. Neymar, one of the big draws for the game, will be set to face his ex-club. In addition, Barça’s new coach Tata Martino will speak to the crowd before the game along with captain Carles Puyol. Puyol will be one of the four squad players who will miss the game through injury, alongside Afellay, Cuenca and Tello. Furthermore, Barça’s legendary keeper Antoni Ramallets, who passed away earlier this week, will also be honoured before the game.

On Saturday evening, 90,000 people gathered in FC Barcelona Camp Nou stadium to attend a concert backing Catalonia’s right to self-determination. The event, organised by a civil society entity – Òmnium Cultural – and without public funding, called for a self-determination referendum in 2014. The two largest political parties in Catalonia, which share a parliamentary stability pact, stated that a specific date for a self-determination vote should be fixed after December 2013. In addition, they insisted that the Catalan President will send a letter to the Spanish Prime Minister in July asking for this vote to be organised. However, in Madrid, the reactions have been almost non-existent. The Spanish Justice Minister insisted that a referendum would be illegal since sovereignty is rooted into the Spanish people as a whole.