Barcelona face Napoli in first Champions League knockout round
Controversy in the final minutes of the Handball World Championship final, while La Liga sees two 2-2 draws for the Catalan sides
derby
FC Barcelona v RCD Espanyol: Derby delight! (4-1)
Luis Enrique was thrilled with his team’s performance in the 4-1 win over rivals Espanyol at the Camp Nou. FC Barcelona upped their game in the second half to claim a memorable win, and the manager was quick to highlight his players’ output, saying that the team played “at a very high level”. “We cannot get accustomed to what Leo Messi does. It is something unique and, here at the Camp Nou, it happens every 15 days”, admitted Barça’s coach. The manager also confirmed that Messi, along with Luis Suárez, Neymar Jr and Piqué, will begin their Christmas vacations early as they will not be featuring against Hércules.
Guardiola hoping for a natural reaction on his last Camp Nou match as Barça Manager
The current FC Barcelona Manager, Pep Guardiola, will be sitting on the Camp Nou bench for the very last time on Saturday, but believes the derby with Espanyol is far more important than his farewell.
Espanyol vs FC Barcelona: the woodwork made the Catalan derby end in a draw (1-1)
Espanyol and Barça shared the points in the season’s first Catalan derby after FC Barcelona hit the woodwork on three occasions. Cesc Fàbregas opened the scoring within the first quarter of an hour and Alvaro hit a late equaliser. The draw leaves Barça five points behind Real Madrid in second spot.