espanyol

Barça dominate in Cornellà but fail to find the net as the home side snatch a winner three minutes from the end. But there’s still the second leg at Camp Nou to come…

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.

In their final home game of the season on Sunday, FC Barcelona treated the fans to an enthralling afternoon. With the team inching ever closer to wrapping up the 2015/16 La Liga title and facing cross-town rivals RCDEspanyol in a late-season derby  certified as a must-win  for both sides, the blaugrana eleven gave the Camp Nou crowd an hour and a half of total football. The defence swarmed, the passing was crisp, and the trident was lethal. The only thing standing between FCB and a new piece of hardware is next Saturday's tête-à-tête with Granada, who avoided relegation on Sunday with a rout of their own in a 4–1 thumping of Sevilla.

A brilliant goal from Leo Messi hands the blaugranes the win that they needed to claim their 23rd Spanish League title. A year ago, Atlético Madrid won the league title with a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou and tonight Barça returned the favour and brought the trophy back home with a 0-1 win at the Vicente Calderón, as they took the first leg of their possible treble with a game to spare.As the second half ticked away, Real Madrid went one up against Espanyol, meaning Barça needed a goal to take the title this weekend and on 65 minutes, Alba worked the ball inside to Messi who played a one-two with Pedro and tucked it home with his left peg through a forest of legs. A brilliant goal fit for La Liga Champions! One down, two to go, as the Spanish Cup and the Champions League final await!

FC Barcelona won the first ever edition of the Catalan Super Cup at the Estadi Montilivi in Girona this Wednesday evening after the game with RCD Espanyol ended 1-1 after 90 minutes. Luis Enrique’s side dominated from start to finish but were unable to add to a Gerard Piqué header after 15 minutes. Espanyol pulled back through Arbilla shortly after the break, and with no further scoring the game went to penalties. The shootout went Barça’s way, as it also had against the same side in the last two finals of the Copa Catalunya.

FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol meet in the first ever edition of the Catalan Super Cup (9.30pm CET) in the Estadi Montilivi in Girona (north-eastern Catalonia). The tournament has been created as a complement to the Copa Catalunya and features Catalonia’s two top flight clubs, while lower division teams will continue to battle for the former trophy (along with the Barça and Espanyol reserve teams). The meeting between the two biggest clubs in Catalonia comes after neither side managed to collect three points at the weekend in the Spanish League. Barça were beaten 3-1 in the Clasico with Real Madrid, while Espanyol played out a dull 0-0 draw at home to Deportivo. Thirteen first team players have been included in the Barça squad, including Suárez and Adriano.

Barça took three vital points from an intense Barcelona derby at the Cornellà- El Prat stadium against RCD Espanyol thanks to a second half penalty from Leo Messi. It was a typically tense and physical derby game  - made even more difficult by the strong wind at the ground throughout the game. Both Messi and Neymar blew chances to give Barça an early lead and after those early wobbles, Espanyol tightened up and it took a Messi penalty after Javi Lopez handled in the box to put the visitors ahead late on.

FC Barcelona host Celta at the Camp Nou four days after winning at Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu. Sunday’s 4-3 win in the clásico has put Barça back in contention in an incredibly tight championship race. Just one point separates Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona, and any setback could leave any of these teams in a very difficult position indeed. There are just nine games to go, and every one of them is absolutely crucial. It may sound like a cliché, but they all need to be treated like finals. The legendary Luis Enrique, who played for FC Barcelona for eight seasons and managed Barça B team for three, is back for the first time as a visitor. Gerardo Martino has dropped Oier, Montoya, Afellay and Xavi, the latter being rested after starting five games in a row.

The Catalan Government’s Advisory Council for the National Transition (CATN), formed of renowned independent experts, emphasised that Catalonia’s independence from Spain would not represent breaking their affective and historical bounds. Furthermore, they insisted on the need to continue and even to increase cooperation “based on a new principle of equality and mutual respect between both parties”. They have suggested different ways to cooperate, through different structures. For instance, they proposed the creation of the ‘Iberian Council’ bringing together Catalonia and Spain, as well as Portugal and Andorra if they wished to, which would mirror the Nordic Council or the Benelux. Furthermore, the CATN issued three other reports, including a detailed analysis of Catalonia’s tax agency.

Barça and Espanyol will face off this Friday in the Barcelona derby of the Spanish League, a match played on an atypical, festive day in Catalonia. The Blaugrana come into the match with high morale after defeating Real Madrid and Celta in the previous matches. FC Barcelona are league leaders with 10 victories and 1 draw after 11 matches. Espanyol come into the derby with one victory from their last six matches. Furthermore, it will be the first time that Barça and Espanyol Managers, Tata Martino and Javier Aguirre respectively, face each other.

72 hours after the Clásico between Barça and Real Madrid and before the Catalan derby against Espanyol (to be played on Friday), the Spanish League leaders visit Celta de Vigo’s Balaídos Stadium with high spirits after claiming victory over their arch-rivals (2-1)  but without Gerard Piqué. Tata Martino has decided to continue with his rotation policy for this Tuesday evening’s match and Gerard Piqué has not travelled to Vigo in order to rest. This means that players like Montoya, Puyol, Sergi Roberto or Tello could feature in the starting line-up.

A great performance from Barça, with goals from Alexis and Pedro won the derby at Espanyol’s Cornellà-El Prat Stadium. The Champions just keep on winning! Barça reached 97 points on Sunday evening after a clear 0-2 win over city neighbours Espanyol and with one game to go that 100-point margin is still in sight.

The XX performed last week at the Poble Espanyol in Barcelona. The band from London played songs from their hit albums ‘xx’ and ‘Coexist’. Besides their great performance, Barcelona-based producer John Talabot also put on a great show with his first album ‘ƒIN’. Talabot’s music can be labeled as melodious techno, with a dark and creepy atmosphere. The Catalan producer played for less than an hour after which the stage was rebuilt for The XX.

Two goals from Messi set up the fightback against Betis to leave Barça just two points off the Spanish League title. Tito Vilanova’s side came back from1-2 down at the break to beat Betis 4-2. Villa and the superb Messi, who had started on the bench – turned the result round to beat a brave Betis. The win means Barça are 11 points ahead of second place Real Madrid, with just four games remaining, Mourinho’s side play against Malaga on Wednesday in a game brought forward because of their involvement in the Spanish Cup final and if they fail to win, Barça will be champions.

Primavera Sound, Sónar or Cruïlla BCN. These are some of the music festivals that the city of Barcelona hosts. However, according to Marcelo Rosero, director of the Salsa & Latin Jazz Festival, the city “lacked high quality salsa and latin jazz music”. This new festival is taking place in a square at Poble Espanyol (Barcelona). Rosero has compared the programme of the festival with a restaurant saying that it has an “exquisite menu” and a “buffet where all is jewellery”. The festival will have “top-level bands” and its “musical acts are very important internationally”, Rosero has concluded.