ivan rakitic

Goals from Rakitic, Suárez and Messi produce an important win in Andalusia that put the pressure on Real Madrid, the Spanish League leaders. A workmanlike performance from Barça against relegation-threatened Granada resulted in the perfect response to last week’s setback at home to Málaga. A thoroughly deserved 3-1 win keeps the Catalans well in the hunt for the Liga title. The only downside to a fine performance from Barça was a yellow card for Neymar, which means he’ll be suspended against Rayo Vallecano.

Two goals from the Uruguayan have set things up perfectly for FC Barcelona for the Champions League last-16-tie’s second leg at the Camp Nou on March 18 by repeating last year’s feat of winning at the Etihad. Kun Agüero pulled one goal back for Manchester City. This Tuesday’s game ended 2-1, with Joe Hart giving Man City a glimmer of hope by saving a Leo Messi penalty in the final minute of injury time. However, a 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium, and playing such spectacular football, is nothing less than magnificent and the result leaves Barça with every right to feel confident about their chances of making it into the quarter finals.

The Argentinean scored his second consecutive hat-trick at Deportivo’s Riazor stadium in a 4-0 win – Sidnei putting the ball in his own net for the fourth. Riazor was silenced by yet another stunning display from Leo Messi. Just like he did the last time he visited the Deportivo stadium, the Argentinean found the net three times as Barça collected three hugely important points to maintain the pressure on Spanish league leaders Real Madrid, who won at Getafe earlier in the day.

Pedro in the first minute, Luis Suárez with his first goal in the Spanish League, Piqué with a header and Messi with a late brace scored the goals as FC Barcelona defeated Córdoba 5-0. The win means the Catalans will spend Christmas just one point behind leaders Real Madrid, who don’t play this weekend.Saturday afternoon got off to the perfect start when Barça took the lead in the very first move of the game. Ivan Rakitic chipped the ball forward and Pedro met it with a wonderful piece of control before slamming home the opener. The rest of the half saw Barça in complete control and having plenty of chances to extend their lead. Barça couldn’t have wished for a better end to 2014, and now it’s time for the players to get a well-earned rest over the festive season.

The Catalans dominated from start to finish, but the goals just didn’t want to come. Barça were by far the better side, but Getafe limited themselves to neutralising that superiority and got away with a point. With Neymar absent through injury and his place in the Barça frontline occupied by Pedro, the game got off to a quiet start, with neither side doing anything of note for the first quarter of an hour. The second half saw Barça continue to pile on the pressure. Messi produced two fine free kicks, but one hit the woodwork and the other was saved by Guaita. This a game that Luis Enrique will be ruing as a valuable opportunity lost, takng into account Barça’s 23 goal attempts compared to just 4 for a Getafe.

At 8.45 PM CET, all eyes will be on the Camp Nou as top place in Champions League Group F is settled. A huge night awaits us this Wednesday evening. Barça are at home to Paris Saint-Germain. In other words, Messi, Neymar, Suárez, Iniesta, Xavi and co are up against a similarly star-studded side featuring the likes of Ibrahimovic, Cavani, Lavezzi, Thiago Silva and David Luiz. A fascinating winner-takes-all match with top spot in the Champions League group to play for. On the last day of the group stage, only three points will do if the Catalans want to topple the French club’s two-point lead.

The Catalans eased to 4-0 victory in Wednesday evening's Spanish Cup round of 16 first leg at Division 2B side Huesca. Rakitic, Iniesta, Pedro and Rafinha provided the goals that set things up perfectly for the return at the Camp Nou on December 16. Luis Enrique opted for an eleven made up largely of fringe players in Wednesday’s cup opener, and the whole team shone as they made their superiority tell against their lower division opponent. Although most pundits had expected the Asturian to play Masip in goal, it was Ter Stegen who finally got the nod, while the game was also used to give Andrés Iniesta his first run-out after a 40-day absence through injury.

It was a gripping encounter from start to finish. All that was missing was the goal. But just when it looked like Sunday's game between Barça and Valencia was heading for a 0-0 draw, in the third and final minute of injury time, Sergio Busquets produced a winner to secure three massive points for the Catalans. Either side could have won a high tempo match at Mestalla stadium, with Suárez being denied a second half goal for apparent offside.The only change with respect to the previous Liga game was Mascherano coming in for Rakitic, with Luis Enrique taking the gamble on playing the Argentinian alongside fellow defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets. The first half produced plenty of good quality football but little in the way of genuine chances for either side.The second half saw a change of script, with Valencia more willing to take the initiative.

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.

First half scores from Barça’s lethal one-two punch of Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr gave the home side everything they would need, as a near total dominance of the ball kept Ajax safely at bay. In a match featuring a pair of sides with long, intertwined histories and similar playing styles, it was FC Barcelona who showed they were master of their domain. Despite a common past, this was just the third meeting ever between the clubs. By the end of the game, however, there was little doubt that Barça were the better squad. The result leaves Barça comfortably in second place in Group F with six points. Ajax are third with two points and Apoel are fourth with one point. For the moment, Paris Sant-Germain lead the group with seven points.

It’s no final, but Tuesday night’s game with Ajax is still of crucial importance for FC Barcelona following the 3-2 defeat in Paris a fortnight ago. Barça need three points at the Camp Nou to stay in contention for top spot in Group F of the Champions League. And there is the dangerous distraction of the visit to the Santiago Bernabéu for Saturday’s Liga match against Real Madrid, although Luis Enrique insisted in his pre-match conference that “right now the only important game is the one with Ajax.” There will be four days to think about Real Madrid after that, but the Champions League is the main priority for the moment.

Barça saw off a brave Eibar at the Camp Nou, with second half goals from Xavi, Neymar and Messi to confirm their top spot in the Spanish League and give the fans plenty of optimism a week before the trip to the Bernabeu to play against Real Madrid. With Ratikic and Busquets in the stands, Luis Enrique pushed Macherano into midfield alongside Xavi and Sergio Roberto, making his first league start, with Mathieu partnering Piqué in the heart of defence. Up front, Messi was accompanied by Pedro and Neymar , with Sandro and Munir coming on late in the second half. There were no surprises in the way the teams set about the game though, with Barça dominating possession and constantly probing the disciplined Basque defence.

First half goals from Messi and Neymar kept Barça top of the Spanish League table, but with Rayo down to ten men for the last half hour, it could and perhaps should have been a bigger win for the league leaders. But they maintained their unbeaten record and have still to concede a league goal. Luis Enrique rang the changes in his selection for the game, with Piqué and Bartra starting at the heart of defence and Mathieu filling in at left back, with Mascherano and Jordi Alba both benched. In the middle, Xavi was handed another start alongside Iniesta and Busquets, while Munir got the nod over Pedro up front. Barça looked none the worse for the rotations though, as they began brightly against a Rayo team who made it clear from the off that they were prepared to go toe to toe with the league leaders.

A disappointing night in Paris has ended with Barça's unbeaten record coming to an end. 3-2 down with half an hour to go, Barça gave it everything in search of a late equaliser, but PSG hung on to take the three points FC Barcelona have lost for the first time this season. Luis Enrique said before the game that he believed PSG are serious candidates for the Champions League title, and he was proved right. David Luiz put the home side ahead, but Messi responded within seconds. Then goals from Verratti and Matuidi either side of half-time put the French champions back in command, and although Neymar pulled one back for Barça, an intense final half hour produced no more goals.

Barça finish tough seven-day stretch with a rout. Sixth consecutive shutout to start the season ties FC Barcelona record. Luis Enrique probably won’t mind being wrong this time. After all, FC Barcelona’s head coach spent the last two days repeatedly warning his players that Saturday’s opponent would be no cakewalk. He said Granada were tough defensively and dangerous on the counterattack. And while the opening minutes were slow to develop once again for Barça’s feared attack, the opposing defence slowly wilted and eventually collapsed.