R.Madrid-FC Barcelona: Defeat at the Bernabéu (2-1)

R.Madrid-FC Barcelona: Defeat at the Bernabéu (2-1)

A goal from Ramos with eight minutes left saw Real Madrid take a rather grey Clasico after Messi had equalised Benzema’s opener in the first half 

Valdés was sent off after the final whistle after remonstrating with the ref who denied Barça an apparently clear late penalty when Adriano was brought down in the box

Barça suffered their second league defeat of the season in what was an atypical Clasico – with a four o’clock kick off, a sixteen point difference between the two teams and Barça indisputable leaders at the top of the league despite Tuesday’s Cup KO. Roura’s side weren’t at their very best, but finally lost in an especially cruel way – denied what looked to be a clear penalty in the final moments of the game after Real Madrid had scored at the start and the end of the game.

Madrid get early goal

Madrid played a near full strength defence, but included a number of fringe players in midfield as Mourinho chose to rest some of his big names, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, ahead of the Champions League game in Manchester on Tuesday, whilst Barça sent out their strongest possible starting 11.

Despite that, it was the hosts who started the brighter and Benzema opened the scoring after just 6 minutes, latching onto a great cross from the left by Morata to tap in at the far post. It was the perfect start for Madrid, who now sat back and absorbed the Barça possession.

Messi equaliser opens door to Barça dominance

As Barça strove to impose their rhythm and trademark style on the goal, Alves played a lovely through ball down the right for Messi, who cut inside Sergio Ramos and fired low past the keeper for the equaliser. The goal seemed to settle Barça’s nerves and they were looking increasingly comfortable on the ball, with Madrid forced to watch and wait as Messi and Iniesta at one point just passed the ball to each other in the middle of the park, with no Madrid player coming out to contest the ball. The possession was Barça’s now, but it was mostly in midfield and chances were hard to come by, with Messi seeing a shot blocked by Diego Lopez on the half hour and Morata headed into the side netting a few minutes later.

Ramos goal and  big penalty shout

Barça upped the intensity a notch after the break and Madrid replied by bringing on Cristiano Ronaldo just before the hour mark. The game began to get a bit feisty now, with the referee flourishing a number of yellow cards. Shrugging off Barça’s dominance of possession, Madrid’s confidence was growing with Cristiano’s entrance onto the pitch and he was soon testing Valdes with a dangerous free kick on 64 minutes, which the Barça keeper saved spectacularly.

Valdés was again the hero ten minutes later when he pushed aside a Morata effort when the Madrid youngster was one on one on the keeper, but he was unable to do anything on 82 minutes, when Sergio Ramos rose high to head home a corner and it could have been worse minutes later when Cristiano fired a free kick against the woodwork. With Alexis, Adriano and Tello now on, Barça pushed hard for an equaliser and were unlucky to be denied an apparently clear penalty when Adriano was brought down in the box – a decision that saw Iniesta shown a yellow and Valdes a red for dissent after the final whistle had been blown.

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Real Madrid v FC Barcelona: Did you know?

Barça are back at the Bernabeu - a ground they’ve not lost at in the league for four seasons, with three wins and a draw to their name

The team boast the largest ever distance between them and Real before a game at the Bernabeu – 16 points

Just a few days after their Spanish Cup meeting, Barça and Real Madrid face each other in a league clash at the Bernabeu on Saturday, with the visitors a daunting 16 points ahead in the competition – the biggest ever distance between the two ahead of a clash in Madrid.

There are plenty of other interesting facts and figures surrounding the game, for instance, did you know………?

- Whatever the result, Barça will come away from the Bernabeu with their biggest ever lead over Madrid following a game at the home of their great rivals – 13, 16 or 19 points.

- Barça are unbeaten in their last four league visits to the Bernabeu, with three wins and a draw.

- A win or a draw on Saturday would equal their best ever run of results away to Madrid set between 1969/70 and 1973/74.

- Barça have lost just three times in the league in the last 10 years at the Bernabeu.

- Barça have won a total of 17 times away to Real Madrid in the league and five of those wins have come in the last ten years.

- Jordi Roura was in the Barça team who went to the Bernabeu in the 1990/91 season, but he didn’t actually play.

- Madrid have gone 24 games without defeat at home (20 wins and 4 draws) following their 1-3 defeat by Barça in December 2011.

- Leo Messi has scored in three of Barça’s last four trips to the Bernabeu in the league.

- Messi broke the record of scoring in ten successive away games and has now scored in each of Barça’s last 15 league games.

- Xavi has provided the assist for three of Messi’s last four goals away to Madrid.

- Cristiano Ronaldo has scored four times in the last four meetings between the two teams and bagged 10 of Madrid’s 20 goals against Barça over the last two years.

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Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona: The Clásico Match Preview

All details about the League's Match at Santiago Bernabéu

FC Barcelona - Protagonistes il·lustres al Bernabéu

FC Barcelona - Iniesta confident that the team can pull through

FC Barcelona - Training session 27/02/2013

19 players named to the squad ahead of tomorrow's match at the Bernabéu

Xavi will miss the match due to injury, while Abidal, Montoya and Dos Santos were left out of the team for technical reasons 

Bartra and Alexis, both of whom didn't suit up against Madrid this Wednesday, return to the team

Jordi Roura has named a total of 19 players to FC Barcelona’s squad ahead of this Saturday’s showdown at the Bernabéu against Real Madrid (16.00, Canal+). Besides Xavi, who is injured, Abidal, Montoya and Dos Santos won’t feature for the Blaugrana. Therefore, Bartra and Alexis, both of whom didn’t suit up against Los Blancos on Wednesday, will travel with the team to the Spanish capital. On Saturday, before kick off, Roura will have to rule out one additional player. 

Training session in the rain 

This afternoon’s training session saw Leo Messi train with the team. The player missed yesterday’s training session due to fever. The session, the last before tomorrow’s match, was held on Field 2 of the Ciutat Esportiva. Xavi Hernández worked with the team physio.

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Real Madrid - Barcelona 02.03.2013

R.Madrid-FC Barcelona: Universal Declaration of beautiful football

Marvellous Barça performance against Madrid who went ahead within a minute but were overwhelmed by a superior Barça with goals from Alexis, Xavi and Cesc 

The team switched to a three man defence after 15 minutes and are now back on top of the league, though Madrid do have a game in hand

For the fourth season on the run, Barça have made a clear statement at the Bernabeu - that they still are the supreme reference point in the world of football. In a high voltage game, the team fought back from a first minute setback with ambition and majestic football. Three goals stamped their authority and ensured another historic win at the home of their great rivals achieved with their trademark style to retake top spot, though Madrid do have a game in hand.

It was the worst possible start for Guardiola's team when a defensive mix up handed Madrid a goal after just 24 seconds as Benzama fired past Valdes. From that moment, Madrid sat back in defence and conceded possession to the much bolder Barça, whilst attempting to maintain a high line. Casillas made a great stop from Messi on six minutes and then on the quarter hour,

Guardiola switched to a three man defence  - taking maximum risk, but ensuring total domination.

Alexis goal reward for domination

Barça now began to strangle the life out of their hosts, who only threatened sporadically on the counter and  although Ronaldo had the chance to make it 2-0 on 24 minutes, Busquets and Puyol were defending like giants at times. Then Messi slipped through the Madrid defence and released Alexis who unleashed a great shot past Casillas to draw Barça level. Tension began to rise now and by half time Barça had seen two cards – Alexis and Messi, both for dissent, though the team had committed just four fouls against Madrid's nine, with just a single yellow card for the hosts.


Cesc heads home lovely Alves cross

If Barça had been unlucky at the start of the first half, they made up for that at the beginning of the second, when on 53 minutes a Xavi shot ricocheted off Marcelo to wrong foot Casillas and put Barça in the lead. Madrid desperately tried to pressure Barça as they tried to play the ball out, which in turn gave the increasingly dangerous looking Barça more space to counter. Ronaldo again blew a chance which would have drawn the teams level just past the hour mark and almost immediately after, Cesc headed in at the far post after a great cross from Alves.


Footballing recital

With the scores at 1-3, Madrid got even rougher and the cards began to flow. The hosts were now playing with more heart than head, as they desperately played catch up behind a Barça team who were revelling in their exquisite one touch possession football, exemplified by a brilliant Iniesta action on 80 minutes. There were even chances to stretch the lead, but in the end, Barça's superiority was such as to leave no room for doubt: their beautiful football, the style that defines this team came out top for all the millions of viewers who watched as the Barça philosophy continues to stamp its mark, season after season on the footballing world.



Legendary Players and Moments at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
Cruyff Schuster, Stoichkov, Luis Enrique, Rivaldo, Kluivert, Ronaldo, Messi and Pique are some players who have played for Real Madrid Classic Stadium

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Barcelona vs Real Madrid 1:3 Copa del Rey

Barcelona vs Real Madrid 1:3 Copa del Rey

(J.Alba/Ronaldo,Ronaldo,Varane)

Barça’s Copa del Rey title defence is over after losing at home to a Real Madrid side that knew how to take its chances

Barça have gone out of the Copa del Rey after losing tonight’s semi final second leg at home to Real Madrid. Despite FCB getting a good result in the first leg at the Bernabéu (1-1), the all-whites, spurred on by an early penalty, were highly effective at the back and lethal up front. They made the most of their strongest points, mainly counter attacks and dead ball situations, to go three goals ahead, which meant the game was as good as over with most of the second half left to play. Jordi Alba pulled one back for Barça, but it was too little too late.

Penalty start for Madrid

Although things didn’t eventually turn out their way, Barça started the match confidently and dominantly. They only took a minute to get the first shot in, a Messi effort that spun wide following an excellent piece of play by Pedro. Barça were producing the combination football for which they are famed, but the threat was always going to be what Madrid might be able to produce on the counter. And that is just how the opening goal came about, with Piqué bringing down Cristiano Ronaldo in the area, and the Portuguese striker showing all the composure required of the occasion by expertly slotting the ensuing penalty past Pinto.

Gripping football

Despite the setback, Barça still looked recognisable, staying loyal to their patient waiting game and dominating the possession. But there was no doubt that Madrid’s goal had unsettled them, with the Catalans displaying a certain insecurity in attack along with some uncharacteristically nervy errors in defence. Meanwhile, Madrid looked to be gaining in confidence, and with their defensive line moved forward, the remainder of the half was a gripping tactical and athletic battle, with Madrid opting for a more direct approach, and Barça in particular looking to Alves and Pedro to work their magic down the right.

The tension was as high as it ever is when these two teams meet, and despite several interruptions and bookings (both FCB centre backs, Piqué and Puyol, were yellow carded), the football was still of the utmost quality. A Messi free kick skimmed just inches wide of the post and the half ended with Jordi Alba on the ground requiring medical attention, although fortunately he was able to continue.

Tragedy at the worst moment

The second half was as electric as the first. Coentrao came close after 49 minutes, and two minutes later Busquets had a chance at the other end. And Barça were on the attack again when Madrid sent a long ball flying up to other end of the park, and the home fans’ greatest fear was realised. It just wasn’t Barça’s night as far as luck was concerned. Puyol slipped before Di María and then Pinto was only able to parry the Argentinian’s shot into the feet of Cristiano, who made no mistake as he added his and Madrid’s second of the night. But not even that cruel blow disheartened Barça, who immediately went out in search of a way back into the match, but time and again they were denied by Madrid’s inspired Diego López in goal. There was still some hope, but it all faded to nothing when Varane rose to meet a corner and headed home the goal that made it 3-0, meaning that Barcelona now needed to score four goals to have any hope of qualifying.

Fans still on song

Despite the dreadful result for Barça’s interests, the Camp Nou never lost faith in its team, and the fans continued cheering them right until the end. Villa, Tello and Thiago were all sent on as FCB chased a miracle comeback. And despite the near impossibility of the task ahead of them, they never let their heads drop and in the 88th minute were finally rewarded by a Jordi Alba goal that ultimately only served to make the defeat that little bit easier to bear.

FC Barcelona - Jordi Roura: "We don't know how to sit back-- we'll be out for a win"

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FC Barcelona v Real Madrid: All about The Clásico's cup preview

Review news, photos, videos and more about The Clasico Cup preview at Camp Nou

FC Barcelona - Training session 24/02/2013

FC Barcelona - Cesc Fàbregas: "We have to be as effective as possible"

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Barça Toons, ready for The Clásico!

Barça Toons, ready for The Clásico!

FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid 26.Februar.2013

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FC Barcelona’s standout players against Sevilla FC: Villa, Tello and Messi

Barça turned the game around thanks to goals from Villa and Messi, and to Tello’s diabolical pace down the left wing

Botía gave Sevilla the lead on a cold winter night in Barcelona. The attendance at the Camp Nou was below 60,000 in a match that marked the halfway point from the defeat at the San Siro to the return leg of the Copa del Rey against Real Madrid.

Barça had the second half to mount a comeback and the substitutions from Jordi Roura proved to be spot on as the Blaugrana clawed their way back in to contention. Roura’s first sub was Tello for Alexis.

David Villa shows the way

The second half saw a much more incisive Barça on the attack. Within five minutes, Dani Alves’ cross found David Villa, who headed the ball into the back of the Sevilla goal. El Guaje has scored 7 goals in 726 minutes of play in the league this season (12 goals in all competitions), taking his goal-per-match average to one in every 104 minutes.

Tello, the supersub

Tello gave FC Barcelona the added depth and speed that it didn’t have in the first half. After the break, Tello was one of the main architects of Barça’s victory. The decision to sub Tello in for Alexis, however, was made out of precaution, as the Chilean picked up a knock on his left leg in the first half.

The numbers of the Masia graduate are simply spectacular: after 22 matches - 8 as a starter and 15 as a sub - Tello has scored 5 goals and given 5 assists, three of which were for Leo Messi.

Lionel Messi extends his hot streak

The Tello-Messi combo was crucial in tonight’s victory. The Argentine extended his goalscoring streak to 15 consecutive La Liga matches after his goal this evening on the 59th minute. Messi has netted 49 goals this season, 38 of them in the league.



Roura: “Our reaction was splendid”

Jordi Roura was very satisfied with his players' reaction after two tough blows this week: the defeat away to Milan and Sevilla’s go-ahead goal. “We can lose a match, but what’s truly important is how we react. We just played a very difficult match ... we had the game under control but they scored. Once again, this team dug deep and fought it out to win a very important league game. The reaction was splendid,” said the assistant manager. 

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FC Barcelona - Sevilla: (2-1)

Goals from Villa and Messi at the start of the second half gave Barça a confidence boosting win after Botia had given Seville a first half lead

Barça gave themselves a great confidence booster after the disappointment of San Siro last Wednesday, when they beat Seville 2-1 at a freezing Camp Nou tonight. It was a hard won win, with a brilliant 15 minutes after the break crowned by second half strikes from Villa and Messi, which turned the scores around after Botia had given the visitors a first half lead.

In the end, Barça took three more points in the chase for the league title and gave themselves a good result ahead of the upcoming games against Madrid and Milan, whilst for Emery it was another defeat, leaving him without a win in 15 matches against Barça.

Six changes to starting line up

Barça made six changes from the team who started against Milan, with Montoya in at left back and Villa starting up front for the first time since his illness. Iniesta and Messi were both in the team though and the two created the first chance of the game, only for the Spanish international to fail to score when he was one on one with the Seville keeper.

0-1 at half time

Barça controlled possession in their usual style, but they were lacking a bit of sparkle in the box and found it hard to find a way through Emery’s well-constructed defensive wall. In contrast, the visitors scored with their first real chance, when ex- Barça man Botia headed home a right wing cross from Coke. It was a harsh punishment for a Barça side who were clearly the better team.

Immediate reaction after the break

The Barça fans gave their players a rousing welcome when they came out for the second half and the team reacted quickly. Tello was on for Alexis, which allowed Villa to move into the centre forward role and gave Alves free rein down the right wing. It was the Brazilian who provided the cross on 51 minutes for Villa to head home the equaliser, as Barça were rewarded for a sharper and more intense start to the half.

The Tello-Messi connection

Soon Barça were ahead after Thiago, Messi and Tello exchanged passes for the World Number One to fire home for yet another goal as the team enjoyed their best period of the game. Emery threw on Negredo as Seville chased the draw and the Spanish forward had a great chance, only for his shot to beat Valdes, but come back off the bar.

Roura reacted by bringing on Busquets for Villa to try and close the game down and the team settled to ensure the win and give themselves a great confidence boost ahead of Tuesday’s Cup semi-final against Real Madrid

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Barcelona vs Sevilla Pre-Match preview's

Team look to bounce back against Seville

Camp Nou, 22.00: Barça host Seville in another key game – this time in the league 

Éric Abidal given medical okay and could be Barça’s best winter signing

Barça are in the middle of a series of key games and following Wednesday’s painful defeat in Europe, they host Seville tonight on what threatens to be a freezing cold evening at the Camp Nou and although they have a comfortable looking twelve point lead in La Liga built on an immaculate first half to the season, Barça will want to get back to winning ways for a morale boost ahead of this week’s double header against Real Madrid.

The first good news for Barça came with the announcement on Thursday that Eric Abidal had been given the medical all clear to play, which means that Jordi Roura will only be missing Adriano for the game, with David Villa, who missed the trip to San Siro, again available.

Seville bouncing back under Emery

For their part, Seville come into the game in the middle of a good run, with manager Unai Emery – who brought his previous side Spartak Moscow to the Camp Nou earlier this season - having lost just once since he took over at the Sanchez Pijuan in January and his team now sitting in tenth spot, though still without an away win since September. The ex-Valencia boss will be without Palop, Cicinho and Spahic for the game.

It’s also a big week for Seville, who as well as scrabbling up the league table, are looking for Spanish Cup success with a semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, after going down 2-1 in the first leg.

Since Unai Emery took over at Seville, his team have taken 10 from a possible 15 points 

Seville are without a win on the road for the last five months 

Unai Emery took over at Seville on January 14th and in the month and a half since then, the team have taken 10 out of a possible 15 points, with just one defeat – the 4-1 beating at the Bernabeu – as well as ensuring qualification for the Spanish Cup semi-final, where they are 2-1 down to Atletico Madrid after the first leg at the Vicente Calderon. It’s a record that is in stark contrast to Michel’s final period at the club, when they took just four points from six games, a run that saw him sacked after less than a year in the job.

Emery yet to beat Barça

Emery’s record against Barça with Almeria, Valencia and Spartak Moscow is pretty undistinguished for such a top coach, with nine defeats and five draws over the last five seasons.

Contrasting tactics

Those results hide a reality which is slightly different though, as on a number of occasions, Emery’s teams have caused Barça plenty of problems. At Valencia, his tactics of playing down the flanks with players such as Jordi Alba, Mathieu and Pablo Hernández took him close to victory on more than one occasion and they were consistently one of the toughest visitors to the Camp Nou when Barça played under Guardiola.

The last two games Emery has led a team against Barça were with Spartak, where he used a contrasting approach, with less wing play and a more conservative approach to the games. That nearly worked in the game at the Camp Nou in the Champions League group stage, when Spartak went down 3-2, but the Russians proved less of a threat at home, when they lost 0-3.

22 players in session ahead of Seville game

The squad trained this Friday afternoon, with only the injured Adriano, who worked apart from the rest of the players, not available for tomorrow’s game 

The players will be back at the Camp Nou for a final training session ahead of the Seville clash at 12.30 on Saturday 

The squad continued preparations for Saturday night’s game against Seville on Friday evening when Jordi Roura led a training session with 22 players, including Eric Abidal, who was given the medical all clear on Thursday.

Adriano, who is recovering from a hamstring injury he picked up in the first half of the game against Granada and missed the trip to Milan in midweek, trained apart from the rest of the rest of the squad

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Piqué: “We are FC Barcelona and we have to fight back''

After losing at the San Siro, the full back said that Barça need to improve ahead of the return leg at the Camp Nou 

“We are Fútbol Club Barcelona and we have to fight back.” This was Gerard Piqué’s call to arms ahead of the return leg of the Champions League round of 16 on March 12 against Milan.

The Catalan is disappointed with the team’s performance and he noted that “we had the match under control in the first half but we didn’t play well in the second. We fell apart after they scored the opener, it was out of control. We have to improve and learn from this.”

Lastly, Piqué reiterated that Milan are a dangerous side and that his teammates never underestimated the Italian side. “It looked as though they were coming into the match as victims but we know this club, the history they have ... there are no excuses, the pitch, the referee, nothing, we have to work hard to fight back,” said Piqué.


Dani Alves

“We have to be better competitors. We didn’t play a good game, we didn’t create goalscoring chances and that’s what you have to do to win.”

“It’s not that we played terribly after the first goal. We didn’t play well in general and that’s largely due to how well our rival played. We have to improve.”

“This is a difficult result. We have to fight back, go for the [return] game and work hard.”

Andrés Iniesta

“I don’t think this game was lost because of small details, I think we lacked freshness, we didn’t create chances, and they were well organised. This is the Champions League.”

“We have to think about the return leg and make sure it turns out differently, we have to try and score from the first minute.”

Cesc Fàbregas

“We weren’t on our game physically, they were strong and it hurt us.”

“We’re Barça and we have to play at the highest level, we simply didn’t play a good match.”

Sergio Busquets:

“We’re very eager for the return leg so that we can turn this tie around.”

“It’s time to fight back. When you lose you always have to think about what went wrong and we have to prepare for the match as best we can.”

Carles Puyol

“The worst thing about it all is the result, neither side really created that many chances.”

“It’s time to mount a comeback in front of our fans.”

“They were more aggressive, we have to improve in the return leg. We have to have confidence in this team, we can’t give up. We’re going to play at home in front of our fans, we aren’t going to give up.”

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AC Milan - FC Barcelona: (2-0)

Two second half goals from Boateng and Muntari have left Barça with a mountain to climb in the second leg

The clash of titans at the San Siro has ended with AC Milan celebrating their 2-0 win over FC Barcelona as if they had won the title. First a goal from Boateng, following a blatantly obvious handball by Zapata, and then another from Muntari stunned a Barça side that failed to perform when it mattered most. The FCB forwards failed to create a single clear-cut opportunity and in defence allowed Milan to take practically the only two real chances they had in the entire game. In a nutshell, things went exactly to plan for Allegri and his team.

But the Camp Nou is the Camp Nou. And on March 12, FC Barcelona will be looking for yet another magnificent night in front of their own fans to turn around a tie that currently sees them in a very tricky situation indeed.

First half without chances

The early stages of the game were reminiscent of the 0-0 draw a year ago. AC Milan’s priority was keeping things tight at the back and they stubbornly refused to make things easy for FC Barcelona, who may have been able to pass the ball around the first three quarters of the park, but could find absolutely no way through the ten-man defence positioned in front of them. With Milan doing what they had to do, and doing it with alarming effectiveness, the first half ended without either side having come particularly close to breaking a very tight deadlock.

The nearest the game came to seeing a goal was when Boateng met the ball from a corner, but he sent the ball well wide, and as the teams went in at half time, everything was still to play for at the San Siro.

Boateng edges Milan ahead

There no major changes after the break. Barça still had the possession, but still couldn’t find a way through. And AC Milan continued focusing on defence until they finally got their first real chance of the match - and turned into a goal. But a mightily controversial goal it was, for Zapata quite clearly struck the balls with his hands before it fell at the feet of Boateng, who struck home amidst protests from the Barça players. But the referee was hearing none of it, and merely booked Piqué for protesting.

Muntari makes it two

Having gone a goal down, Barça pushed forward in search of an equaliser, but this just wasn’t going to be their night. In their second encroachment on the FCB goal, the Italians made it two, with Muntari ultimately taking advantage of a disorientated Barça defence to slam the ball home. In the final minutes, with Puyol off with a head injury, Barça threw everything they had at their hosts, and even took the gamble of sending Piqué up to play in attack. But it wasn’t to be. Instead, it all remains to be decided at the Camp Nou, where the very best of Barça’s magic will be required in order to keep the European dream alive.

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Milan vs FC Barcelona: Champions League's Match

               All details about the Champions League Match at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium

The Last Matches at San Siro Stadium

FC Barcelona will return to San Siro on Wednesday to play the first leg of the knockout stages of the Champions League. You can remember the last preceding between Milan and Barça

20 players in Barça squad for Milan trip

Xavi Hernández fit and in Jordi Roura’s squad. Adriano, hamstring, and Villa miss out on the Milan trip 

Jordi Roura has called up 20 players for the first leg of the Champions League last 16 tie against AC Milan on Wednesday. The players will travel to Italy on Tuesday and train in Milan on Tuesday evening.

The squad trained with the official Champions League ball this Monday and Roura was able to check out the fitness of Xavi Hernández and David Villa, who worked with the rest of the group. Xavi has been given the medical okay to travel, whilst Roura and Villa agreed that he would stay in Barcelona to continue training to build up his strength following his renal colic attack last week.

Adriano Correia, who has a problem with his right hamstring, worked with the physiotherapist and will also miss out on Wednesday’s game, whilst Barça B youngster Oier Olazábal also took part in the session and is included in the 20-man squad.

Milan vs FC Barcelona: Champions League's Match Preview

All details about the Champions League Match at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium

- The Milan-Barcelona motorway: Players who have made the journey from one team to the other

- Xavi Hernández: "Milan is a great team, with seven European Cups”

- Bojan on the UCL showdown with Barça: “It will be complicated, we're playing against the best team in the world”

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Dani Alves: “Playing next to Messi gives you a lot of tranquility"

The Brazilian defender, who played the entire 90 minutes, highlighted the effort put in by his teammates to pull out the hard-fought win at Los Cármenes stadium 

Another match and another win for Barça. The Blaugrana fought back from a goal down at Los Cármenes stadium against Granada thanks to two strikes from Messi. After the match, Dani Alves said, “playing next to Messi gives you a lot of tranquility. It makes it easier to get things done.” The Brazilian added: “the fact that we packed the midfield allowed us to free up a wide defender and I took advantage of the space to go forward.”

Barça’s advantage at the top of the table is gigantic but Alves preferred to take a more cautions stance when asked about Barça's lead: “we have an important advantage but there’s still a lot left.” When asked about the upcoming Champions League match against Milan, he said, “coming into the match against Milan after getting a positive result is a good incentive for the away leg of the fixture.”

Fireproof Busquets

Another standout player from tonight’s match was Sergio Busquets. The Barça midfielder was nearly perfect on defence and he was key in Barça’s come-from-behind victory. “They defended the whole match and it was up to us to put pressure on them after they scored the opener. In the second half we kept the pace up and we were rewarded,” said Busquets. When asked about Adriano’s injury, he said that “we still don’t know anything about Adriano, when we arrive in Barcelona we’ll have a better idea. It’s an important loss to the team.” On Messi, Busquets said, “he improves on a daily basis, he’s the best in the world.”

Busquets, like Dani Alves, is now focused on the match against Milan: “we are very excited to play in the Champions League again. Our intention is to get a good result ahead of the return leg.”

Here are the statements made by Cesc and Jordi Alba after this evening’s match:

Cesc Fàbregas:

“We deserved more in the first half, we played a great game.”

“Scoring early in the second half was key.”

“After we equalised we continued to play with the same mentality and the second goal gave us a bit of tranquility.”

“Granada play very well. They are a team that leave you very little space when you attack.”

Jordi Alba:

“They’ve signed fantastic players and that was evident on the pitch.”

“Messi decided the match.”

“301 goals for Messi ... whatever anyone says will come up short.”

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Leo Messi: 301 goals for FC Barcelona

The 25-year-old Argentinian broke the 300-goal barrier with FC Barcelona. His goal per game average stands at 0.82 

Messi has scored 206 in La Liga, 56 in the Champions League, 24 in the Copa del Rey, 10 in the Spanish Super Cup, 4 in the Club World Cup and 1 European Super Cup

No record is safe when Leo Messi is on the pitch. The Argentinian took his all-time official goal tally as a Blaugrana to 301 goals. The 25-year-old only needed 366 matches to reach this mark. His goal-per-game average stands at 0.86. He scored his first on May 1 of 2005 at the Camp Nou against Albacete, his 300th and 301st goals were scored this Saturday against Granada. In addition, he’s netted in 14 consecutive La Liga matches.

48 goals this season

Barça’s number 10 has scored in every competition he’s featured in this season. In La Liga his goal-per-game average stands at 0.86, and in the Champions League it’s 0.75. The Argentinian is improving on the numbers he put up last season. He scored his 100th official goal for Barça on the 17th of January of 2010 (against Sevilla), his 200th, on the 1st of November of 2011 (away to Viktoria Plzen), and his 300th, this evening. This season he’s scored 37 goals in La Liga, and 48 in all competitions.

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Jordi Roura Focused on Granada

The FCB manager has said that “we are in comfortable position in the league but that should be no excuse for any kind of relaxation” 

“We’re into the nice part of the season when in a few days there are lots of things at stake. In terms of fitness and morale this is a good moment for us” commented Roura

After two weeks with no midweek fixture, Barça go to Granada on Saturday for the first in a marathon series of five games in 14 days, including massive matches with Milan in Europe, Madrid in the cup. But Jordi Roura insisted in his Friday press conference that all attention is currently focused on the forthcoming Liga fixture with Granada. “We are fully focused on Granada because the league is a basic target for us. A positive result is always an important step forward … We are in comfortable position in the league but that should be no excuse for any kind of relaxation”.

Asked whether he might rest players ahead of Milan, the manager explained that “we have a lot of options as far as putting a team together is concerned. We’re not playing Milan until Wednesday, which gives us plenty of time to recover … We’re into the nice part of the season when in a few days there are lots of things at stake. In terms of fitness and morale this is a good moment for us”.

Granada and Lucas Alcaraz

Barça go to Granada after failing to win either of their last two away games at Real Sociedad and Valencia. So Roura believes it is very important to win at Los Cármenes, but knows that under Lucas Alcaraz “they have managed to turn things around.” Since the arrival of their new manager, the Andalusians have won at Madrid and Deportivo la Coruña. “They’re moving up. And we know all about Lucas Alcaraz’s teams, they’re always very solid, difficult, strong … They’re doing well now and will want to impose their style”. Asked about former FCB man Nolito, the coach said “we know him and all about his danger”.

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Squad players for Granada

Barça will be taking every available player apart from Dos Santos to Saturday’s game at Los Cármenes 

The absentees are Villa, Abidal and Xavi, although the latter was able to train normally on Friday

The Barça management have named 19 players from the trip to Andalusia on Saturday to face Granada. That means places for everyone apart from Jonathan dos Santos, who was declared fit only on Thursday. Jordi Roura is unable to take any of David Villa, Éric Abidal or Xavi Hernández.

Xavi progressing and UEFA control

The big story this morning at the Ciutat Esportiva was the return of Xavi to training with the rest of the squad. Meanwhile David Villa, who was released from hospital today, worked out in the gym.

The session ended with a UEFA doping control, a normal procedure for all teams through to the last sixteen of the Champions League. All of Valdés, Fàbregas, Alexis, Thiago, Mascherano, Bartra, Sergio, Pedro, Jordi Alba and Song were required to give samples.

Illustrious visit

A special guest today at Sant Joan Despí was Gaby Milito, who wore the FCB colours from 2007 to 2011. The Argentinian retired from football a few months ago.

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Xavi Hernández: “The team’s good enough to win and keep on winning”

“We accept we’re favourites in the Champions League but Milan is a great European team” 

The midfielder, who is currently recovering from a right thigh strain, analyses the situation of the team in La Liga and the upcoming ties in the Champions League and Copa del Rey 

Xavi Hernández insists that the squad is working flat out in training despite the absence of first team manager Tito Vilanova, with whom he’s in frequent contact by mobile phone, and stresses that the players are 100% committed to the work being carried out by assistant coach Jordi Roura. “We’re missing Tito but everything’s carrying on the same”. He, speaking in an interview with Catalan sports, 'Sport',  daily believes that the next few matches will be crucial, in the league as well as in the Champions League and the Copa del Rey. “We accept we are the big favourites for the Champions League. Having so much expected of us is a lot of pressure but at the same time we accept the challenge”.

However, Xavi is not underestimating the threat of the Italian side: “We have to compete. Milan isn’t just any old team. They have players that are strong defensively – tough and with a lot of talent”. He points to the likes of El Shaarawy, Bojan and Boateng to emphasise that Milan “is a great team, with seven European Cups”.

As for the Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Madrid, Xavi explains: “Looking at the first leg, it’s obvious that we should have scored one or two more goals. Against Real Madrid, if you don’t kill off the game, they end up coming back”. The tie will be decided now in the Camp Nou: “We’ve got 90 minutes at home and we hope to build on the 1-1 draw in the Santiago Bernabéu”.

Meanwhile, the team is taking nothing for granted in the league: “We’ve got ourselves into a good position but we can’t put aside the league”. However, he admits that the team is playing well and is “good enough to win and keep on winning”. “We’re feeling very comfortable and we’re enjoying ourselves. What’s most important is the team we have, the staff, the assistants, this generation of players and the good atmosphere. You can win or lose but you have to compete until the end”.

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Lionel Messi has Granada, Sevilla and Celta in his sights

Lionel Messi has Granada, Sevilla and Celta in his sightsThese are the only three teams Messi has failed to score against so far in this league campaignOnce again, Leo Messi is enjoying an outstanding season of goals galore! Just in the league, he has chalked up 35 goals in a mere 23 appearances and with the season little over halfway through, he has scored against every team but three: Granada,Sevilla and Celta. On Saturday, Barça will travel down to the Estadio Los Cármenes to take on Granada having already beaten the Andalus outfit 2-0 in the Camp Nou, thanks to goals from Xavi and Borja (o.g.).
A record breaking opponentDespite not scoring against Granada earlier in the season, the fact remains that the Andaluses have played a significant part in the Argentine’s progress. On 20th March 2012, Messi scored a hat trick against them to break the long-standing record (more than 50 years) of César Rodríguez of 232 Barça goals.
It will be the second visit to the Estadio Los Cármenes for the four times winner of the Golden Ball. The last was on 25th October 2011 and Barça won 0-1 thanks to a goal from Xavi.

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Adriano Correia: “I’m feeling really good this season despite the small injuries”

The Brazilian fullback reveals that he’s feeling as good as he’s ever done in his career and hopes to “make it to the end of the season in as good shape as possible” 

“Although we’ve got a good lead over Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid, we can’t take our foot off the accelerator because we know they’ll be there” 

“I’ve told the Club that my wish is to stay at Barça”

One of Adriano Correia’s main objectives this season is to win as many trophies as possible. On a personal level he told us: “I’m feeling really good this season despite the small injuries”. Now that he’s put those injuries behind him he’s looking to “make it to the end of the season in as good shape as possible”. Barça is in a particularly strong position in La Liga with a 12-point lead over second-placed Atlético Madrid. However, Adriano believes there’s no room for complacency:Although we’ve got a good lead over Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid, we can’t take our foot off the accelerator because we know they’ll be there”. He reveals that he is currently discussing a contract extension with the Club. “My idea is to continue. I’m not thinking about leaving and I hope my agent and the Club can come to an agreement. I’ve told the Club that my wish is to stay at Barça”.

Fixture pileup

Barça has a testing few weeks ahead featuring Saturday’s league match against Granada, the first leg of the Champions League tie against AC Milan, the league match against Sevilla, the return leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Madrid and then another league match against Real Madrid. ”We have to take it one step at a time and just focus on the next big match, which is Saturday against Granada. It’s a game that can get complicated if you’re not fully committed. It’s a difficult place to go. Last season it was difficult and now it’ll be even more so as they’ve won their last two matches. Playing two important games so close together is always difficult”.

Competition for places

Adriano, who has the ability to play in a number of different positions, strongly believes that that the team-wide competition for places is one of the factors that makes Barça a great team: “Alves and Alba make it very difficult (for me). There’s a lot of competition and you have to be 100% ready all the time. When it’s your turn to play it’s also time to show what you can do”. He’s particularly happy that fellow South American Alexis Sánchez has got back on the score sheet: “We’re very happy for him and let’s hope he keeps on scoring goals to help the team”. He also has words of encouragement for David Villa and wishes him a speedy return to top form when he recovers from his current illness.

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