Player Ratings: Barcelona 2-1 Malaga

BARCELONAValdes: 6 - Made a fine save from Duda's free kick in the first half but otherwise had very little to do except to pick the ball out of his net.Dani Alves: 6.5 - Showed what Barcelona had been missing with his runs down the right hand side and was frequently involved in the final third, setting up the second goal.Puyol: 6 - There was little threat to...

Barcelona 2-1 Malaga

Barcelona 2-1 Malaga - Lineups/StatsLa Liga - Fixtures/ResultsBarcelona welcomed Dani Alves back into the starting lineup, while Pedro also earned a start. Malaga, meanwhile, were pinning their scoring hopes upon Victor Obinna, who lead the line.As expected, Barca began the match dominating possession, but it was Victor Valdes who was called into action first,...

Player Ratings: VfB Stuttgart vs FC Barcelona 1-1

STUTTGARTLehmann: 3 - A loon. He had nothing to do in the first half other than saving Messi's shot, which he only barely succeeded in doing. While he did well to save Ibrahimovic's first shot (just before the equaliser) in the second half, he totally missed a cross later on, and nearly took Puyol's head off with a silly flying kick.Celozzi: 5 - Didn't make...

VfB Stuttgart vs FC Barcelona 1-1

Stuttgart 1-1 Barcelona - Line-Up/StatsChampions League - Fixtures/ResultsStuttgart almost recorded a sensational victory over European champions Barcelona in the Champions League, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic equalised Cacau's opener to share the spoils ahead of the round of 16 second leg.The line-ups contained few surprises, with Cacau continuing alongside Pavel...

We Have To Raise Our Game

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has warned his players they will have to step it up a notch if they expect to achieve a positive result in Germany against Stuttgart on Tuesday night.Barca travel to the Mercedes-Benz Arena for the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 clash on the back of a comprehensive 4-0 over Racing, however Guardiola claims...

Player Ratings: Barcelona 4-0 Racing Santander

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Barcelona 4-0 Racing Santander

Barcelona coasted to victory against Racing Santander in the Camp Nou to restore their five point lead at the top of the Primera Division table. Andres Iniesta, Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez all scored in the first half, while Thiago added to the scoreline late on.Bojan Krkic was given a rare start up front for the hosts, but it was a mainstay of...

Guardiola Defends Henry

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has declared that La Liga is now entering it's "decisive phase" of the season and that "now, one pays for errors".In comments made to the press and reported by Marca, the Barca coach believes that if his team fails in the next few matches, they will "lose their opportunities to be champions". "In La Liga, our direct rivals...

La Liga Preview: Barcelona – Racing Santander

BeatableDefeats for Barcelona are rare, particularly in La Primera Division, but Pep Guardiola’s side would suffer their first loss of a record breaking season against Atletico Madrid last weekend. The entertaining 2-1 reverse signalled the end of a record breaking 21-match unbeaten sequence for la Blaugrana.Tormented by injury and suspension problems...

Joan Laporta: Always Unpredictable

Barcelona president Joan Laporta spoke to the press ahead of tonight’s crucial clash against Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon, and commented on the unpredictable nature of the fixture in the past few seasons.The Blaugrana have won only one of their last seven league matches against Los Colchoneros and in 2008/09 they were defeated 4-3 in a classic...

Nearing £60 Million Deal For Fabregas

Barcelona are reportedly closing in on the £60 million capture of Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas.The Sunday Mirror claims that sources within the Camp Nou are confident of securing the 22-year-old's signature this summer, with the player collecting a cool £160,000 per week wages, in addition to a £9m signing-on fee.Fabregas left Barcelona as a 17-year-old...

Player Ratings: Atletico Madrid 2-1 Barcelona

Atletico MadridDavid De Gea - 7: Made a number of saves and some very good stops to keep his side in front.Tomas Ujfalusi - 6.5: Caught out once or twice but overall it was a very composed performance. Great at surging forward to take the pressure off at the back and put his team back on the front foot.Alvaro Dominguez - 7: Solid performance, some vital...

Atletico Madrid 2 - 1 Barcelona

Atletico Madrid v Barcelona - Lineups/StatisticsLa Liga - Fixtures/Results Atletico Madrid held on for long periods of the game as they managed to keep their noses in front of Barcelona and secure a vital La Liga win. Atletico Madrid went into the game knowing that a win could move them well clear of the bottom of the table. For Barcelona, the chance...

Yaya Toure Out For Two Weeks

Yaya Toure will be out for between ten to fifteen days, after picking up an injury against Getafe. According to Marca, Toure has suffered a break in the abductor muscle in his left leg. He had to be withdrawn during the second half of the match. Barcelona will face a defensive crisis for next week's game against Atletico Madrid, with Dani Alves, Rafael Marquez and Gerard Pique also unavailable. ...

Alves Out For Three Weeks

Barcelona will have to do without the services of Daniel Alves for three weeks, after he aggravated his injury in the warm-up before the match against Getafe. According to Marca, Alves was due to start the game, but suffered further pain during the pre-match warm up. He has been suffering from a fibrilar break in the right leg.Alves will miss league games against Atletico Madrid and Racing Santander, as well as the Champions League...

Player Ratings: Barcelona 2-1 Getafe

BarcelonaVictor Valdes - 7: Another solid performance, wasn't required for anything spectacular, and didn't make any mistakes.Maxwell - 7: An encouraging performance on the opposite flank to his usual role, combining especially well with Messi.Gerard Pique - 3: Paid the price for an irresponsible lunge early on, that left his side at a disadvantage for...

Barcelona 2-1 Getafe

Nine-man Barcelona came out 2-1 winners against Getafe at the Camp Nou through goals from Lionel Messi and Xavi. Roberto Soldado scored a late penalty, but it was no more than a consolation goal.Getafe were afforded no time to settle into the game as Barcelona attacked from the off. The crowd's excitement was audible when Messi picked up the ball on the...

Guardiola: Henry Is Still A Few Steps Ahead Of Pedro

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has admitted he believes youngster Pedro still has a lot of work to do before he reaches the level of Thierry Henry.Speaking to Sport ahead of his side's match with Getafe tomorrow evening, Guardiola said, “He's still quite a few steps ahead of Pedro,” adding, “I have great faith in Titi [Henry] and I hope he will recover ...

Dani Alves Returns To Training

Barcelona right-back Dani Alves trained this Friday along with his team-mates after spending much of the past week doing individual work to recover from a muscle injury. As such, Sport reports, the Brazilian could be at coach Pep Guardiola's disposal to take on Getafe at the Camp Nou on Saturday after missing last week's match at Sporting de Gijon.Left-back...

Fiorentina Sign Keirrison On Loan

Fiorentina have secured the loan services of Barcelona striker Keirrison, the Italian club have confirmed on their official website.The Brazilian frontman, who cost Barcelona €15 million, had signed for Benfica on loan during the summer, but was looking for a new club...