FC Barcelona 5-0 Villarreal (Matchday 1 La Liga 2011/2012)

Barcelona opened up their La Liga campaign with a festival of goals, dominating a sorry Villarreal side 5-0 at Camp Nou.

Two goals by Lionel Messi and a goal apiece from Thiago Alcantara, Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez saw the champions exit the pitch to a standing ovation as Pep Guardiola's men successfully trialled a 3-4-3 formation.

Barca's Spanish starlet Thiago put his side a goal up with a fantastic solo effort on 25 minutes.

The youth team product made a fantastic run towards goal after receiving the ball from Fabregas, and homed in on the area before slowing down to send the ball into the right corner of the goal.

Just as the first half was set to end, Fabregas doubled the lead with a finish inside the box after a wonderful through ball from Messi.

Things only got worse for Villarreal after the interval as Sanchez added his side's third goal with a classy finish two minutes into the half.

Darting down the right wing on the break, the former Udinese star touched the ball into the box, set his sight on goal and placed a careful effort into the left side of the net as the floodgates opened.

Messi got on the scoresheet with a goal similar to that of Fabregas, latching onto Andres Iniesta's pass, skipping by Lopez with his left foot before finishing with his right into the open goal.

The diminutive frontman bagged his second, and his side's fifth, 15 minutes from time with a finish in front of goal after a combination with Thiago ended with Messi slotting home from close range.

Barca earned all three points with ease and next travel to face Real Sociedad on September 11 in their next league fixture, while Villarreal will host Sevilla on the same day.

Goals

Thiago Alcântara 25' (assist by Fàbregas)	1 - 0
Fàbregas 45' (assist by L. Messi)	2 - 0
A. Sánchez 47' (assist by Thiago Alcântara)	3 - 0
L. Messi 52' (assist by Iniesta)	4 - 0
L. Messi 75' (assist by Thiago Alcântara)	5 - 0

Lineups

1	Valdés
22	E. Abidal
14	J. Mascherano	34'
4	Fàbregas	35' 45'
8	Iniesta
15	S. Keita
16	Busquets
11	Thiago Alcântara	25'
10	L. Messi	52' 75'
9	A. Sánchez	47' 48'
17	Pedro
Coach: Josep Guardiola

13	Diego López
5	Marchena	88'
2	G. Rodríguez
12	C. Zapata	21'
4	M. Musacchio
3	Joan Oriol
10	Cani
20	Borja Valero
21	Soriano
22	G. Rossi
7	Nilmar
Coach: Juan Garrido

Substitutes

6	Xavi for Iniesta 56'
7	Villa for Pedro 67'
28	J. Dos Santos for Fàbregas 70'
32	Bartra
13	Pinto
30	Sergi Roberto
24	Fontàs

17	Camuñas for Borja Valero 50'
19	Senna for Nilmar 56'
18	W. Mubarak for Cani 59'	84'
9	M. Rubén
31	Diego Marino
11	H. Pérez
15	Catalá

Additional info

Referee:

J. Turienzo Álvarez

Assistants:

S. Castañer
Luis Marco Martínez

Fourth official:

Óscar Marín Álvarez

FC Barcelona as Winner UEFA Super Cup 2011

FC Barcelona 2-0 FC Porto
The Spanish champions claimed the trophy for the fourth time thanks to goals from Lionel Messi and Cesc Fàbregas against nine-man Porto.

Lionel Messi and Cesc Fàbregas scored late in either half as FC Barcelona defeated nine-man FC Porto at Stade Louis II to win the UEFA Super Cup for the second time in three editions and a fourth overall.

Fresh from becoming the first recipient of the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, Messi was the epitome of coolness on a sweltering night in Monaco as he seized upon Fredy Guarín's back pass, jinked his way past Helton and rolled in the 39th-minute opener.

The Portuguese champions were still in the contest until the 86th minute, when Rolando collected a second yellow card and Porto's first red. Barça wasted little time capitalising, substitute Fàbregas finishing delightfully before Guarín was dismissed in the final minute for a sliding challenge on Javier Mascherano.

Both coaches had talked up the fixture and chances came and went during a lively opening spell. Hulk had already curled a free-kick over from a promising position when Víctor Valdés dived to his left to tip behind an angled shot from João Moutinho.

The first true opportunity fell to Pedro Rodríguez in the tenth minute. So clinical when scoring a delightful goal in the UEFA Champions League final, the Spanish international could only loft an effort on to the roof of the Porto net when free in the area after an Andrés Iniesta pass had been deflected into his path via the heel of Jorge Fucile.

Hulk was the next to flash a shot across goal − earning due applause for a series of speedy step-overs in the build-up − and Helton then took no chances with a rising Xavi Hernández shot from outside the box.

As the half wore on, so did Barcelona's influence, the pressure telling when Guarín, boxed in in his own half, prodded a hopeful ball backwards that was gratefully collected by the unmarked Messi. The rest was inevitable.

Porto had little choice but to come out and attack after the break, yet save for a deflected João Moutinho effort and a fierce long-range shot from Guarín, rarely troubled a Barça defence shorn of regular centre-backs Carles Puyol and Gerard Piqué. Instead, there was more space for Josep Guardiola's side to expolit on the counter and from one end-to-end foray David Villa could have made the game safe but his low shot lacked punch and Helton smothered at his near post.

Two minutes later, as the hour approached, the goalkeeper charged off his line to deny Pedro as the striker attempted to bring a Messi pass, which had dissected the Dragons' defence, under control. The real drama was saved for the closing stages, Fàbregas − eight minutes after replacing Pedro − keeping his cool as Porto lost theirs to control a Messi chip on his chest and fire emphatically into the net with a first-time volley.

It would have been 3-0 had Helton not denied man of the match Iniesta in added time, leaving Porto to ponder a third UEFA Super Cup defeat since 2003.

Barcelona as Winner Spanish Super Cup 2011

Barcelona as Winner Spanish Super Cup 2011
Final
Aggr. Barcelona 5 - 4 Real Madrid
Sun 14/08/11 Real Madrid 2 - 2 Barcelona
Wed 17/08/11 Barcelona 3 - 2 Real Madrid