FC Barcelona – Sports Africa

Barca beat Real Sociedad on penalties in Super Cup semis

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CORDOBA, Spain, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) — FC Barcelona keeper Marc Andre Ter Stegen was the hero as his side sneaked into the final of the Spanish Super Cup after beating Real Sociedad on penalties on Wednesday night.

With the score 1-1 after 120 minutes, Ter Stegen saved penalties from Jon Bautista and Mikel Oyarzabal and then won the mind game with Willian Jose, who hit his penalty against the post as Barca crept through 3-2.

Without the injured Lionel Messi, Barca lacked cohesion and were lucky to arrive at the shootout at all after Adnan Januzaj’s free-kick bounced off the woodwork late in extra-time.

The first half saw Real Sociedad mix up their game, alternately pressing high up the field and being content to sit deep and use their pace on the break. Alexander Isak twice went close with a header just over the bar and another effort well blocked by Ter Stegen in his side’s best chance of the half, before Barca began to take more control.

Martin Braithwaite did well to control before firing at Alex Remiro before playing a major role in De Jong’s opener.

The striker held the ball up before feeding it to Antoine Griezmann whose cross was well met by the midfielder, who nodded past Remiro in the 39th minute. De Jong then turned from hero to villain when his handball in the 51st minute allowed Oyarzabal to level from the penalty spot and the remaining period of normal time saw few chances.

Both Griezmann and Januzaj went close to winning the game in the extra 30 minutes, but Alex Remiro held firm, while Ter Stegen’s reflexes in the shootout saved Barca. The second semifinal between Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao will be played in Malaga on Thursday night. The final will be in Seville on Sunday.

Barca to face Real Sociedad in first semifinal of Spanish Supercup

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MADRID, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) — FC Barcelona face Real Sociedad in the first semifinal of the Spanish Supercup on Wednesday.

Although the game was due to be played in Saudi Arabia, it will now be played in the Archangel Stadium in Cordoba, with the winner to meet either Athletic Club Bilbao or Real Madrid at the Estadio de la Cartuja in Seville on Sunday.

Barcelona goes into the game in probably their best form of the season after three consecutive away wins have lifted them to third place in La Liga while showing that Leo Messi is returning to his best form and developing an understanding with 18-year-old Pedri.

Those two are likely to start on Wednesday, along with Ousmane Dembele, who has also been producing his best form since joining Barca in the last few games.

Barca coach Ronald Koeman is still without long-term injuries Sergi Roberto, Ansu Fati, and Philippe Coutinho. Still, there is a chance central defender Ronald Araujo will be available after suffering a slight muscle problem in the warm-up before Saturday’s 4-0 in Granada.

If Araujo is fit, he could return to the starting 11, although Koeman could choose to rest him in case his side reaches Sunday’s final. Real Sociedad travel to Cordoba in arguably their worst moment of the campaign and with just one win in their last 11 games.

Saturday’s 3-2 defeat away to Sevilla showed that Imanol Alguacil’s side still poses a threat in attack with Alexander Isak, Portu, Adnan Janujaz, William Jose and Mikel Oyarzabal.

Jose and Janujaz didn’t start at the weekend, and depending on Imanol’s priorities, both could be in the starting line-up against Barca. Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 2-1 in the Camp Nou Stadium when the two sides met in La Liga shortly before Christmas.

The first half saw Barca play some flowing football, while ‘la Real’ dominated the second 45 minutes, and a repeat of that game would mean an entertaining semifinal on Wednesday.

Koeman confirms Coutinho will miss three months after knee operation

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MADRID, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) — FC Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman said on Saturday that he expects to be without attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho for around three months as a result of the knee injury he suffered in his side’s game at home to Eibar before the New Year.

Coutinho underwent an operation on the meniscus ligament of his left knee on Saturday.

Speaking to the press ahead of his side’s league game in Huesca on Sunday, Koeman said he didn’t expect the Brazilian to be back before the end of March.

“It’s unlucky because we have so many important players who are injured and Philippe will be about three months out,” explained the Barca coach.

Coutinho joins an injury list which includes Gerard Pique, Sergi Roberto and Ansu Fati, and even though he had lost his place in the starting 11 in recent games, the injury reduces Koeman’s options to rotate his squad in an intense season.

“He (Coutinho) always has been an important player and he will be important, but now he has to recover… We are having some problems in attack and I will have to see how we can solve Philippe’s absence,” commented Koeman.

He will at least be able to welcome Leo Messi back into his starting 11 in Huesca after the Argentinean was allowed extra time in his homeland to recover from a slight ankle problem and missed the 1-1 draw at home to Eibar.

Meanwhile, Pedri will probably continue to occupy the spot of Coutinho, while Ousmane Dembele is likely to start after his goal against Eibar and Jordi Alba is available again after suspension and Sergio Busquets could replace Miralem Pjanic in central midfield.

Fati injury takes sheen off Barca win as Atletico go top in Spain

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MADRID, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — Lionel Messi came off the substitutes’ bench to replace the injured Ansu Fati and help FC Barcelona to a 5-2 win at home to Real Betis on Saturday afternoon.

The Argentinian scored twice (once from the penalty spot), and helped Antoine Griezmann net Barca’s second of the game and Sergi Roberto to score their fourth.

The first half ended 1-1 after Ousmane Dembele put Barca ahead before Antonio Sanabria equalized for Betis after Griezmann had seen a penalty saved by Claudio Bravo.

The Frenchman put Barca back in front early in the second half and their task became much easier on the hour when Betis defender Aissa Mendi was sent off after handling Dembele’s goal-bound shot.

Messi scored his side’s second penalty and although Loren Moron gave Betis hope, Sergi Roberto and Pedro assured Barca’s first win in five league games, although a serious knee injury suffered by Ansu Fati took a lot of the sheen off the triumph.

Atletico Madrid ended Cadiz’s 100 percent start to the season and scored the first goals the recently promoted side have conceded on the road, as they won 4-0 in the Wanda Metropolitano stadium on Saturday night.

Joao Felix continued his fine recent form with a seventh minute header from a Marcos Llorente cross and rounded off the scoring with his second of the game in the 89th minute, with a goal that took Atletico top of the table on goal difference.

Llorente celebrated his call up to the Spain squad in the 22nd minute when he outfought Alex Fernandez to win the ball and then scored with his right foot. Luis Suarez made it 3-0 seven minutes after the break after VAR awarded a goal which had originally been ruled offside.

Lucas Ocampos’ 59th minute penalty after a foul he had drawn gave Sevilla a 1-0 win at home to Osasuna and ended a run of three consecutive defeats for Julen Lopetegui’s side.Huesca was still looking for its first win of the season after a 1-1 draw at home to Eibar, who took a first half lead thanks to Esteban Burgos after Huesca had been on top.

Rafa Mir assured a point for Huesca with a close range header midway through the second half after a cross from Pedro Lopez.Elche and Celta opened the round of matches with a 1-1 draw on Friday nigh

Analysis: Four things we learned in Spain’s Matchday 6

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MADRID, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) — Real Sociedad went to the top of La Liga after the sixth round of games which saw both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid crash to defeat. Here are some things we learned this weekend in Spain:

Real Madrid’s problems come home to roost

All of Real Madrid’s issues came home to roost at the same time as they lost 1-0 at home to recently promoted Cadiz on Saturday. Zinedine Zidane’s side have, at times, lacked ideas in attack this season. Apart from a dipping shot from Karim Benzema, they failed to create anything of note against a well-drilled rival.

Meanwhile, injury to Sergio Ramos and the lack of a specialist right back, with Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Odriozola injured, coupled with another poor display from Marcelo, left Madrid looking vulnerable at the back. With just a week until they play FC Barcelona, Zidane has work to do.

Barca have their own problems

Under normal circumstances, Barca fans would usually be rubbing their hands in anticipation at facing Real Madrid in the Camp Nou next weekend, but their own form has also given reason to worry. Barca lost 1-0 to Getafe after a game where they were unlucky not to take the lead in the first half, but failed completely to respond after Jaime Mata’s match-winning penalty.

Barca again looked sluggish with the ball, while Ousmane Dembele lost possession time after time, Griezmann failed to make an impact and missed the best chance of the game, and even Leo Messi was invisible in the second half.

The fact that teenage signing Pedri was Barca’s best player should be a big worry for Ronald Koeman and the coach’s initial impact now seems to have worn off.

Change at the top

While Real Madrid and Barca were both out of form, it allowed other teams enjoy their moment in the sun, and Real Sociedad took the moment perfectly with a 3-0 win away to Betis to move to the top of the table. Betis will argue about a couple of big VAR decisions which went against them, but Real Sociedad looked to have rediscovered the form they produced before the coronavirus lockdown in March. Imanol’s side were solid in defense, led excellently by Mikel Merino in midfield and have a mixture of pace and power in attack.

Parejo plays the key role to defeat his former club

Villarreal moved into second place after a 2-1 win over Valencia thanks to a winning goal from Dani Parejo, which must have rubbed salt into the wounds of Valencia coach Javi Gracia. Gracia was close to resigning a week ago in protest at his club’s failure to make any signings this summer when key players, including Ferran Torres, Rodrigo Moreno and (of course) Parejo were moved on to help cut the wage bill.

Last week saw Valencia midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia also strongly criticize the club, accusing the directors of misleading both himself and the coach. Kondogbia was also missing in Villarreal, while Gracia was left to sit in the dugout, no doubt reflecting on the cruelties of fate.

No fans in Camp Nou for Barca’s Champions League debut

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MADRID, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) — The Catalan regional government on Thursday ruled out FC Barcelona playing its Champions League home games with a reduced number of supporters in the stands of the Camp Nou Stadium.

Barcelona had produced a safety protocol with the hope of allowing 1,000 fans to attend Tuesday’s Champions League debut at home to Ferencvaros in the 98,000 capacity ground, but the proposal was rejected by the Catalan region’s health minister, Alba Verges and health secretary, Dr. Josep Maria Argimon, who said he “would not be in favor at this moment.”

Wednesday saw the Catalan regional authority announce the closure of all bars and restaurants in Catalonia from Friday in an attempt to halt the spread of the coronavirus and Argimon said it would be “difficult to explain” those measures if football fans were then allowed to attend matches.

“It would not be the image that I would like to give” he concluded on radio station RAC1. Verges also ruled out allowing even a small number into the stadium.

“It is very difficult for us to think about allowing in public in the current situation. We can’t say it will be like this for the whole season, but it is impossible for October 20th,” she explained.

Elsewhere Real Sociedad president, Jokin Aperribay informed on Wednesday that the San Sebastian based club has asked the Basque regional authority for permission to allow 1,000 fans to see the club’s Europa League tie at home to Napoli on October 29.

“We will scrupulously follow any protocols that the authorities indicate,” he explained in a press conference.

Fati gets off to a flier, while Suarez scores twice in Atletico debut

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MADRID, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) — FC Barcelona enjoyed a comfortable 4-0 win at home to Villarreal to give Ronald Koeman a winning start to his reign as coach in a game where 18-year-old Ansu Fati once again showed he is the natural successor to Leo Messi.

Messi was the center of attention at the start of the game after his attempt to leave the club over the summer and Friday’s criticism of the decision to sell Luis Suarez to Atletico Madrid, but Fati was the hero of the game, scoring in the 15th and 19th minute and then winning a penalty to allow Messi to add a third in a thrilling first half performance.

The game was over as a contest in the 45th minute after Pau Torres put the ball into his own net to make it 4-0 and the second half was an anti-climax, although it allowed Ousmane Dembele to return after injury and new signings Pedri, Miralem Pjanic and Francisco Trincao to make their Barca debuts.

Earlier in the day Suarez scored twice and provided an assist on his Atletico Madrid debut, just four days after arriving from Barcelona as Atletico began their campaign with an impressive 6-1 victory at home to Granada.

The Uruguayan came into the game as a 65th minute substitute with the score already 3-0 thanks to goals from Diego Costa, Angel Correa and the impressive Joao Felix. Suarez began his cameo with a pass to set up Marcos Llorente to make it 4-0 before heading home Atletico’s fifth and then hitting their sixth after Jorge Molina had scored a consolation goal for Granada who had won all of their games before travelling to Madrid.

Sevilla came back from a goal down to get their season underway with a 3-1 win away to Cadiz.

Julen Lopetegui’s side who were slightly unlucky to lose to Bayern Munich in the European Supercup in midweek, fell behind to Salvi Sanchez’s opener for the recently promoted side, but hit back strongly in the last 25 minutes to take all three points thanks to goals from Luuk de Jong, Munir and Ivan Rakitic (another player to leave Barca this summer).

Midfielder Unai Lopez scored twice as Athletic Club Bilbao won 2-1 away to Eibar.

Unai opened the scoring with a carefully placed shot following a swift break in the 40th minute and, although Kike Garcia equalized for Eibar three minutes into the second half, the midfielder popped up again to finish the best move of the game three minutes from time to deservedly send the points back to Bilbao.

Levante won the first game in Osasuna’s remodeled El Sadar Stadium thanks to goals from Gonzalo Melero, Roger Marti and Jose Luis Morales to overturn Roberto Torres’ opener for Osasuna.

Valladolid and Celta drew 1-1 with Sergi Guardiola’s 66th minute penalty cancelling out Iago Aspas’ 44th minute strike for Celta.

Real Madrid won 3-2 away to Betis on Saturday after a disastrous few minutes from Betis defender Emerson.

Emerson scored an own goal in the 48th minute of the game to make it 2-2 after goals from Aissa Mandi and William Carvalho overturned Fede Valverde’s 14th minute opener for Real Madrid.

The defender was then shown a direct red card in the 67th minute for bringing down Luka Jovic, when the striker looked to be through on goal to leave Betis with 10 men.

Sergio Ramos won the game for Madrid with an 82nd minute penalty awarded through VAR after Marc Bartra was judged to have handled a ball from Borja Mayoral, although nobody had appealed for the foul.

Real Sociedad ruined Elche’s return to the top flight as they won 3-0 in Elche’s Martin Valero stadium with second half goals from Portu, Adnan Januzaj and Roberto Lopez.

Valencia were held 1-1 at home to recently promoted Huesca in a game the visiting side probably deserved to win, but had to settle for Dimitrio Siovas’ header cancelling out Daniel Wass’ fortunate opener for the home side. The first game of the day saw Alaves draw 0-0 at home to Getafe in a game where the first half was more open than the second.

Koeman: I understand Messi’s frustration

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MADRID, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) — FC Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman on Saturday told the press that he understood Leo Messi’s frustration at seeing his striking partner and friend Luis Suarez leave the club this week.

Messi on Friday published a ‘goodbye’ letter to Suarez, who has joined Atletico Madrid in which he accused Barca of kicking Suarez out of the club and adding that “nothing surprised” him anymore.

When asked about Messi’s latest criticism of the club after his failed attempt to leave this summer, Koeman chose to be diplomatic.

“It’s normal for me to be sad when a friend leaves the club, but the important thing is how he (Messi) is training and playing.”

“He has been an example; he is upset, but he has come back working hard and he will show that in matches,” commented Koeman, who made it clear he was not the only person responsible for behind Suarez’s departure.

“I look like the bad guy and I’m not.

I told him that maybe he wasn’t going to have minutes, but that if he stayed I would count on him.

It was not just my decision, but also the club’s,” he commented.

The coach was also asked about new signings and refused to rule out moves for wither Memphis Depay or Lautaro Martinez, but he commented fans would “have to wait.”

“We are looking for players to improve the team, but the economic issue is complicated.”

“What I want may not be possible. I knew that and I accept it,” explained Koeman

Messi lashes out at Barca for ‘throwing out’ Luis Suarez

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MADRID, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) — FC Barcelona striker Leo Messi on Friday launched a stinging criticism of the club’s Board of Directors for their treatment of Luis Suarez.

Messi’s fresh attack comes after he was forced into a U-turn following his request to leave Barca this summer, but issued a communique accusing club President, Josep Maria Bartomeu of going back on his promise to allow him to leave.

This Friday saw Messi publish a ‘goodbye’ letter of Suarez, his friend and strike partner for the past six seasons, who this week signed for Atletico Madrid after scoring 198 goals for the club.

In his letter, published on social media, Messi said that Suarez had been “thrown out” by FC Barcelona.

“You deserved a farewell befitting who you are: one of the most important players in the history of the club, achieving great things for the team and on an individual level,” commented Messi on social media.

“You did not deserve for them to throw you out like they did.”

“But the truth is that at this stage nothing surprises me anymore.”

“It will be strange to see you in another shirt and even stranger to come up against you on the pitch.”

“I had already begun to imagine it but today I went into the dressing room and it truly dawned on me.”

“It’s going to be so difficult not to continue to share every day with you both on the pitch and away from it,” the Argentinean wrote.

Messi’s criticism comes just two days before Barca kick off their La Liga campaign with a home game against Villarreal on Sunday night and will not help his relationship with new coach Ronald Koeman, who was the person who called Suarez to tell him he was no longer needed.

Four things to look out for in Spain’s Match Day 3

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MADRID, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) — Matchday 3 of La Liga sees FC Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla and Elche play their first games of the season, while Real Madrid has another difficult away game.

Here are some things to look out for in Spain this weekend.

1. Koeman’s Barcelona debut at home to Villarreal

It has been such a complicated summer for FC Barcelona that it is almost hard to know where to begin.

Ronald Koeman takes over a side that is now without Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal and Luis Suarez, who joined Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.

Lionel Messi will clearly be the focus of attention after his summer request to leave the club, but Antoine Griezmann has to step up after Suarez’s departure and Frenkie de Jong has to do the same in a side now without Vidal and Rakitic.

Philippe Coutinho also has a lot to prove after his loan spell at Bayern, while questions remain over what style of play Koeman will look to impose.

And all of this against a rival that in Gerard Moreno and Paco Alcacer has two of the best strikers in La Liga.

Will it be a happy start for Koeman, or will he face problems from the very start?

2. Another tough game for Real Madrid

Real Madrid controlled most of the ball in its league debut away to Real Sociedad a week ago, but failed to create enough chances to win the game, raising questions about what was also the club’s main problem last season.

Opponent Real Betis has started the campaign well under Manuel Pellegrini and the former Real Madrid coach looks to have added steel to a side which flattered to deceive last season.

Zidane has a doubt over Martin Odegaard after confusion surrounding a COVID-19 test, but the coach’s main problem will be how to get the best out of an attack likely to still be without Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio, who are struggling with fitness issues.

Madrid is likely to control most of the game, but Zidane needs wide forwards Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr to turn control into goals.

3. Difficult debut for Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid’s pre-season hasn’t been a bed of roses with coach Diego Simeone testing positive for COVID-19 and central defender Jose Gimenez also returning a positive test at the start of the week to complicate preparations for their league debut at home to an impressive Granada.

Atletico got a huge boost with Suarez’s arrival this week, but the Uruguayan won’t be fit to start on Sunday, while Alvaro Morata has now left to join Juventus.

Granada has won all four of its competitive matches this season and has a lot in common with Atletico in that they combine tough defensive organization with a high rate of effectiveness from set pieces.

If Atletico is below its best, it could start by dropping points.

4. Early crisis in the Basque Country?

Eibar has started the campaign with two defeats, while Athletic Bilbao lost in Granada on the opening day of the season.

However, with fans unhappy at Athletic’s disappointing end to last campaign, question marks over coach Gaizka Garitano’s defensive instincts and a lack of goals in attack, a defeat in the Ipurua Stadium would only increase the discontent surrounding a club that has so far failed to make any summer signings.

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