Barcelona - NouCamp Faithful

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Espanyol 0 - 2 Barcelona : Neymar, Lionel Messi fire Barcelona to derby win

Neymar and Lionel Messi were on target as Barcelona eased their way to a 2-0 win at local rivals Espanyol to increase their grip on top spot in the Primera Division.

Brazilian Neymar struck after 16 minutes put Barcelona on their way to victory and then Messi scored from a tight angle nine minutes later to double the visitors' lead.

The only negative for Luis Enrique's side was Jordi Alba getting sent off in the second half for earning two successive bookings, but the league leaders continued playing as if it was they who had an extra man, and could have extended their lead.

Espanyol defender Hector Moreno was then also sent off in injury time to complete a miserable afternoon for the hosts.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 6 - 0 Getafe : Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez star in rout

Barcelona were at their brilliant best on Tuesday night as they romped to a 6-0 win over Getafe.

Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi both scored twice with Neymar also finding the net and Xavi rolling back the years with a virtuoso performance and impressive strike.

The result takes Barca five points clear at the top of the Primera Division ahead of closest rivals Real Madrid's clash against Alermia on Wednesday.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Cordoba 0 - 8 Barcelona : Luis Suarez hits hat trick as Barcelona score eight to relegate Cordoba

Luis Suarez scored his first hat trick for Barcelona and Lionel Messi bagged a brace as the Catalans thrashed Cordoba 8-0 away from home, relegating the Andalusian side in the process.

The hosts did well to survive Barca's early onslaught but eventually fell behind to a thumping drive from Ivan Rakitic in the 42nd minute, and Suarez doubled the advantage on the stroke of half-time.

Messi stretched the visitors' lead further by scoring in the first minute of the second half, and then Suarez struck again, before Gerard Pique, Messi and Neymar each scored, the latter from the penalty spot, with Suarez grabbing his third in the 88th minute.

Barca stay top of the Primera Division, while Cordoba mathematically seal their immediate return to the Segunda Division.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 3 - 0 Bayern Munich : Lionel Messi puts in magical display

1st Leg

Lionel Messi's late brace ensured it was a miserable return to the Camp Nou for Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola as his former team ran out 3-0 winners in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal.

The former Barcelona boss, who won 14 titles in four years with the Catalan giants, saw the architect of so many of his greatest triumphs put him on the brink of a Champions League exit at the penultimate stage for the second successive year.

Going into the game, Guardiola admitted Messi was "just too good" to be stopped and so it proved as the Argentinian ace, who was quiet for long periods, burst into life to give Luis Enrique's side the advantage before Neymar twisted the knife to make it 3-0 at the death.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 2 - 0 Real Sociedad : Barcelona beat Real Sociedad thanks to goals from Neymar and Pedro

Barcelona moved a step closer to winning the Primera Division title after beating Real Sociedad 2-0 thanks to a header from Neymar and a stunning overhead kick from Pedro in the second half.

Luis Enrique's side could not offer the same barnstorming performance that saw them romp to victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday as David Moyes' side produced another impressive defensive display, but the visitors' resistance wilted after the break.

And after Real Madrid were held to a 2-2 home draw by Valencia later on Saturday, Barca stand four points clear with two rounds of games to go.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Bayern Munich 3 - 2 Barcelona : Barcelona reach Champions League final despite loss

2nd Leg (Barcelona wins 5-3 on agg)

Barcelona booked their place in the Champions League final with a 5-3 aggregate win over Bayern Munich despite losing the second leg 3-2 at the Allianz Arena.

Barca had won the first leg 3-0 at the Camp Nou after an inspired performance from Lionel Messi, and Pep Guardiola said before the return game that Bayern could only beat his former club if they adopted a patient approach.

Despite his comments, the game started at a blistering pace and, after good chances at either end, Bayern took the lead on seven minutes when Medhi Benatia was left unmarked to head home a Xabi Alonso corner.

With a quarter of an hour played, though, Bayern hopes were deflated when Messi played a perfectly weighted pass to Luis Suarez, who set up Neymar for a simple finish. That away goal left Bayern needing to score another four to have any prospect of progress, and their plight soon worsened.

After seeing Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski fail to convert good chances, they were caught on the counter with just under half an hour played, and Suarez set up Neymar for his second of the night.

Bayern came close when Lewandowski's shot looked to have defeated Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but the Barca keeper was able to get back to claw it off the line as the home side went in 2-1 down at the break.

Philipp Lahm almost cued up a fine chance for Schweinsteiger in the 49th minute, and 10 minutes later Lewandowski turned on the edge of the box and drilled a superb low shot past ter Stegen to draw level on the night.

Muller shot just wide as Bayern began to dominate, and they got the third goal their performance deserved in the 74th minute when Muller steered home after Schweinsteiger played a neat lay-off with his back to goal.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Atletico Madrid 0 - 1 Barcelona : Lionel Messi goal fuels Barcelona to fifth La Liga title

Lionel Messi's second-half winner sealed the Primera Division title for Barcelona, who claimed a narrow 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon on Sunday.

The Catalan side dominated for the majority of the first half but took until the 65th minute to open the scoring and clinch the three points needed to seal their 23rd Spanish title with a game to go.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

[SnowLeopards]

Good job on sealing the La Liga title.

However, I wish the Champions League is won by Juventus.

Pierre.

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Barcelona 2 - 2 Deportivo La Coruna : Lionel Messi scores twice in Xavi's Camp Nou farewell as Barcelona draw

Xavi's Camp Nou farewell was spoiled slightly as Deportivo La Coruna fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 against Barcelona and guarantee their Primera Division survival in the process.

Long-serving midfielder Xavi will bring an end to an 18-year Barca career when he leaves for Qatari side Al-Sadd in the summer and Lionel Messi looked to have given him the perfect send-off when he scored in both halves to put the newly-crowned champions into a 2-0 lead.

But Deportivo were fighting for their top-flight lives and Lucas Perez gave them hope with an exquisite long-range strike in the 67th minute before Diogo Salomao also struck from distance nine minutes later to earn a priceless point which preserved their top-flight status.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Athletic Bilbao 1 - 3 Barcelona : Lionel Messi in majestic form

Lionel Messi scored another wonder goal as Barcelona moved a step closer to completing the treble on Saturday night with a 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final.

Neymar thought he had opened the scoring as early as the 10th minute, only for his neat volley to be ruled out for offside, but it was not long until Barca were celebrating the first goal - and it arrived in some style.

Messi, starting just inside the Athletic half near the right touchline, weaved his way past four defenders and then beat Iago Herrerin at his near post for a stunning strike which set the Nou Camp alight on 20 minutes.

Neymar rounded off a neat team move to double Barca's advantage nine minutes before the break and Messi put the game further out of Athletic's reach by stabbing home a third goal on 74 minutes.

Twenty-year-old Inaki Williams, who had struck the bar with a volley four minutes before half-time, was rewarded for his endeavour with a consolation cup final goal 11 minutes from time, but that was as good as it got for the Basque outfit.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Juventus 1 - 3 Barcelona : Barcelona beat Juventus to complete treble

(OLYMPIASTADION, BERLIN, GERMANY)

Barcelona completed the Treble with a 3-1 win over Juventus in the Champions League final.

Barca, who had already won the Spanish title and the Copa Del Rey, won their second Treble in six years, becoming the first team to ever do it twice.

Ivan Rakitic gave Barca the lead very early on only for Alvaro Morata to equalise against the run of play. But Barca were not to be denied as Luis Suarez put them back in front and Neymar made sure with the last kick of the game.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

[hongkongdoggy]

Top class indeed!

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LA Galaxy 1 - 2 Barcelona : Luis Suarez helps Barcelona defeat LA Galaxy in front of record crowd

Luis Suarez scored in the 45th minute as Barcelona opened its U.S. preseason tour with a 2-1 victory over the LA Galaxy on Tuesday night before 93,226 fans at the Rose Bowl.

Sergi Roberto also scored in the 56th minute as the UEFA Champions League winners largely controlled their first match of the new season, delighting the biggest crowd for a club football game involving an MLS team in U.S. history.

Tommy Meyer scored late in second-half injury time for the defending MLS champion Galaxy, denying Barcelona of a clean sheet.

The record crowd largely supported Barcelona despite the absence of Lionel Messi and Neymar, who stayed home from the International Champions Cup tour to stay fresh for the games that count.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Manchester Utd 3 - 1 Barcelona : Wayne Rooney, Jesse Lingard help Manchester United defeat Barcelona

Wayne Rooney scored his first goal of the summer as Manchester United maintained their 100 percent tour record with a morale-boosting 3-1 win over European champions Barcelona.

Rooney ended an eight-match goalless run by heading in Ashley Young's first-half corner at the Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, in Santa Clara, California.

Shortly after making 11 substitutions, United doubled their lead in the International Champions Cup match thanks to Jesse Lingard's shot from inside the box.

Rafinha's late volley gave Barca a glimmer of hope, but Adnan Januzaj hit back instantly to give Louis van Gaal his third win of the club's pre-season tour of the United States.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Chelsea 2 - 2 Barcelona : Chelsea perfect from the penalty spot in win over Barcelona

Chelsea wins 4-2 in penalty kicks

Chelsea beat Barcelona 4-2 on penalty kicks after playing to a 2-2 draw at FedEx Field in Washington, D.C. Eden Hazard opened the scoring for Chelsea with a brilliant individual effort in the 10th minute to give the Blues an early lead.

A poor clearance by Cesar Azpilicueta fell to the feet of Luis Suarez in the box, and the Uruguayan calmly chipped home over Thibaut Courtois to level the score in the 52nd minute.

Sandro finished with a beautiful bending strike in the 66th minute to put Barcelona in front, as the Catalans looked to be cruising to the win. However, Gary Cahill out-jumped Barca's Jordi Masip in the match's closing minutes and headed home to level the score and force penalty kicks.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)