Barcelona - NouCamp Faithful

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Barcelona 2 - 0 Almeria : Barcelona bid farewell to emotional Pique with win

Barcelona enjoyed a 2-0 win over Almeria on Saturday but the night belonged to defender Gerard Pique's who was playing his last game at the Camp Nou after he announced he will retire from soccer when LaLiga breaks for the World Cup next week.

Barca, who won with second-half goals from Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong, climbed to the top of the standings on 34 points from 13 games, two ahead of Real Madrid who have a game in hand and will visit Rayo Vallecano on Monday.

The 35-year-old Pique, who started the game as captain, won 30 trophies, including three Champions League and eight LaLiga titles, with Barca.

He played well and almost scored in the first-half with two towering headers from corners against a defensive Almeria side who only had one shot on target in the match.

Pique was substituted in the 83rd minute, walking off the pitch in tears to a standing ovation from the 92,605 fans - the highest attendance at the Camp Nou so far this season - who packed the stadium to say goodbye to a club great.



(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Osasuna 1 - 2 Barcelona : Ten-man Barcelona fight back to win 2-1

Second-half goals from Pedri and Raphinha rescued 10-man Barcelona as they fought back to win 2-1 at Osasuna in LaLiga on Tuesday after striker Robert Lewandowski was sent off in the first-half.

Pedri equalised from a rebound three minutes after the break and Raphinha came off the bench to score Barca's winner five minutes from fulltime, with a brilliant dipping header from outside the box that looped over the goalkeeper into the net.

David Garcia headed Osasuna into the lead from a corner in the sixth minute before Lewandowski saw red following a second booking in the 31st.

He was shown a yellow card for dragging back Nacho Vidal in the 11th minute and 20 minutes later he received his marching orders after charging with his forearm in the face Garcia.

The win ensured Barca will go into the World Cup break top of the standings on 37 points and it was a feisty affair with Gerard Pique, who was on the bench, also shown a red card at half-time after complaining to the referee in what was the last game of his career.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

[DanielChan]

Hope Barcelona can beat man united and win the la Liga. With pique no longer ard. Time for Jordi alba, ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto, busquets to be the leaders. The attacking lineup looks good. Ansu fati the next messi

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Barcelona 1 - 1 Espanyol : Ten-man Barcelona held to draw against Espanyol in chaotic derby

Barcelona and Espanyol played out a fierce 1-1 draw in a Catalan derby in which both teams finished with 10 men.

Barca went ahead in the seventh minute through a Marcos Alonso header, before Espanyol pegged them back through a Joselu penalty in the 73rd minute.

The game then descended into farce as referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz sent off Jordi Alba and the Espanyol pair of Vinicius Souza and Leandro Cabrera in quick succession amid a flurry of cards -- before rescinding Cabrera's red after a VAR review.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

[DanielChan]

Hopefully ansu fati would be like Messi. Can inspire the team and fans

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CF Intercity 3 - 4 Barcelona : Barcelona need extra time to beat third-tier Intercity in Copa del Rey

Former Barcelona junior Oriol Soldevila scored a hat trick against his old club but still ended on the losing side as third tier InterCity took the LaLiga giants to extra time before losing 4-3 in a dramatic Copa del Rey tie on Wednesday.

InterCity, promoted to the third division last season, came from behind three times to force extra time after a 3-3 draw at the end of 90 minutes, but were then knocked out when substitute Ansu Fati netted a 103rd-minute winner in Alicante to put Barca in the round of 16.

Ronald Araujo, Ousmane Dembele and Raphinha were Barcelona's other scorers while the 21-year-old Soldevila netted his three goals in a 25-minute second-half spell including a dramatic third in the 86th minute to take the tie to extra time.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Atletico Madrid 0 - 1 Barcelona : Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid to open three-point lead in LaLiga

Ousmane Dembele scored the only goal of the game as Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday.

Two minutes into stoppage time Barca's Ferran Torres and Atletico's Stefan Savic were sent off for violent conduct as the visitors held on for the narrow win and a crucial three points.

Xavi Hernandez's side took advantage of rival Real Madrid's 2-1 loss to Villarreal on Saturday to take sole possession of first place in LaLiga with 41 points from their first 16 games.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Real Betis 2 - 2 Barcelona : Barcelona beat Real Betis on penalties to reach Super Cup final

Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved Juanmi's and William Carvalho's poorly-struck spot kicks to give Barcelona a 4-2 penalty shootout win over Betis after the teams had finished level at 2-2 following extra time in their Spanish Super Cup semifinal in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

Barcelona started well but once Pedri's 23rd minute goal was ruled out by the VAR for an offside in the build-up, they started to lose ground to Betis.

After two outstanding reflex saves by Ter Stegen blocked Luiz Henrique and Rodri's bullet-like shots, Ousmane Dembele burst forward in a fine individual effort before he passed the ball to Robert Lewandowski, who beat goalkeeper Claudio Bravo from close range to score the opener.

Betis came back in the second half, pressing Barcelona up-front, and Nabil Fekir slotted in a low shot just inside the far post in the 77th minute after being set-up by Luiz Henrique.

Lewandowski thought he had put Barca back in front with a strike three minutes later but VAR again ruled-out the goal for an offside in the build-up and the match went into extra time.

Ansu Fati put Barcelona back in front, finishing off a stunning move from just inside the area, but Betis fought back again and equalised thanks to another fine effort from Luiz Henrique, whose cross was brilliantly finished by substitute Loren Moron with a heel-kick from just inside the six-yard-box.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Real Madrid 1 - 3 Barcelona : Barcelona trounce Real Madrid in Super Cup as Xavi lifts first trophy

Barcelona were crowned Spanish Super Cup champions after goals from Gavi, Robert Lewandowski and Pedri earned them a 3-1 win over bitter rivals Real Madrid in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Barcelona, who handed Xavi his first trophy as coach of the Catalan club, were dominant in every aspect of the game and took advantage of three mistakes by Real Madrid to score.

Karim Benzema scored a consolation goal for Real in added time, striking home on the rebound after Marc-Andre ter Stegen denied his first attempt.



(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

[rizwano]

Good start for xavi. Pedri and gavi need to have good players ard them to build a long dynasty.

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Ceuta 0 - 5 Barcelona : Barcelona trounce third-tier Ceuta to reach Copa del Rey quarterfinals

Robert Lewandowski scored a brace and led a second-string Barcelona side to a 5-0 win at third-tier Ceuta in the Copa del Rey last 16 on Thursday.

Raphinha, Ansu Fati and Franck Kessie were also on target against a hapless Ceuta.

Barca manager Xavi Hernandez made 10 changes to the team that won 3-1 the Spanish Super Cup final against Real Madrid on Sunday, resting all his key players with the exception of Lewandowski, and was happy with the result after the match.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 1 - 0 Getafe : Barcelona edge past Getafe with Pedri winner to extend lead at top

Barcelona extended their lead over Real Madrid in the LaLiga table after Pedri's first-half strike earned them a 1-0 win over Getafe on Sunday.

Leaders Barca climbed to 44 points, six ahead of their bitter rivals Madrid who have a game in hand and will visit Athletic Club later on Sunday.

Pedri opened the scoring in the 34th minute when he latched onto a pass from Raphinha and tapped into an empty net.

With almost 70% of ball possession, Barcelona seamed content with their lead as Getafe failed to mount a serious challenge.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 1 - 0 Real Sociedad : Ousmane Dembele strike sends Barcelona into Copa del Rey semifinals

Ousmane Dembele's second-half strike gave Barcelona a 1-0 win over 10-man Real Sociedad in their Copa del Rey quarter-final on Wednesday, stretching their unbeaten streak to 12 games.

Real Sociedad came into the match on the back of nine consecutive wins in all competitions and almost scored in the 29th minute when Japanese youngster Take Kubo's strike hit the bar.

But their hopes of inflicting a surprise defeat on Barca at the Camp Nou were hit when forward Brais Mendez was shown a straight red card in the 40th minute for a wild challenge on Sergio Busquets.

Barcelona were the better side for most of the match after that but only scored once thanks to a brilliant counter-attack by man-of-the-match Dembele in the 52nd minute.

The electric winger ran through the right channel after receiving a perfectly placed long pass from his France team mate Jules Kounde and lashed a powerful right-footed strike into the top corner.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Girona 0 - 1 Barcelona : Barcelona extend LaLiga lead to six points with narrow win over Girona

Barcelona extended their lead at the top of LaLiga to six points after they recorded a 1-0 victory away at Girona on Saturday.

Pedri scored the game's only goal on 61 minutes to extend Barca's winning run to eight matches. The victory sent them six points above second-placed rivals Real Madrid, albeit having played an extra game than Carlo Ancelotti's side.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Real Betis 1 - 2 Barcelona : Barcelona earn a hard-fought victory over Real Betis

Barcelona extended their LaLiga lead to eight points after Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski scored to earn them a hard-fought 2-1 win at Real Betis on Wednesday.

Barcelona defender Jules Kounde scored an own goal in the 85th minute while trying to clear a Youssouf Sabaly cross with his chest, but the visitors held-on to claim the three points.

Betis had William Carvalho sent off after the final whistle for complaining to the referee, a common theme throughout the match with the hosts feeling numerous calls in their favour were missed.

Barca are top on 50 points, eight points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who have a game in hand and will host struggling Valencia on Thursday. Betis are sixth on 31 points.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)