Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both scored twice in Barcelona’s 5-0 win at Real Betis, but Paul Mariner says it was Ivan Rakitic who pulled the strings.
Barcelona put on an irresistible second-half show to thrash Real Betis 5-0 on Sunday, with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez scoring twice each as they tightened their stranglehold on La Liga.
The Catalans moved 11 points clear of second place Atletico Madrid with a convincing win at the Benito Villamarin, as their title rivals fade farther into the distance.
Positives
The best news for Barcelona was that their hiccup against Espanyol in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday — which ended their unbeaten run…
Barcelona stormed back in the second half to end a seven-match league winless run at Real Sociedad’s Anoeta Stadium with a 4-2 win.
Barcelona produced a stunning second-half performance to come from two goals down to beat Real Sociedad 4-2 on Sunday, ending a 10-year wait for a win at Anoeta in La Liga.
Barca’s last win in the league in San Sebastian came in 2007 and they looked set for another defeat when Willian Jose and Juanmi gave the hosts a deserved two-goal advantage in the first half.
Paulinho pulled one back before the break, though, and Ernesto Valverde’s side took over in the second half. Luis Suarez scored a…
Jordi Alba and Lionel Messi have now connected for eight goals this season.
Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba showed their special connection once more, combining for the first three goals as Barcelona thrashed Celta Vigo 5-0 (6-1 on aggregate) to sai…
Barcelona stretched their league unbeaten streak to 25 games, thanks to Lionel Messi’s goal and assist in a 3-0 win over Levante.
Barcelona stretched their league unbeaten streak to 25 games, thanks to Lionel Messi’s goal and assist in a 3-0 win over Levante.
Lionel Messi marked his 400th La Liga game with a goal and assist as Barcelona kicked off 2018 with a comfy win over Levante.
It wasn’t Barcelona’s brightest display of the season but goals from Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Paulinho ensured they started as they left off in La Liga, with a 3-0 win over visitors Levante. The win maintained their nine-point lead on Atletico Madrid at the top of the table and kept the Catalan side unbeaten on the season.
Levante put out a weakened side due to suspensions and a lingering suspicion they wouldn’t take anything home from Camp Nou in any case, and Barcelona took advantage with…
Lionel Messi missed his second penalty kick of the season, while Luis Suarez and Paulinho scored twice for Barcelona against Deportivo.
Barcelona got in the mood for next week’s Clasico by thumping Deportivo La Coruna 4-0 with doubles from both Paulinho and Luis Suarez.
Lionel Messi had a hapless night in front of goal, hitting the woodwork three times and seeing his penalty saved by his old Barca B teammate Ruben Martinez, as well as missing the target from a good position in either half, but still played a key role in the victory.
Positives
Barca had looked underwhelming in their previous three games but this was a complete performance…
Steve Nicol praises Luis Suarez for facing his poor run of form head-on and getting rewarded for it in Barcelona’s win over Villarreal.
Lionel Messi tied Gerd Muller for most goals for one club in the top five European leagues with his 525th in Barca’s 2-0 win over 10-man Villarreal.
Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi broke down a stubborn Villarreal to send Barcelona five points clear at the top of La Liga despite an under-par display in a 2-0 victory at Estadio de la Ceramica. Only after the hosts had midfielder Daniel Raba sent off for an ugly tackle on Sergio Busquets on the hour mark did the Catalans start creating the chances they needed to win the game.
Positives
Another clean sheet and a solid defensive performance, despite the absences of Samuel Umtiti and Javier Mascherano,…
The FC 100 is here! Take a look at who ranks at the top of each position.
The FC 100 is here! Take a look at who ranks at the top of each position.
The ESPN FC crew all have varying opinions as to who claims top spot in the E…
Barcelona’s Ernesto Valverde is expecting Juventus to play their strongest eleven after they rested Gianluigi Buffon during their loss to Sampdoria.
Ernesto Valverde questions the yellow card that will now rule Gerard Pique out of Barca’s clash with second-placed Valencia.
Barcelona’s appeal to overturn the booking shown to Gerard Pique against Leganes has been rejected and the defender will miss Sunday’s top-of-the-table La Liga clash against Valencia.
After reviewing the video footage put forward by the Catalan club, the Royal Spanish Football Federation’s competition committee decided to stick with the original ruling made by referee Undiano Mallenco.
Pique was cautioned for grappling with Nordin Amrabat and Barca coach Ernesto Valverde said after his side’s 3-0…
Luis Suarez snapped a five-game goalless drought in all competitions as Barcelona cruised to a 3-0 victory at Leganes.
Luis Suarez insisted he was never worried after ending his goal drought at 478 minutes in Barcelona’s 3-0 win against Leganes on Saturday.
Suarez scored a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid on Oct. 14 but had failed to score in his last five appearances going into this weekend’s game at Butarque — his longest run without a goal since signing from Liverpool in 2014.
In a bid to re-find his best form, he sat out Uruguay’s two friendlies during the international break to focus on recovering…
ESPN FC’s La Liga expert Sid Lowe assesses Barcelona’s start to the season and the reasons behind Luis Suarez’s struggles.
Ernesto Valverde praises Luis Suarez’s perseverance, as the Barcelona forward looks to add to his three goals this season. Barcelona duo Luis Suarez and Arda Turan have returned to training ahead of Saturday’s game at Leganes.
Both featured in Barca’s first session of the week on Monday and are expected to be available for selection.
Suarez was left out of Uruguay’s squad for this month’s friendlies against Poland and Austria at his club’s request in order to recover from a knee injury that has troubled him since the start of the season.
He was ruled out for a month after hurting his knee in the Spanish Super Cup defeat…