Més que Un club

OCTOBER

Valencia put up a good fight scoring their chances but it was a dominant display by Barcelona, who were still missing the little Argentinian.

Thursday 8/10

Just 2 days before Netherlands are to play Italy in the Nations League FCB announce Donny Van de Beek will join them in the summer of 2021. The fee is believed to be around £35 million due to the good relationship the two clubs hold. More incomings outside of the window



Erik ten Hag – We are delighted for Donny. He is a fantastic player and we are glad he chose to stick with us last summer when we though we would lose him. And we have him for another 6 months!

Van de Beek – I’m so glad the speculation is over because now I can focus on winning with Ajax. It’s my club and I will continue to give everything I have to be successful, for me this changes nothing for the moment.

A routine win at Granada with Griezmann at the double followed before the big CL game.

Messi returned against Chelsea, but it was Suarez’s turn to get injured, he will be out for a month. It is another away draw in what was a tight game, but at this stage clubs are trying to find the best version of themselves.



Another draw followed against Sevilla, first dropped points at home but it should definitely have been 3 points, with Sevilla managing just 2 shots, 1 on target to Barcelona’s 16 and 9. Messi isn’t fully match sharp since returning but there were glimpses of his brilliance on display.

Penultimate game of the month was a big one. Somehow Simeone’s men managed to win possession! Barca need to have a look at themselves :0 It was the former Atléti man who came up with the winning goal to some disgraceful scenes from the home crowd. There is surely going to be an investigation there but it's up to the Spanish authorities to do something about this, there has to be punsihment. Back to the football, Messi had a chance to seal it from the spot late on, but he hit the post.

It took until the final game of the month for Messi to find his shooting boots and it was one of those games where you have to just stand up and applaud GENIUS! Complete domination from the GOAT, which also saw a league debut and goal for Jandro Orellana who is impressing in the B team. Of course Messi assisted that.

November

The win vs Chelsea moved FCB to 8 points, Krasnodar remain in 2nd with 5 points, Chelsea 4pts and Marseille 3pts, so Barca have pretty much progressed and the race for 2nd is on.



A win against Betis is always an achievement, they beat Barca here a couple of years a go which put Setien into the frame for the job. Barca had the majority of the shots and Coutinho finally got on the score sheet with a brace. He is still struggling to find his best form at this club.

Another tough game for Barca against the ‘Yellow Submarine’ a team that has a lot of pace going forward and that caused problems. Chukwueze just before HT brought them back to 2-1 after Busquets and Griezmann scored early on. Ontiveros levelled 66’ but Lionel Messi quickly put them ahead from the penalty spot 4 mins later. A big win made bigger after Real M played in the night-time La Liga game lost 1-0 vs Eibar, extending FCB lead at the top of the table.

Barca confirmed progression in first place after the 3-1 vs Marseille, they go clear on11pts with Chelsea in 2nd on 7. Krasnodar in 3rd with 5 and Marseille 3.

Pablo Machin had 7 points in his first 6 league games in charge coming into this one, including their first 2 wins of the season. But they didn’t bring anything to the Camp Nou and seemed happy to only lose by 1. Dembele put Barca ahead 53’ mins in, though they should have been ahead earlier on after Messi missed a penalty on the stroke of HT.

La Liga Standings

1. FCB Pld 15 W 13 D 1 L 1 40pts

2. Real M Pld 15 W 11 D 2 L 2 35pts

December will see Barcelona going to the tricky San Mamés and Bernabéu for the first El Clásico of the season.

Looking good at the moment.

2020-04-11 13:32#268486 ScottT : Looking good at the moment.

It's going well

December

2/12
No Messi in the Osasuna (5-0) game after a tight calf picked up in training. He would have probably sat out anyway due to the big games coming up. Dominant display allowing the opposition just 1 shot on target!

5/12



Messi returned for the away game at San Mamés with 3 assists and a goal. It was such a huge performance away at a place like this that sets the team up nicely for the next half of the season, a huge motivational boost.

8/12 CL GS R6
In the final group game we had already sealed top spot so it felt right to play some of the younger players and those with less game time. Neto, Emerson, Piqué, Todibo, Firpo, Reis, Orellana, Puig, Trincão, Fati and Saverio started, though we were 2-0 down just over 30 mins in so Coutinho came on at half-time for Trincão but didn’t make much of an impact. 3-0 86’ sealed it and we move on to Real M with a fresh side!



Chelsea join us in the last 16!

12/12/2020

Madrid 16 pld 38pts
Barca 17 pld 46 pts

Barcelona have the chance to go 11 clear in their last game before Xmas, Madrid still have Celta to play.



Madrid moved back ahead of all time wins in this tie (97 to Barca’s 96)

Madrid controlled the possession, importantly in the centre of the pitch, completing 131 more passes. It still took them until 10 mins before the 90 to score. Tsygankov wiped the cross in to Bale, who got the better of Semedo. A brilliant save for Ter Stegen parried back to the middle of the goal where Lukaku was waiting. A big win to keep the title race alive but Barca will feel like they didn’t really show up for this one.

Borja Fornas - It's a really disappointing way to round end December, especially with the way we played in the other two games, we were really up for this and that wasn't my team out there. We still have a lead and we will do whatever we can to keep it that way but it just goes to show that it isn't finished at Xmas. There is a long way and we are in with a shout for every competition.

It's a present for the Barcelona fans as Lionel Messi signs a 1-year extension to his contract. It is believed that all wage and bonuses are kept the same and in the summer there will be discussions about a new deal!

Favourable tie in CL L16!

Lionel Messi wins his record 7th Ballon d’or and 2nd in a row!

He won La Liga and the Copa America, scoring in the final of that competition.

For the first time since 2010 Ronaldo doesn’t make up the top 3!

He played a huge total of 75 goals contributions in 61 games for club and country in 19/20 season. 44 goals (29 in league, 7 CL, 5 Country) and 31 assists (17 La Liga, 1 away from personal record – 2011/2015).

Kylian Mbappe who will be a Barcelona player come the summer comes in 2nd and Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino 3rd!



With Ronaldo on 5 wins of this prize it seems very unlickely that he will get his hands on that trophy again, unless he can bring Juventus to the top of European football!

A tough loss against Real. Hopefully you can recover and pip them to the title in the end. A decent draw against Lyon though!

2020-04-13 23:53#268606 ScottT : A tough loss against Real. Hopefully you can recover and pip them to the title in the end. A decent draw against Lyon though!

It has put the pressure back on us after an amazing first half to the season.
We would expect to progress vs Lyon.

The month started with a comfortable win vs Vallecano that preceded the Supercopa de Espãna in its new 4 team format. Real Madrid the current holders.

6/1/2021 SC SF Saudi Arabia Athletic Club 2-3 Barca

Runners-up of the CDR against the league Champions in a tight game

Dembélé at the double in the first half followed by a Suárez goal late on sent Barcelona through to the Final.

Real Madrid demolished the CDR winners to set up an El Clásico final!


10/1

It was Real Madrid that came up on top again just a few weeks after beating Barcelona in the league. They had greater possession and double the amount of shots, but it took until extra time for the breakthrough. It was a display of good defending, just one team was slightly better than the other.

Borja Fornas – Very similar to the previous game in many ways which is a worry for me. Of course we can say this isn’t the most important trophy of the season, but the fact is it’s a trophy and we were playing Madrid. Not everything I say to my players needs to be made public, but I will admit we weren’t happy with that. We now have to play Sevilla so it doesn’t stop we must get back to winning.




A quick turn around needed for the teams that travelled to Asia.

Big wins for Barcelona with a Messi penalty early on at the Mestalla enough to get them a huge 3 points and then the return of Celta who beat Barça back in September. A Suárez hattrick was complemented with 2 assists from Messi. Barcelona will face Pontevedra in the CDR before a trip to Sevilla, so expect some rotation.

Real Madrid won both their matches 4-0.

As expected before the important league game there were many changes for the CDR tie vs the 3rd tier side. A dominant display with Fati putting the away side ahead but they switched off right at the end and let the home side level! The quality of Coutinho made the difference but you would expect these players to be able to step up here.



A fully fresh squad from the midweek game had many shots but didn’t find that final product and there are times when you can just tell that will bite you. SUSO IN THE 90th MINUTE! It’s a fantastic atmosphere and the place erupted when that goal went in.



A similar team that played in the last CDR was called up to play Fuenlabrada from the Segunda. The only changes made were Todibo in for Cuenca and Busquets, Arthur and Aleñá made up the midfield this time. Although Barca were even more dominant in this one the home side actually went ahead. Barca got level relatively quickly but still needed extra time and Suarez to win!

The final game of the month was back at home were the players actually turn up. Just one shot for Granada in a 2-0 defeat which was over inside 25 minutes! Messi was therefore able to be substituted on 67’ ready for the CDR QF against Villarreal at the start of February.



Borja Fornas – It has been a frustrating month where we have thrown leads and points away by just not doing the things, we are capable of. This has to be a wake-up call and something to push us on to the next stage of the season.



Crazy January Transfers!
The only significant news for us was the arrival of Camavinga, following his wishes we loaned him to Newcastle for the remainder of the season.

Some tough set-backs lately. Madrid seem to have your number for the time being.

3/2/2021
CDR QF

All teams that make it through to the QF have ambitions to win it, especially with the 2 legged SF ties.
Barcelona were looking for some much needed concentration for the full 90 minutes of the game here, with Fornas sticking with a similar side to that who got them through the earlier rounds of this competition. The notable change was Lionel Messi making his way into this competition for the first time this season as it enters the later stages. Villarreal a midtable team this season putting all their eggs in the basket for this one with a strong line-up heading to the Camp Nou were Barcelona are unbeaten this season.

15 Games 1 Draw 0-0 Sevilla 0 Defeats

At this stage were every other game is in the CDR it seems the changes to the Barca defence affected them as some early pressure amounted in a goal 33 mins in with Gerard Moreno. They certainly had chances with Messi pulling the strings throughout the game, resulting in an assist just before half time for the French striker. Messi then put the home side in front 55’ which was swiftly cancelled out by Ontiveros. It wasn’t long after that when Moreno got his brace to send a shockwave through the Camp Nou and despite Arthur, Coutinho and Suarez coming on to rescue the game it ended with Barcelona knocked out at the same stage for the 2nd successive season!

Borja Fornas – We were incredibly unlucky to go out there. We were the better team and I just think it was one of those days that can happen. It means we are down to 2 competitions that we can win and we have to now strive to win both, we knew if we could get past this round we have a good chance of reaching the final but we cannot be ashamed of our efforts.

CDR QF

Córdoba 1-2 Sevilla AET
Espanyol 0-3 Real Sociedad
Real Madrid 3-0 Granada

Real Madrid get a repeat of their QF tie last season as they will face Real Sociedad at home again (3-4) in the SF.
Villarreal get the home tie first against de Boer’s Sevilla.

ScottT:

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It continues :(

Messis 1 year contract extension is HUGE. What a coup that is, and for him to win his 7th Ballon Dor shows he is still the GOAT in his mid 30s! And also the signing of Eduardo Camavinga is very nice to see, a young player who will suit Barca down to the ground, Keep it up