JmG - The Saga

Riqui Puig turned in a great performance to see through and convincing victory at the expense of Eiber. His vision and passing caused mayhem for the opposition who had no answer for him.


Didn't expect anything less than a hard fought game and it's exactly what we got from Spurs! Very tight game and Tanguy ran the show from midfield. We were lucky to hold them back to take the win into the second leg.


Dominating performance that dismantled Madrid in every way, reduced to only 2 shots in the entire game, despite holding more possession. Not much else to say about this, image speaks for itself.. they just didn't turn up to this one.


The return leg in the Copa Del Rey. I had high hopes to overturn the 1-0 defeat in the first leg but it wasn't to be. We did have a decent foothold in this game but just couldn't put the ball in the net and we were very fortunate to get a goal in this. Out of the Copa but since it wasn't on the to-do list, there's not a lot lost here.


After the aggregate lost to Athletic the players had something to prove and ran out in emphatic fashion. Messi getting his first hat-trick of the season and holding a clean sheet


Continuing on form, Moriba scored an absolute gem to take the lead, cutting in from the left side arriving just outside the box, a curling shot gave the keeper no chance of getting to it. Nils Mortimer, another youth player, added his first goal of the season, unmarked as he ran into the box from the right and perfectly placed a shot in the bottom left corner. Dembele completed the performance by taking advantage of the keeper fumbling the ball from a corner and made a slide tackling effort to knock the ball over the line


A different story from the first leg, back at home we were just too difficult for Spurs to get going. The early goal killed Tottenham off for a while and didn't really get going again until the second half. Kane squandered what should have been a simple goal, beating Umtiti and getting into the box, he tried a placed shot but ultimately allowed Ter Stegen a lot of time to get over to the ball. A powerful shot would have left Ter Stegen with no chance. With the result pretty much confirmed, Messi done what he does best and made a darting run from the far right side of the box, directly at the defence and then got into the box and placed a shot toward the near post, bounced off the post and into the goal.


Elswhere in the Champions League. No real surprises in there. Liverpool overturn a home defeat, Dortmund get through on penalties. PSG knocking Real Madrid out is probably the biggest surprise, being at home with an away goal I would have expected them to take the win but looks like they're not getting any silverware at all this season, will Zidane survive...


Remaining fixtures for the season, not counting possible Champions League Semi-Final/Final. Looking forward to the CL draw, I'm happy to go against anyone, but would love Ajax to make it to the final personally.


All but a forgone conclusion at this state. 17pts clear. Madrid need to recapture some good form, as they lost points to Leganes (just like I did) then to Barca. Not counting any chickens yet!

OH.. and one more thing...

Despite having a £96m release fee, which I did try to meet with various add ons, which were subsequently rejected. I made Martinez my top target, after scouting a few matches, the expected value of the transfer dropped and I took the chance to make a bid. £70m was accepted straight off the bat, weird for Inter having rejected £60m upfront with more than £35m in addons. Contract negotiations were a little drawn out, initially wanting a bigger wage than what was eventually agreed, along with a reduction in percentage of wage rise and sell on fees. I went for a 5 year contract, within that time I'm sure I'll get our money's worth, and by that point, only 27 years old, should be able to recoup the transfer fee.

ScottT It was a dramatic game, and it's what I expected for the next meeting but wasn't to be

Justice Yeah, even with them putting us out of the cup, I'm still happy with it. Ironically we have taken 6 points from them in the league, so pretty much even now.

Thanks for the replies

This is way too easy! Adding in Martinez, who is going to stop you.

Martinez is a fantastic addition. Looking at results, you blew Madrid out of the water and beside the loss in the Copa Del Rey, you're looking unbeatable.

Recent results just proving how good Messi is - he's on a different level at times! Long may his form continue for you!

It was a couple of days after the Eibar result that he was sacked, I played on to find out who would manage. But tough going, I did think he'd be under pressure and maybe at the end of the season he's get the chop but honestly wasn't expecting it so soon.

Keeping form, Luis snatching up a hat-trick!


The highest possession we've held this season. Getafe struggled to hold onto the ball and relied on consistent fouling to break up play. It wasn't enough as we strolled through this game while maintaining another clean sheet.


First leg of the quarter finals of the Champions League and it was a match for the fans as it was a battle of tactics and resulted in a stalemate. The similar styles were a joy to watch with City admittedly looking the better to get the result.


Young prospect Moriba brought in an eye-catching performance as the youngster scored 2 goals, including another long range strike that rattled off the underside of the crossbar.


It was almost a complete repeat of the first leg. Though Barcelona were able to hold more of the ball this time around, they did so at the cost of City being far more aggressive and getting more chances. De Jong's 30yard strike ultimately sealed the victory and sent Barcelona into the Semi-Final, drawing PSG!



Having rested almost every first team player for this match, the slight victory was admirable and shows the quality available for Barcelona from their B team and U19's.


Another game of resting the majority if big names, Dembele made an inclusion in this one and got a goal to keep our great form going.


I expected an extremely tough game here, facing off against Mbappe, Neymar, Di Maria and Icardi it seemed that's the way it should have been especially being away from home but the players came out with one of the best performances against one of the toughest teams we've faced this season and I was proud of them! Looking at the stats it was very even indeed but it was the quality of finishing that was the difference in this one, and a great scoreline to take to the Nou Camp. 5-2 in the lead, 5 away goals. I'm confident at finishing this tie off easily. PSG would need to hand us only our third defeat this season and our biggest with needing to score 4. But we won't let the confidence cloud our performance as we know what's happened to Barcelona before in these situations!


Both away sides absolutely destroying the home side in the first leg, looks set to be Barca vs Liverpool final. Ajax were unlucky not to go through as they took a 1-1 draw to their home ground, granted it was against PSG who are no easy pickings! Liverpool much like in the current stage smashed Dortmund and left no doubt of their status. Do you think Bayern and PSG can overturn it?


Having sealed the league title already, there's nothing left in these games though I do still want to win them and keep our form going, trying not to concede any more. This is the main reason behind giving the young players a chance in the first team which has been good so far, also gives the regulars a good bit of rest.


First team squad, with some stats. I think it shows that overall it's been a team performance. We've managed not to rely so much on Messi doing everything. De Jong has been the Phenom so far, hasn't had a poor game I can recall and he's been the one to dig deep in the games that we needed to give a little more. I'm not pushing to sell any players but will look at offers if they come in, PSG is interested in 6 of my players with Man Utd also chasing a few. Will hold out for big offers.


TheLFCFan It's been a fairly simple journey so far. We're great in the league, but Champions League shows how we're still not above any other top clubs.

ScottT Domestically we have been unbeatable! won't deny that, but as above, the Champions League is bringing us back down to earth

Justice You know, I've didn't really notice Messi's form in the recent games, but yeah he has been great in them when I've noticed it now. Looking at the squad view above though does tell that it's been a team effort to put the hard work in this season. Messi is Messi... I'm not playing it down, having him in the team is an advantage at kick-off but I'm pleased we've not relied on him so heavily, and hoping to build on that as I want to prolong his career at Barca and keep him until he retires.

Thanks for the replies guys.

It's very impressive when you can completely rotate your team and still win. The Champions League final looks to have a spot readily reserved for you. It would take a lot to surrender this advantage, even for Barcelona's standards!

You are cruising the league!

Was inspired to do something different.. though became frustrated with the game during the transfer window.. anyway..

We managed a slim 1-0 win in the 2nd leg to PSG and made it to the final. result of the is above of course, again lazy on detailed update. Lost against Espanyol which is entirely my own doing, I was resting players, but even worse I didn't even realise it was Espanyol we were up against. Admirable performance none-the-less, we were by no means brushed aside.

Give Justice a good bit of credit as his graphics pushed me to do this, was something a little bit more enjoyable. Will see how it keeps up

Enjoyed your most recent update the most tbh, intrigued to see which style you go with in the future. You've given all your players plenty of opportunities, so no player should be complaining about a lack of game time! Would've been awesome if you'd jumped to Real when they sacked Zizou, but being a Barca fan yourself: I understand why it didn't happen. Keep up the good work man

Congrstulatuons! Love the graphic too.

That looks an amazing graphic!

Congratulations on the CL trophy, it's the big trophy we all want to win!