Xavi’s managerial reign at Barcelona began with a 1-0 victory over Espanyol on Saturday, and it’s clear he’s already injected some much-needed life into the club.
On the pitch, there was a debut for 17-year-old winger Ilias Akhomach while 17-year-old Gavi and 19-year-old Nico González also made the starting XI — even Riqui Puig made an appearance!
BARCELONA - After a nerve-wracking last World Cup qualifier for Spain as they booked their place at next year's finals by beating Sweden 1-0, LaLiga returns this weekend with all eyes on Barcelona.
New manager Xavi Hernández will take charge of the team in the Catalonia derby against Espanyol on Saturday and three days later Barca host Benfica in a game that could secure their place in the Champions League last 16.
Defending UEFA Women’s Champions League winner Barcelona booked its place in the quarterfinals with a 5-0 away destruction of Hoffenheim on Wednesday, bringing the team’s group-stage record to played four, won four, scored 15 and conceded one (remember that the group also contains WSL power Arsenal).
Back on Oct. 5 on the competition’s opening matchday, a 4-1 victory over the Gunners highlighted the unmatched style and quality of the Blaugranes’ play, and Wednesday was another reminder of the club’s current superiority over the rest of Europe.
It’s not uncommon, watching a European soccer match, to hear a British announcer repeatedly misname a Black footballer. It happens so often now I’m surprised EA Sports hasn’t decided to add the mistakes to its FIFA video games. After all, if it’s in the game, it’s in the game, right?
But what’s happening now with British and French media goes far beyond a broadcaster being unable to quickly discern a player on the pitch. What’s happening now is journalists being unwilling to take the time to discern who is in a photo before publishing it as an accused rapist.
The Christian Pulisic Barcelona rumors have been gaining steam with reports from Spanish media claiming that the American is on the LaLiga giants’ radar.
One Spanish newspaper, Sport, makes the claim that Barcelona is eyeing up three Chelsea players for potential loan moves. The three Blues in question are Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Hakim Ziyech.
For as long as soccer players have had toned, athletic bodies hiding under their shirts, they’ve loved to take off their jerseys to celebrate scoring a goal. But when you really want to make a statement, you need something more than rock-hard abs under your shirt — you need one of these iconic goal celebration shirt messages.
¡Guau! Barcelona sorprendió hoy al anunciar a Dani Alves como el primer refuerzo de la era Xavi. El lateral brasileño de 38 años regresa al equipo culé después de cinco años y se integrará de manera inmediata a sus entrenamientos, aunque no podrá debutar hasta enero, cuando se abra el mercado de pases invernal.
@DaniAlvesD2 is coming back to Barça!
Barcelona have reached an agreement in principle to sign free agent Dani Alves, with the Brazilian right back set to rejoin the team for the rest of the season, the Spanish LaLiga club said on Friday.
Barca said in a statement the 38-year-old would be reunited with former teammate and newly appointed manager Xavi Hernandez when he joins the squad next week, but will not be able to play until January.
VALENCIA - Atlético Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann scored a sensational individual goal against Valencia on Sunday but the LaLiga champions let a two-goal lead slip in stoppage time to draw 3-3 on Sunday.
Valencia were trailing 3-1 when seven minutes of time were added on but Hugo Duro scored twice in the final stretch of the game to salvage a point, to the delight of their raucous home fans.
VIGO — Barcelona threw away a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 at Celta Vigo in LaLiga on Saturday in a chaotic game which underlined the scale of the task facing incoming coach Xavi Hernandez.
Celta captain Iago Aspas completed a remarkable second-half comeback from the hosts by scoring in the fifth minute of added time after he had pulled their first goal back in the 52nd and Nolito had struck in the 74th to set up a tense finish.