Barcelona
Another injury blow for Liverpool, Barcelona sweating on key player
The Champions League has reached the knockout stage, and the round of 16 features some exciting UCL fixtures. We’ll update this story with reports, results and the latest Champions League highlights as the second-leg games are played. The action is already underway, with Juventus facing Porto while Borussia Dortmund host Sevilla. Juventus XI: Szczesny, Cuadrado, Bonucci, Demiral, Alex Sandro, Chiesa, Rabiot, Arthur, Ramsey, C Ronaldo, Morata. Porto XI: Marchesín, Manafa, Pepe, Mbemba, Zaidu, Sergio Oliveira, Uribe, Otavio, Corona, Marega, Taremi. Can Juve turn around their #UCL last 16 tie? — Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 9, 2021 Dortmund take a 3-2 lead into their #UCL second-leg vs Sevilla… Dortmund XI: Hitz, Morey, Can, Hummels, Schulz, Delaney, Bellingham, Dahoud, Reus, Haza...
Asisat Oshoala cleared to return for Barcelona despite Fortuna Hjorring injury
Asisat Oshoala’s absence from Barcelona victory over Santa Teresa will not prevent her from taking part in Wednesday’s second leg against Fortuna Hjorring in the Women’s Champions League. The Nigerian featured in the final 13 minutes for Lluis Cortes’ team, after replacing hat-trick hero Jenni Hermoso at Estadi Johan Cruyff, as the Spanish champions cruised to a 4-0 first-leg victory. Oshoala was forced to watch the last match against Santa from the sidelines, having been left out due to an injury on her right foot. Besides the Nigerian, teammates Lieke Martens and Andrea Falcon also missed the Santa trip due to discomfort in their knees on Friday. Ahead of their trip to Denmark, Oshoala and Martens, however, were cleared to make the Barcelona squad to Hjorring for the second leg match. Th...
Boost for Barcelona as Paris Saint-Germain star misses out
The Champions League takes centre stage over the next two weeks as the eight second-leg ties in the round of 16 are played across Europe. The action gets underway on Tuesday with a pair of fixtures that are finely poised. Juventus head into their second meeting with Porto needing to overcome a 2-1 deficit from the first leg. Borussia Dortmund will fancy their chances of reaching the quarter-finals as they hold a 3-2 advantage over Sevilla. Liverpool continue their quest for Champions League glory as they go head-to-head with RB Leipzig on Wednesday. The Reds lead 2-0 after the first leg, and it would be a surprise if they failed to progress to the last eight. Paris Saint-Germain are also well placed to go through as they hold a 4-1 lead over Barcelona. However, PSG star Neymar will miss th...
Barcelona offered chance to sign £31.5m Arsenal star through his agent
Barcelona have been offered the chance to sign Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette through his agent, a report from Calciomercato claims. The Frenchman has been with the Gunners since 2017 and has accumulated 59 goals and 28 goals from 158 appearances. Despite the impressive tally, he has struggled for consistency over an entire season, and there is speculation that he could be on the move this summer. Lacazette’s current deal expires in less than 16 months, and the Gunners have yet to open negotiations over a contract renewal. It is now claimed that the 29-year-old is open to leaving the north London club, and his representative has offered his services to Barcelona and Juventus. Sportslens view: Lacazette has reached double figures in terms of goals in his four seasons with the club, but...
Key issues to address for Barcelona’s Joan Laporta: Lionel Messi, wage bill, new signings
Joan Laporta was officially elected as the 42nd president of Barcelona yesterday after receiving 54.28 percent of the votes in his favour. The 58-year-old has taken over the position for the second time, having previously held the role between June 2003 and June 2010. One of the election highlights was Lionel Messi, who was pictured casting his vote alongside Sergio Busquets, Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba. Laporta was full of praise for the Argentine after he took over as the new president, and his main focus will now lie on convincing the captain to stay put. Messi’s current deal with the club expires in June this year, and it is reported that Laporta will make it a priority to convince the 33-year-old to sign a fresh deal. However, this may not be the only objective for Laporta in the sho...
Alba and Moriba strike as Barcelona claim another three points in title race
Barcelona moved within two points of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid following a 2-0 away victory over Osasuna on Saturday. The goalkeepers stole the spotlight in the early stages. Marc-Andre ter Stegen produced a fine stop to deny former West Ham United forward Jonathan Calleri from opening the scoring, before Sergio Herrera was shown a red card for handling the ball outside the box with Lionel Messi through on goal. However, the linesman’s flag went up, and replays confirmed that Messi was offside in the build-up. The visitors took the lead on the half-hour mark, with left-back Jordi Alba breaking the deadlock. Messi played a brilliant pass over the top for the Spaniard, who slammed into the roof of the net from a tight angle. Shortly afterwards, La Blaugrana were thankful to Ter Stegen ...
Barcelona, Atletico Madrid ordered to further tighten belts by La Liga
FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will have to cut down the costs of their squads by more than 35 million euros ($42.14 million) following new salary limits imposed by La Liga on Tuesday to cope with the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The figures, published twice annually following each transfer window, dictate how much teams can spend on players, coaches, support staff and their youth teams. They are calculated in line with revenues, which have been obliterated by coronavirus restrictions preventing fans from attending matches for 12 months while depressing the transfer market and reducing income from merchandising. Barcelona are the club most acutely affected by the new limits and will be forced to reduce their costs by an additional 35.7 million euros, to 347 million. League ...
Barcelona vs Sevilla preview: Can Messi lead another improbable comeback?
Barcelona will be looking to turn the tables on Sevilla when the two sides meet at Camp Nou in the return leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie. Goals by Jules Kounde and Ivan Rakitic led Sevilla to a comfortable 2-0 win in the first leg, putting the visitors in the driving seat ahead of the rematch. Although a two-goal cushion favours Sevilla, this tie could go down to the wire, as Barcelona have not lost any of their last 12 competitive matches against this opposition at home (W11, D1). The Copa del Rey is probably the only realistic chance each team have to wrap up silverware this season. Lionel Messi scores and assists as Barcelona beat Sevilla in LaLiga… three days before Copa del Rey semi-final rematchhttps://t.co/FwWilLJPGI — The Sun Football ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) Febru...
Arsenal man reportedly on radar of Barcelona presidential candidate
According to Catalan radio station RAC1, Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta has Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on his radar as a potential replacement for Ronald Koeman. Sportslens View The La Liga giants are holding an election this weekend in order to bring in a permanent successor to former president Josep Bartomeu, and Laporta is widely seen as the favourite to emerge as the winner. He is eyeing a second stint as Barcelona president, and key changes could be made if he is elected. Current manager Koeman could be asked to leave at the end of the season, and it appears that Laporta wants the Arsenal boss to replace him. Arteta is a product of Barcelona’s famous La Masia, and he is seen as someone who could bring an attractive style of play that produces results and trophies to t...
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Brazil legend Ronaldo ‘the best player in history’
Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has named Brazil legend Ronaldo as ‘the best player in history’. Ibrahimovic expressed his admiration towards the World Cup winner ahead of Milan’s Europa League clash with Red Star Belgrade on Thursday night, while putting him ahead of modern-day greats such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the all-time list of top players. The 39-year-old thinks Ronaldo Nazario, who inspired Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002, transcended the game with his unique talents and still stands out as the unrivalled master of the footballing craft to this day. Zlatan told Discovery Plus: “I don’t need to describe Ronaldo, ‘The Phenomenon’. “I always say you have the players that play the game, and the players that are the game. For me, Ronaldo is the game. When you watch him...
Liverpool take risky approach at the back, Barcelona set to attack
The Champions League has reached the knockout stage and the round of 16 features some exciting UCL fixtures. We’ll update this story with reports, results and the latest Champions League highlights as the first-leg games are played. Paris Saint-Germain produced a superb performance to demolish Barcelona 4-1 at the Nou Camp – Kylian Mbappe (3) and Moise Kean got the goals. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane were on target as Liverpool triumphed 2-0 against RB Leipzig in Budapest. Erling Braut Haaland (2) and Mahmoud Dahoud bagged the goals as Borussia Dortmund triumphed 3-2 at Sevilla. Porto secured a 2-1 victory at home to Juventus – Mehdi Taremi and Moussa Marega were on the scoresheet for the Portuguese side. Olivier Giroud scored a stunning goal as Chelsea ran out 1-0 winners on the road agai...
Joan Laporta says Barcelona can afford to sign 25-goal striker this summer
Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta has talked up the prospect of Erling Braut Haaland joining the Blaugrana during this summer’s transfer window. The presidential elections were initially scheduled for January before it was pushed back to March 7 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Laporta is one of the three candidates in line for the post alongside Victor Font and Toni Freixa and he is seen as the favourite to win the election The primary focus for the next president will be to reinforce the squad after what has been a disappointing 2020/21 campaign for the club judging by their high standards. Haaland has been mentioned as one of the potential targets for the Blaugrana and Laporta has suggested that the club can afford to sign the Borussia Dortmund ace. “If we have to improve th...
