Barcelona - NouCamp Faithful

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Rayo Vallecano 1 - 1 Barcelona : Own goal saves Barcelona in 1-1 draw with Rayo

Barcelona rescued a point with a 1-1 draw away at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday thanks to a late second-half own-goal by defender Florian Lejeune.

Impacted by injuries to key players such as goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen and midfielder Gavi, who suffered an ACL tear in Spain's win against Georgia, Barca manager Xavi Hernandez made six changes to the team selection that fought back to win 2-1 against lowly Alaves in their previous game but his side kept struggling.

Rayo started the game on top and outclassed last season's champions throughout the first half before opening the scoring with a brilliant strike from range by midfielder Unai Lopez in the 39th minute.

Barça came back with urgency after the break and eventually equalise thanks to a mistake by Rayo defender Lejeune, who sent the ball into his own net with the tip of his boot as he tried to clear a cross in the 82nd minute.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 2 - 1 FC Porto : Barcelona beat Porto to secure Champions League last-16 spot

João Cancelo and João Félix scored in each half to earn Barcelona a 2-1 comeback win at home against Porto on Tuesday that booked their spot in the Champions League knockout rounds for the first time in three seasons.

After crashing out of the competition in the group stage two years in a row, five-times champions Barca are back in the last-16 after securing a top-two finish with one game remaining.

Barcelona are top of Group H on 12 points, three ahead of Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk, who will play each other on the final matchday to decide who will join the Spaniards in the knockout stage.

Barca need at least a draw against bottom side Antwerp in two weeks' time to guarantee top spot in the group.

They had to dig deep against a valiant Porto who were the better side in the first half but were frustrated by an inspired performance from Barca goalkeeper Iñaki Peña, who replaced injured Marc-André ter Stegen and made several excellent saves to keep the hosts in the game.

Pena made a reflex save to deny a point-blank strike from Galeno in the 28th minute and blocked another effort by the Porto winger two minutes later, but this time Pepê was well placed inside the box to strike home the rebound and put them in front.

However, Barca hit back two minutes later, with a fine curling shot into the top corner by Cancelo after he dribbled past João Mário.

In the 2nd half, Cancelo was excellent running down the left channel and teed up Felix for a tidy first-time finish just beyond the goalkeeper's reach in the 57th minute to secure the win.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 1 - 0 Atletico Madrid : Joao Felix gives Barcelona needed win over Atletico Madrid

Barcelona's Joao Felix scored in the first half to secure a hard-fought 1-0 home win against his valiant parent club Atletico Madrid in a compelling La Liga clash on Sunday.

The Portuguese, on loan at Barca, netted with a fine finish over goalkeeper Jan Oblak from a counter-attack in the 28th minute and the hosts held on against Diego Simeone's side.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 2 - 4 Girona : Girona double up Barcelona to restore LaLiga lead

High-flying Girona reclaimed top spot in LaLiga after beating champions Barcelona 4-2 away on Sunday, condemning Xavi Hernandez's side to their second league defeat of the season.

Artem Dovbyk put Girona in front in the 12th minute with a shot that bounced in off the bottom of the post before Robert Lewandowski equalised for the hosts seven minutes later, heading home following a corner.

Miguel Gutierrez restored Girona's lead before half-time, after the defender broke into the box and scored with an individual effort, and Valery Fernandez made it 3-1 in the 80th minute with a low shot two minutes after coming off the bench.

Ilkay Gundogan pulled another goal back for Barca before Girona's Cristhian Stuani scored their fourth in stoppage time.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Antwerp 3 - 2 Barcelona : Surprise win gives Antwerp first points of Champions League campaign

Royal Antwerp won a first Champions League game on Wednesday with a surprise 3-2 home victory over Barcelona, securing their first points in Group H although it was not enough for them continue in this season's European club competition.

Teenager Arthur Vermeeren had Antwerp ahead after 90 seconds but Barcelona equalised 10 minutes before halftime through Ferran Torres.

Vincent Janssen put Antwerp in front again early in the second half, a lead they held going into stoppage time when 17-year-old Marc Guiu tried to deny home celebrations with an equaliser.

But straight from the kick-off Antwerp surged downfield and won the game through another teenage substitute, George Ilenikhena.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Valencia 1 - 1 Barcelona : Barcelona held by Valencia to extend winless streak

Valencia fought back to snatch a 1-1 draw at home against Barcelona in their LaLiga clash on Saturday -- a result that will do nothing to ease the pressure on Xavi Hernandez's side, winless in their last three games in all competitions.

Barcelona looked nervy and erratic despite dominating the ball, having travelled to Valencia in the wake of two defeats in four days.

Barça hit an all but impenetrable wall in Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who made a string of outstanding saves to keep the visitors at bay.

João Félix finally broke the deadlock in the 55th minute with a close-range strike, tapping in from a Raphinha cross.

However, Valencia made the most of the chance that came their way and equalised 15 minutes later with a brilliant curling shot from the edge of the box by Hugo Guillamón into the top left corner.

Barça tried to make a late press for a winner but Mamardashvili made two more saves as the locals held on for a valuable point.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 3 - 2 Almeria : Wasteful Barcelona salvage win against bottom-side Almeria

Two second-half goals from Sergi Roberto rescued a 3-2 home win for champions Barcelona against bottom side Almeria in LaLiga on Wednesday, putting an end to their three-game winless run in all competitions as they head into the Christmas break.

Barcelona dominated the first half, but squandered the vast majority of their 15 chances -- five of them on target -- and the game was level at half-time after Almeria forward Leo Baptistao cancelled out the opener from Raphinha.

Roberto restored the lead for Barca at the hour mark, nodding home a corner, before Edgar Gonzalez found another leveller for Almeria. Roberto put Barcelona again in front, nutmegging Almeria keeper Luis Maximiano from close range.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 2 - 3 Club América : Liga MX's América beat Barcelona in Dallas friendly

Newly crowned Liga MX champions Club América beat LaLiga title-holders Barcelona 3-2 in a friendly at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Thursday night.

Barcelona, who flew to Dallas on Wednesday night right after a 3-2 win over Almeria in Spain, used an alternate roster in their midweek XI that featured six teenagers, three of whom were making their debuts.

The LaLiga giants found the back of the net early in the game through 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, who picked up the ball in the midfield, raced upfield and beat America goalkeeper Angel Malagon to give Barca a 1-0 lead.

Club América quickly responded with a 12th minute equalizer from Colombia-born Mexico international Julian Quiñones. After receiving a pass from United States midfielder Alejandro Zendejas, Quiñones backheeled the ball into the net to level the score.

Despite both sides beginning to slow their pace after taking part in recent matches, Barcelona eventually made it 2-1 with a 28th minute goal from 17-year-old Marc Guiu. Connecting well with full-back and fellow academy product Hector Fort, Guiu found the back of the net after sliding to meet a low cross.

Barca took a 2-1 advantage into half-time, but the lead for Xavi Hernandez's side was short-lived.

After Quiñones won a duel with defender Pau Cubarsí in Barcelona's third of the field, the winger just had 19-year-old goalkeeper Ander Astralaga to beat to make it 2-2 shortly after the break.

In a closing half that included a long list of substitutions from both teams, América retook the lead for good with an 82nd minute goal from striker Henry Martín, who came on in the 62nd minute.

Despite a back-and-forth close to the game, and Barcelona's XI being boosted by appearances off the bench from key figures like João Cancelo and Robert Lewandowski, América hung on for the win at the final whistle.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Las Palmas 1 - 2 Barcelona : Last-gasp Gündoğan penalty earns Barcelona win

Ilkay Gündoğan's stoppage-time penalty earned Barcelona a 2-1 comeback win at 10-man Las Palmas in an ill-tempered LaLiga match on Thursday.

Las Palmas opened the scoring in the 12th minute when former Barcelona midfielder Sandro Ramirez set up Munir El Haddadi to fire home from close range and the hosts dominated the first half.

Barça struck back 10 minutes after the break following a defensive error that allowed Sergi Roberto to find Ferran Torres who beat Las Palmas keeper Alvaro Valles with a scruffy finish.

Las Palmas defender Daley Sinkgraven was shown the red card after a push on Gündoğan in added time and the former Manchester City midfielder converted his spot-kick.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barbastro 2 - 3 Barcelona : Barcelona sneak past fourth-tier Barbastro in Copa del Rey

Barcelona made hard work of fourth-tier opponents as they booked their place in the Copa del Rey round of 16 on Sunday with a 3-2 win at Barbastro courtesy of goals from Fermín López, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski.

Lopez opened the scoring for the visitors in the 18th minute with a tap-in from a low cross from Raphinha, who then made it 2-0, collecting a fine long ball from young debutant Hector Fort in the 51st minute.

Despite Barcelona looking dominant, Adria de Mesa lifted the spirits of the home crowd when he capitalised on a loose ball in the box to pull one back for Barbastro in the 60th minute.

Barbastro went close to equalising, before substitute Lewandowski made no mistake from the penalty spot to extend Barca's lead with two minutes to go.

Barbastro's Marc Prat made it 3-2 in stoppage time also with a penalty, but the hosts could not prevent Barca from sealing the win.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 2 - 0 Osasuna : Barcelona beat Osasuna to set up Clasico Supercopa final

Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal scored second-half goals to give Barcelona an 2-0 win over Osasuna in a dour Spanish Supercopa semifinal in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

Barca setup a dream showpiece clash on Sunday with Real Madrid, who had beaten city rivals Atletico Madrid in a breathtaking 5-3 derby earlier in the week. It will be a re-match from last year's final, which Barca won 3-1.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Real Madrid 4 - 1 Barcelona : Vinicius stars as Real Madrid thrash Barcelona to win Supercopa

Vinícius Júnior scored a hat-trick in the first half as Real Madrid were crowned Spanish Super Cup champions after a 4-1 demolition of bitter rivals Barcelona in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Real dominated every aspect of the game and toyed with last year's champions who could not handle Vinícius and ended the contest with 10 men after defender Ronald Araújo was sent off for a second booking in the 71st minute after two fouls on the Brazilian.

Barca managed to reduce the deficit with a fine Robert Lewandowski strike from another rebound in the 33rd minute.

Real dominated the second half with Rodrygo hitting their fourth from a rebound in the 64th minute.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Unionistas de Salamanca 1 - 3 Barcelona : Barcelona rally to beat 3rd-tier Unionistas de Salamanca in Copa del Rey

Barcelona picked up the pace in the second half to beat third-division club Unionistas 3-1 and advance to the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey on Thursday.

The hosts had taken the lead with a beautiful one-timer by Álvaro Gómez in the 31st minute before Ferran Torres equalised for Barcelona on a breakaway in the 45th. Jules Koundé scored with a long-range shot in the 69th and Alejandro Balde sealed the victory with a strike from a tight angle in the 73rd.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Real Betis 2 - 4 Barcelona : Barcelona survive Real Betis scare with Ferran Torres hat trick

Barcelona secured a last-gasp 4-2 win at Real Betis on Sunday, as stoppage-time goals from substitute Joao Felix and striker Ferran Torres, who completed his hat trick, helped to ease the pressure on manager Xavi Hernandez in a stuttering season.

Torres opened the scoring in the 21st minute tapping in a cross from the right by Pedri and he extended Barca's lead from a rebound in the 49th, after a Lamine Yamal strike came back off the crossbar.

However, Betis struck back as Isco scored twice in four minutes to level the score.

With Betis dominating possession, Felix made the most of a quick counter-attack to strike a tidy finish from the edge of the box past the goalkeeper in the 91st minute.

Three minutes into added time, Torres scored his third and Barca's fourth from another counter to secure a hard-fought win for last year's champions, handing Betis their first home loss of the season.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Athletic Club Bilbao 4 - 2 Barcelona : Barcelona knocked out of Cup as Athletic hit extra-time double

(AET)

Athletic Bilbao beat Barcelona 4-2 at home to knock them out of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday as brothers Inaki and Nico Williams struck in extra time in a breathtaking quarterfinal.

The hosts grabbed an early lead with a Gorka Guruzeta strike from a rebound inside the first minute, but Barca managed to hit back before the break with two goals within five minutes.

Athletic's Yuri Berchiche attempted to clear the ball from his own six-yard box but it cannoned off Robert Lewandowski and into the empty net in the 27th minute.

Lamine Yamal then produced a moment of magic as he burst past three defenders to the edge of the box where he cut inside and slotted a brilliant strike just inside the far post.

Athletic, however, fought back after the break and levelled in the 49th minute with a towering header by Oihan Sancet from a splendid cross from the left by Nico Williams.

In extra time, Athletic turned their superiority into goals. First Inaki Williams fired home a rebound from his own close-range strike that came back off the post two minutes into added time before the break and Nico Williams secured the win in the last action of the game, with a fine curling strike into the top corner.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)