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It was another remontada for Barcelona - converting a first leg Copa del Rey semi-final loss (0-2) to Sevilla. The game was drawing to its end and a defeat seemed most likely, despite Ousmane Dembele scoring Barcelona's first in the 12th minute. Barcelona seemed unable to add to their lead after the first goal. Thankfully, Marc Andre Ter Stergen kept hope alive for Barcelona by stopping Ocampos' penalty in the 73rd minute - a penalty conceded after a clash between Oscar Mingueza and the former. Pique who has been in better form following his recovery from a knee injury netted for the Catalans in the last minute of the game, to give them a lifeline with prolongation. Credit also goes to Antoine Griezmann who carved out the chance for Pique's header with a fine cross. Martin Braithwaite sealed victory for Barcelona early on in the additional 30 minutes. On aggregate, Barcelona won 3-2 and will will either face Athletic Club or Levante at the finals.

Luis Suarez, who transferred to Atletico Madrid last September has revealed the most disappointing aspect of his exit from Barcelona - the club telling him that he was too old to perform at the highest level. Suarez who is now second-highest goal scorer in La Liga with 16 goals (after Messi) has proven Barcelona management wrong, by firing Atletico Madrid to the top of the La Liga scoring chart. “What really bothered me was when they told me that I was old and that I could no longer play at a high level, be up to [the task of fronting] a great team,” Suarez told  France Football . “That’s what I did not like.” Suarez said he lived up to expected standards at the club, and blamed the club for signing players who were not on an elite level. “Today, we can see that it is not easy to play at Barca ... A lot of players who signed there did not have the level that was expected of them. Me, I played for six years at Barca maintaining a certain level and living up to what was expected

Lionel Messi and the entire Barcelona squad were in good form on Saturday as they faced a first-class Sevilla. At the heart of Barcelona's formidable display was Lionel Messi who scored a goal and provided the assist for Ousmane Dembele's goal to make it 0-2 for Barcelona. Messi has now scored 38 goals against Sevilla, six more than he has scored against any other side. He has also achieved his best scoring streak in two years, netting in eight La Liga games in a row - a total of 12 goals during these matches. Barcelona are now within one point of Diego Simeone's men, though the latter have two games in hand. Barcelona's victory brings an end to Sevilla's 10-game winning run in domestic competitions. Barcelona face Sevilla again on Wednesday, in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final. "If we can overturn the tie on Wednesday, our entire season turns around," Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said. "After playing like this at Sevilla, not givi

It was a comfortable La Liga win for Barcelona as they defeated Elche 3 - 0 with second half goals from Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba - a brace from Messi and one goal from Jordi Alba. Messi notched in Martin Braithwaite's backheel into the bottom corner of the Elche goalkeeper's net in the 48th minute, and scored his second 20 minutes later - he picked up a pass from Frenkie de Jong, and fended off a few defenders before scoring. Jordi Alba scored Barcelona's third in the 73rd minute, set up by Braithwaite and Messi. Barcelona lay Sevilla on Saturday - a La Liga fixture, then next Wednesday at Camp Nou in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals. It will be an uphill task for the Catalans as they already lost the first leg 2-0 away. Barcelona are third in La Liga behind Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid - 55, 52 and 50 points respectively, albeit Atletico still have a game in hand. Messi's brace has taken him to the top of the La Liga scoring chart, with two goal

For the third time in LaLiga Santander this season, Lionel Messi has had a goal disallowed by VAR in Saturday's Barcelona vs Alaves La Liga fixture. His first-half goal - a shot he tucked home from Antoine Griezmann's deflected shot - was ruled out by VAR, as they deemed Griezmann was slightly offside during the move. As of now, no player has had more goals disallowed by VAR than Messi this season. That did not stop Messi from scoring a brace - both sublime goals, with one scored 25-yards away from goal - and providing an assist in Barcelona's 5-1 undoing of Alaves. He also matched two important records - he equaled Barcelona legend Xavi for most league games played for Barcelona, and has matched Cristiano Ronaldo's tally of 573 goals scored from open play - doing so in two fewer years and 145 games less.  

Messi and a couple of first-team regulars did not feature in the starting XI for the Barcelona vs Real Betis clash, with a Copa del Rey semi-final against Sevilla due Wednesday, and the first leg of their Champions League clash with PSG eight days away. In-form Griezmann however debuted, but Barcelona trailed Real Betis 0-1 by the end of the first half. Barcelona did not register a single shot on target in the first 45 minutes of play. In the 56th minute, Koeman brought Messi in, who scored two minutes later to level the game. A Victor Ruiz own goal later put Barcelona ahead. But it was Trincao's curled strike that sealed the win for Barcelona. This victory places Barcelona 7 points behind league leaders Atletico Madrid, who have two games in hand.

Barcelona returned home to Camp Nou for their La Liga fixture vs Athletic Bilbao on January 31, 2021. It was a triumphant home as they moved up to second in La Liga - goals from Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann helped them beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1. Barcelona were the better team from kick-off - played with intensity, had the majority of ball possession and pressed to recover the ball when they lost it.  A very active Messi opened scoring for Barcelona in the 20th minute with a brilliant free kick (his 650th goal for Barcelona), though Athletic leveled through a Jordi Alba own goal early in the second half. Griezmann struck the winner for Barcelona with 15 minutes of play time left. This win stretched Barcelona's unbeaten run in the league to 10 games. They still have a long way to go however as they are still 10 points behind league leaders Atletico Madrid.

Rayo Vallecano may be a second division club, but they were a tough opponent for Barcelona at the Copa del Rey last 16 game played on January 27th. Barcelona dominated the game, but Los Franjirrojos opened scoring first, with a goal from Fran Garcia. Barcelona won the Segunda side 2-1 at Vallencas, to progress to the quarter finals, thanks to second half goals from Lionel Messi and Frenkie de Jong. Messi was back in Barcelona's starting XI after serving a two-match ban for a red card he received in their Spanish Supercoppa loss to Athletic Bilbao on January 17. That was his first red card in his Barcelona career. He has now surpassed Barcelona Legend Josep Samitier as Barcelona player with the most matches played in the history of the Copa del Rey. Messi now has 76 appearances in the competition, one more than Josep Samitier. Sevilla crushed 2019 Copa winners Valencia 3-0 at home, joining Barcelona in Friday's quarterfinal draw.

Barcelona's most recent outings have been exciting, with quite some progress from their dull start to the season. Barcelona's 4-0 win over Granada extends Barcelona's unbeaten run to eight games. Messi is back on top of the Pichichi standings with 11 goals to his name. He's been in pretty good form lately with four goals and an assist in his last three games. Messi scored a brace despite being taken off in the second half. Messi put an end to his mini free-kick drought with his second goal. Griezmann was exceptional as well, providing an assist for Messi and scoring two himself. He opened scoring for Barcelona with a fine left-footed finish in the 12th minute. According to OptaJose, Griezmann has now been in three goals in the same game for Barcelona for the second time in all competitions (two goals and an assist against Real Betis in August 2019.

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi had a turbulent summer, with doubts cast over his Barcelona future, but he's back to his best self in 2021. On Wednesday night, Barcelona won Athletic Bilbao 3-2 with a goal from Pedri and a brace from Messi.  Inaki Williams gave Athletic Bilbao an early lead in the third minute. Messi swept home a cheeky backheel from Pedri to give Barcelona the lead after Pedri's equalizer a few minutes after Inaki's goal for Athletic. He then scored Barcelona's third with Antoine Griezmann's assist. With the win, Barcelona are now third in La Liga - five points behind second-placed Real Madrid and seven adrift of table leaders Atletico Madrid. Messi and three others, including Luis Suarez top the goalscoring charts in Spain with nine goals each. Koeman was pleased with the Pedri-Messi connection, and praised the 18-year-old who completed over 90% of his attempted passes. "Pedri is showing despite his youth that he is very mature," the Dutc

Lionel Messi finished third at The Best FIFA Men's player award this year - at the ceremony which took place earlier this month. This year's ceremony saw Robert Lewandowski winning, and Cristiano Ronaldo emerging second. According to Felix Kroos, brother of Real Madrid midfield veteran Toni Kroos, Messi didn't deserve a spot in the final three. "Lewandowski deserves it, absolutely," the 29-year-old, who plays for German second division outfit Eintracht Braunschweig, told his older brother's Einfach mal Luppen podcast. "But, for me, Messi doesn't belong in the top three, because I don't think he did well this year." He also lamented about the short-term thinking that dominates modern football. “You win the Champions League one, two, three times in a row and four weeks later you lose the first friendly, the first test match, and suddenly s*** smells again," he said.

Earlier this week, Lionel Messi became the all-time top scorer for a single club, breaking the record set by football legend Pele with Santos in his native Brazil (643 goals). To celebrate the new record, brewing giant Budweiser came up with a unique salute to the King of Goals - sending customized beer bottles for each of Messi's goals to the goalkeepers the Barcelona legend has scored against. On their Twitter handle, Budweiser Football posted a promotional video, with the tweet, "In this game, no goal is easy." “Which is why we’ve created a custom bottle for all 644 goals Leo Messi scored. Yes, that’s 644 unique bottles. Sent to all 160 goalkeepers Messi scored against to toast their part in making history,” the tweet read. In another tweet, they said: “644 goals = 644 moments of Messi magic. And yes, we’ve created a custom bottle for every single goal to send to the keepers to toast their part in history. Kings recognize Kings." The bottles are customized

In a brilliant interview with Sky Sports, Slovenian shot-stopper Jan Oblak who happens to be one of football’s elite goalkeepers labelled Messi the best player in the world. He has been opportuned to face Messi severally as he joined Los Rojiblancos in 2014, in a transfer from Benfica. Since joining, he's been Atletico' premier choice of goalkeeper. "He watches my legs," The Atletico Madrid stopper said. "If I make one step, he will see it and shoot to the other side. This is why he is the best. This is why he is so difficult. He does not show it but he is always looking. He is always watching you. His eyes are on the ball but he sees you. "He sees everything, I think. He has scored many goals against me. Too many! But he is a great player, an amazing player, the best player. "There are many times that he scores a goal and you have this feeling that you cannot understand how he has scored so easily. You are not even close. Sometimes it feels like

Messi and team celebrate after his goal After two successive defeats - a 1-2 loss to Cadiz (in La Liga) last weekend, and a humiliating 0-3 defeat to Juventus in the Champions League, Barcelona defeated Levante at Camp Nou - a much needed 1-0 victory. Messi fired home a pass from Frenkie de Jong in the 76th minute - his fifth goal in 11 La Liga appearances this season. Barcelona are now 8th in La Liga.  La Liga leaders Real Sociedad only lead Atletico Madrid now on goal difference. Sociedad are to play Barcelona on Wednesday. Barcelona are nine points behind leaders Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid. Though many suggest that Barcelona will miss out on La Liga trophy for a second consecutive season, Barcelona Coach Ronald Koeman believes Barcelona can still win it. "Of course we can win [the title]," the 57-year-old told reporters. "If we improve and we have more confidence and we improve our effectiveness [in front of goal], there's a chance! "There are st

On Sunday, Lionel Messi dedicated his goal vs Osasuna to Diego Maradona. After scoring a typically brilliant "Messiesque" goal, Messi took off his shirt to reveal a Newell's Old Boys shirt with a No. 10 on the back in honor of Maradona. The goal he scored closely resembled that which Maradona scored for Newell's Old Boys on October 7, 1993 vs Emelec. Barcelona paid tribute to Maradona before the game kicked off, with a minute of silence and the laying of a Maradona shirt in the center-circle and in the directors' box. The first goal of the game was scored by Martin Braithwaithe, then Griezmann scored a superb volley and set up Philippe Coutinho for Barcelona's third. Messi then scored the last in style to seal a 4-0 victory for Barcelona over Osasuna - a much needed 3 points to boost their La Liga ranking.  

Barcelona seem to be back to their winning ways barely a few hours after Josep maria Bartomeu resigned as president of the club. Barcelona were able to beat Juventus at Turin, thanks to a masterclass display from Messi and co. Messi assisted Ousmane Dembele's deflected opener with a stunning cross-field pass and sealed victory for Barcelona by converting a late penalty, which resulted in a 2-0 win over the Bianconeri in the Champions League on Wednesday. He also completed more take-ons (6) and created more chances (5) than any other player on the pitch. Barcelona top Group G with 6 points in two games played. Italian football legend Vieri was left dumbfounded by the Argentine's brilliance on the pitch and told CBS Sports:  "An amazing Barcelona, there was no game. They could've scored six, seven goals easy. They played fantastic. "Messi is a magician, he's the Harry Potter of soccer and when he stops playing, I'm throwing my TVs away. I'm not going

Lionel Messi scored for Barcelona in their 5-1 win vs Hungarian side Ferencvaros in their first Champions League outing of the season. He scored his 116th Champions League goal - a first half penalty, becoming the first player to score in 16 consecutive Champions League seasons. So far, Manchester United great Ryan Giggs is the only player to have scored in 16 Champions League seasons, though not in consecutive years. Messi also extended his record of teams scored against in the Champions League to 36. He has now scored 69 goals in the Champions League group stage - more than any other player. 17-year-old Ansu Fati also scored, becoming the first player under the age of 18 to score two Champions League goals after scoring Barcelona's second goal for the night.

Messi was once more sensational for Barcelona as they beat Napoli 3-1 in the second leg of the Champions League last 16 (4-2 on aggregate). Barcelona were already leading in the 10th minute at Camp Nou thanks to Clement Lenglet's header from an Ivan Rakitic corner. Messi then doubled the lead for Barcelona in style in the 23rd minute as he wriggled his way past three defenders, before bending a shot between a further two Napoli players, and into the far side of David Ospina's net. Messi scored another goal 7 minutes later, but it was ruled out by VAR. Luis Suarez scored Barcelona's third goal of the night - a penalty awarded after Kalidou Koulibaly felled Messi. This happened to be Suarez's 25th Champions League goal. Napoli scored their lone goal of the game at the end of the first half, through Lorenzo Insigne. Messi's performance for Barcelona earned him the Man of the Match (MOTM) award. Barcelona are set to play Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter

Lionel Messi has not had his best season, but continues to make history in grand style. He scored two goals against Alaves in the ultimate La Liga game of the season, taking his total league goals tally to 25. He finished the season as the league's top scorer. This is his seventh La Liga golden boot, and fourth consecutive. Prior to this season, he and Telmo Zarra held the record for most La Liga golden boots (Pichichi Trophy). Now, he is the sole holder of the record. Messi also recorded 21 assists over the course of this campaign, breaking the record held by his former Barcelona teammate Xavi. Messi's closest challenger for league goals this season was Karim Benzema with 21. Worth noting is the fact that Messi has had his lowest goals tally in La Liga since 2008-09, despite being the league's top scorer this year. Barcelona lost their League title to Real Madrid this season. Real Madrid closed the season with 87 points and Barcelona, 82.

Martin Cardetti says he prefers Brazil prodigy and former Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Ronaldinho to Barcelona legend Lionel Messi. Cadetti and Ronaldinho played together at PSG before the latter's transfer to Barcelona in 2003. Cadetti told  Crack Deportivo : As a coach, for my team I would choose Ronaldinho at his best over Messi. "I shared a year with Ronaldinho and he is a different player, he's touched by God. "He always had fun; with the ball he was always doing things and he practiced a lot so that he could replicate those things in matches." The Argentinian added: "You see him in training, in matches and every move he makes is different from everyone. "Players like him appear very rarely and they are remembered in football history. "I'm proud to have been a team-mate of that kind of player." Ronaldinho has won the 2005 Ballon d'Or, World Cup, Champions League and La Liga among other honors. Messi has also enjoyed a