Jordi Alba, el novè golejador diferent

El ‘18’ blaugrana s’afegeix a una llista de realitzadors liderada per Neymar Jr, amb 12 gols 

El gol del lateral a Almeria va ser el 25è del Barça a la Lliga aquesta temporada 

El FC Barcelona va guanyar per 1-2 a Almeria gràcies als gols de Neymar Jr i Jordi Alba, que s’ha convertit en el novè golejador diferent d’aquesta temporada. A continuació repassem aquesta i altres dades del partit.

• Jordi Alba s’afegeix a una llista liderada per Neymar Jr (12 gols), Messi (11), Sandro (3), Rakitic (2), Xavi, Pedro, Piqué, Munir i Jordi Alba (tots amb 1). Entre tots sumen 33 dianes entre Lliga i Champions.

• El gol del lateral a Almeria va ser el 25è del Barça a la Lliga aquesta temporada.

• Va ser el sisè gol del ‘18’ blaugrana amb el primer equip del Barça. Quatre d’aquests sis han arribat en l’últim quart d’hora de partit.

• Neymar Jr, per la seva banda, suma deu gols en deu partits a la Lliga. Supera, d’aquesta manera, les nou dianes signades a la competició domèstica en tota la temporada passada.

• Marc Bartra va ser el jugador culer que més pilotes va recuperar (10), seguit de Mascherano i Rakitic (tots dos amb nou).

• Mascherano, precisament, va ser el jugador que més cops va intervenir. Va fer un total de 95 passades, 86 de les quals van ser bones.

• El d’aquest dissabte a Almeria va ser el primer partit sencer de Rafinha aquesta temporada.

• Messi ha estat titular en els 15 partits oficials d’aquesta temporada, mentre que Mascherano ha sortit d’inici en els últims sis compromisos culers. Neymar i Alves, per la seva banda, es quedaven a la banqueta després d’11 i 8 partits com a titulars, respectivament.

• L’Almeria-Barça va ser el primer partit de la Lliga 2014/15 en què els culers no van veure cap targeta. Ja havia passat al Barça-APOEL FC de Champions.

FC Barcelona back at it after the Clasico

Messi, Neymar, Douglas and Vermaelen did individual work, with Iniesta in physical therapy 

Adriano, still without the medical OK, worked out with the group, and was joined by Munir



FC Barcelona back at it after the Clasico by fcbarcelona
FC Barcelona went back to work on Monday, 48 hours after falling 3-1 in the Clasico. Luis Enrique's squad worked out on field 2 of the Ciutat Esportiva. They were joined by Adriano Correia, yet to be medically cleared, and Barça B player Munir.

Leo Messi, Neymar Jr, Douglas, and Thomas Vermaelen worked out individually. Andrés Iniesta, who suffered a right soleus injury in Saturday's loss, did physical therapy.

Technical Director of Football Andoni Zubizarreta followed the session closely. The team will train again on Tuesday morning at 11.00 AM CET.

Luis Enrique: “I have total faith in my players”

The FC Barcelona manager also defended his decision to make nine changes and said he'd do the same thing again 

“It's not easy to attack teams like those" he added. "We'll show the players where they need to imrpove. We can't settle for that, we need to be better."

First Champions League game and first win. “We found it hard to make the right choices over the final metres” said Luis Enrique, who was nevertheless positive about his side’s one goal victory against APOEL. “We have great, quality players but we didn’t get through on goal for a variety of reasons. We weren’t at our best over the final metres. We weren’t moving the ball around fast enough.”

On the issue of the three goalkeepers he commented that “it’s not a position like the others. But I have three great keepers and I’ll use them. I don’t believe in the cliché of a first choice keeper. I want them all to be ready. I didn’t tell them who would play, that’s my idea. I expect us to get results, and I have total faith that we will. I’m not associating any one keeper with any one competition. I want them all to be prepared and I’ll deal with them my way.”


I don’t believe in the cliché of a first choice keeper. I want them all to be ready

He went on to say that “they put ten players behind the ball. It’s not easy to attack a team like that, but they did create some danger. We scored from a set piece and we’re working on those, so I’m glad it came off … We managers worry when things don’t go to plan. These aren’t easy games, APOEL played a serious game … We’ll be showing the players what they need to get better. We can’t settle for this, we have to play better. I am sure we can make even better players of the players we have.”

I know Samper very well. He has personality. He's a great finding for the club

Luis Enrique handed Sergi Samper his debut tonight in a Champions League match of all things. “I know Samper very well” he said. “He has personality. He only made one mistake. He carried the team well and is a great finding for the club. He’ll help us on this journey.” And on Xavi he commented that “he seems fine to me. I’ve spoken with him and we’ve got a good relationship. And Piqué brings a lot of joy to the team. He’s a great player and I’m so happy he scored.”

I’m sticking to my guns. I need my whole team

Asked about the nine changes he made to the team that played at the weekend, he concluded that “perhaps our play was less fluid because of all the rotations, but I’m sticking to my guns. I need my whole team, although I’m sure I’ll get it wrong sometimes. We can’t always win 3-0 or 4-0, but I have total faith in my players.”

Chelsea 4 Barcelona 2 – Video Classic – 2005

Playing in different leagues, Chelsea and Barcelona do not have the same kind of rivalry you have in domestic ties, however when we do face them it is always a battle between enemies that hate each others guts.

Despite the dominance of Barcelona over European football up until about a year ago, Chelsea have always held their own over the Catalans, something that our rivals cannot claim. Lionel Messi is still yet to score against us and we always give them a tough game.

Some of it has been passed down from Mourinho and other elements are we just don’t like being told by others we don’t deserve to beat an opponent, either way we find our game against Barcelona.

We have had some epic contests, been robbed, caused upsets and dispelled myths. Here is one game that will live long in the memory

Barcelona’s Pedro linked with January move to Liverpool or Arsenal

Barcelona attacker Pedro would be willing to listen to offers from Liverpool or Arsenal in the January transfer window, according to reports.

The pacy wideman has struggled to establish himself as a regular starter at Camp Nou in recent seasons and fears the arrival of Luis Suarez from Liverpool will limit his opportunities even further.

The 27-year-old is yet to play a full 90 minutes this season, even with Suarez still suspended.

He could now quit the Catalan giants in the new year in favour of a switch to the Premier League, claims Spanish news outlet Fichajes.net.

The Gunners and the Reds are both touted as possible destinations.

A transfer to the Emirates would see him reunited with former Barca speed merchant Alexis Sanchez, while a move to Anfield would essential see him and Suarez performing a long-winded swap deal.

Barcelona - APOEL Preview: Pedro expecting tough test

The Spain international believes the Cypriot side will pose a significant threat as Luis Enrique's men get their European campaign started

Pedro is anticipating a difficult challenge when Barcelona begin their Champions League campaign at home to APOEL on Wednesday.

On paper, the Cypriot outfit represent the weakest opponents in Group F, which also includes Ajax and Paris Saint-Germain, both reigning champions of their respective domestic leagues.

Barcelona will come into the clash as firm favourites and they boast a strong home record in this competition, with just one defeat in their past 27 matches at Camp Nou.

Despite that run, Pedro is not expecting an easy ride against Giorgos Donis' men.

"We'll be playing against a physical side that tracks back well," he said. "I'm sure it'll be a difficult game.

"Every year we work hard to reach the Champions League final. It was a shame to lose to Atletico [Madrid, in the quarter-finals] last year.

"We're really up for it this season and hoping to win the title. But it's always hard, especially in the knockout phase."

Luis Enrique - who was in the Barca side last time they faced Cypriot opposition in 1996 is hoping to build on the positive start to his tenure which has seen the Catalan giants win both of their La Liga matches so far without conceding a goal.

APOEL have done likewise in the defence of their domestic title but will have their work cut out in a bid to repeat the heroics of the 2011-12 campaign, when they defied the odds to reach the quarter-finals before taking on Real Madrid proved a step too far, as Barca's fierce rivals won 8-2 on aggregate.

Donis' charges have already played four matches in this season's competition, coming through the third qualifying round and then the play-off stage to reach the group phase for the third time in their history.

Following a 4-2 aggregate win over HJK, APOEL gained a 1-1 draw in Denmark against AaB before trouncing their opponents 4-0 in the return leg to reach the first round proper.

Dani Alves missed Barcelona's 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday with a knee injury and remains a doubt, as does Thomas Vermaelen (hamstring), although both trained with the squad on Monday.

Neymar came off the bench to score both goals in that victory and could be in line to start, with Gerard Pique also pushing for a recall after playing the second half in place of Javier Mascherano against the Basques.

Meanwhile, the visitors have fitness doubts over Tasos Papazoglou (stomach), Stathis Aloneftis (ankle) and John Arne Riise (knock), who won the competition in 2005 with Liverpool.

PSG CAN DO WITHOUT A SLIPUP AGAINST AJAX AS BARCELONA LOOMS NEXT

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Ajax vs Paris Saint-Germain

It is a big five days coming up for Paris Saint-Germain. The home clash with Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday is one to whet the appetite but first up is a trip to Amsterdam to take on Dutch champions Ajax. This is a glamour tie if ever there was one, coming up against a stalwart in European football within their stomping ground, an arena where its pitch is graced by top young talent playing the Johan Cruyff way. An ethos that has been emulated by many of Europe’s marquee clubs.

Facing Frank de Boer’s side away from home is one of the sterner tests of our Group F clashes. Really, if we were to leave Amsterdam empty handed tomorrow it would be an horrendous start, especially when you consider Barcelona will be the next opponents. On paper, we should get a result tomorrow despite facing a well-disciplined outfit. With all due respect to ‘de Godenzonen’ we have the better team but as you know in Europe, anything can happen and this will be a test for Laurent Blanc’s men.

It was evident during the 1-1 draw with Rennes last Saturday that this game was seemingly more of a priority. As I said in my article a few days ago, we tend to suffer from this nausea  before a Champions League fixture and very rarely play to our full capabilities. The manner of the result was the biggest gripe for me. Blanc may very well have had tomorrow’s game in mind but he showed no real intent to tweak his tactics to push for the win.

Something we lacked, particularly in the last half hour of that game, was energy. Blaise Matuidi has been out of favour due to the terrific form of Javier Pastore within the three man midfield. It would not be a bad idea to recall BM back into the team, not necessarily as a like for like for Pastore but maybe for little Marco Verratti. Thiago Motta can sit quite easily on his own in front of the back four and there is every chance Ajax will enjoy a fair amount of possession. Having Matuidi’s legs in there would be a big help.

Speaking of little Marco, the Italian signed a brand new contract yesterday till 2019. He told the club’s official site: “When I think about my career, I only see myself at Paris Saint-Germain. I want to continue winning trophies with this club, while continue to improve as a footballer alongside truly world class players. Paris is magic!”

Tying him down is a statement of intent and all the more when you take into account the interest that has been shown in him from other clubs. He still has so much more to learn, especially in eradicating his petulance but he will eventually be one of the best central midfielders in world football.

In defence Blanc has a decision to make. At the moment it seems as if David Luiz is still struggling to overcome his injury having not participated in full training yesterday. Serge Aurier did. He may consider putting the Ivorian in central defence alongside Marquinhos. If not, then Zoumana Camara will make a consecutive start.

One thing we can exploit of our opponents is their defence. Eight goals they have conceded in their five opening league games, two of which were consecutive defeats to PSV Eindhoven and then Groningen. Things picked up though when De Boer started young Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik last weekend where he is on loan from Bayer Leverkusen. He scored a brace in a 2-1 win over Heracles.

Tomorrow night is a test but it is imperative that we get a result. The form Barcelona is in at the moment – despite some question marks over their tactical awareness –  is impressive. The last thing we want is to go into that game against the Catalans under pressure so early on in the competition.