Barcelona v Athletic Bilbao - Preview

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique says he is fully behind his players' decision not to attend the inaugural Best FIFA Football Awards in Zurich in order to focus on Wednesday's Copa del Rey clash with Athletic Bilbao.

Several members of the Barca squad were expected to be at the FIFA ceremony in Switzerland on Monday night, including Lionel Messi who was in the three-man shortlist for the top men's award.

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo claimed that accolade ahead of Messi and Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann.

However, Barca had issued a statement on Monday morning saying the players nominated would be instead focusing on preparations for the cup last-16 second leg against Athletic at the Nou Camp - where Barca will try to overturn a 2-1 deficit - with the Spanish giants represented by officials led by president Josep Maria Bartomeu in Zurich.

Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta and Luis Suarez were all named in the FIFPro World XI along with Messi.

Manager Enrique, however, offered his full support to his players, telling a press conference: ``In principle, the idea to go or not is individual. As their coach, I can only back their decision. There is a sporting situation that is more important.

``There are certain commitments the players must take into account. I back their decision 100 per cent.''

Enrique expects an improved performance at the Nou Camp, when his side will be out to secure a first win in three matches.

``We have to be very effective, very precise, and improve our percentage of getting out with the ball and beating their pressure,'' he said.

``The scoreline from the first leg makes for a very attractive game.

``We are going into the game a goal down, but the fact that we scored in the first leg has given us the confidence we need to get through the tie.

``If we score a goal, we will be ahead on aggregate and Athletic will have to take risks.

``It will be difficult because of the way Athletic play and what this match means to them.''

Enrique is hoping home advantage can see Barcelona through, his side having now slipped to third in LaLiga after only scraping a 1-1 draw at Villarreal at the weekend with a stoppage-time effort from Messi.

``We must make the Camp Nou a decisive factor,'' he said.

``The fans' support is vital and I hope they come in huge numbers to give us the backing we need.''

Athletic striker Inaki Williams was on the scoresheet in the first leg - where the Basque side finished with nine men - and he is hoping they can finish the job off on Wednesday.

He told Radio Marca: ``At San Mames we played a great game and we hope that the work we did bears fruit. We're really keen to face them because they are one of the best teams in the world. It would be great for us to get through this tie.''

Live Update: Ath. Bilbao vs Barcelona, 11-1-2017, 9:15 PM

Ath. Bilbao vs Barcelona

Copa del Rey Round of 16, Game 2

Today, 9:15 PM

Camp Nou, Barcelona

Barcelona

vs

Ath. Bilbao

 

Ronaldo won FIFA Best Player ahead of Messi, Griezmann

Ronaldo got 34.54% of total votes, while Messi finished second with 26.42% and Greizmann was third at 7.53%

“I’d like to thank my team, national team, Real Madrid, my trainer, my family that came here, my son, my brothers,” Ronaldo said while accepting the award.

“2016 was the best year of my career, the trophy shows that people aren’t blind and watch the games.

“With everything I won with my national team and club, with great individual performance, I can’t forget this incredible year. Thanks for voting for me.

“I don’t have much more to say, I think the awards speak for themselves. I’m not going to do the scream, just the motion”, he added.

Ronaldo, who earlier won the Ballon d’Or award , scored 61 goals and registered 20 assists in 60 games for club and country during voting period.

Dont Enlarg the World Cup- Germany's football president Reinhard Grindel

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Germany’s football president is against enlarging the World Cup.

Reinhard Grindel says in an interview published on the federation’s website that FIFA proposals to enlarge the tournament from 32 teams to 40 or 48 “have considerable weaknesses that are also clearly shown in FIFA factsheets.”

Grindel says, “At the DFB, we’re fundamentally convinced that the tried and tested model of 32 participating nations should be held. The world championships were always tournaments that inspired, why should that change?”

The DFB president warns that the quality of the tournament could suffer in soccer’s core markets if more participants are added, and that conflicts could emerge between national teams and clubs “if we overburden the players.”

9 Men Atletico Bilbao Sink Almighty Barcelona In Copa del Rey

The referee was the focal point as Barcelona fell to Athletic Bilbao 2-1 in the first leg of their Copa del Rey matchup.

Goals from Aritz Aduriz and Inaki Williams downed the Catalans, while a free-kick from Lionel Messi gave Barcelona life heading into the second leg.

There were a number of key refereeing decisions that led to the result. The most scrutinized was a pretty awful no-call in the first half after a challenge by Xabier Etxeita that left Neymar in a heap in the penalty area, but instead the referee shook his head.

Later, the referee was back in the spotlight after he sent off both Raul Gardia and Ander Iturraspe of Athletic in the second half for questionable second yellow cards. Despite the two-man advantage, Barcelona was never able to level things up. There was also a heated exchange between Aduriz and Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti which saw them both receive yellow cards.

Despite all this, Barcelona only had itself to blame. The second Athletic goal, from Inaki Williams in the 27th minute, came from absolutely nothing, when Jordi Alba gave the ball away and the hosts pounced swiftly, as Aduriz delivered a back-heel to Williams who hammered the ball with blistering pace into the back of the net.

The two will play the second leg at the Camp Nou on January 11th.

Chelsea FC: Who can rival Chelsea in EPL- Opinion

LONDON — Antonio Conte wasn’t too unhappy despite Chelsea’s 13-game winning streak coming to an end at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.

The Blues tasted defeat for the first time since September as they lost 2-0 in the London derby following Dele Alli’s headers either side of half time which scuppered their chances of setting a new record for consecutive wins in the top-flight.

That result blew the title race wide-open at the halfway point of the season as Chelsea now have just a five-point lead over Liverpool and are seven points ahead of Tottenham and Manchester City with Arsenal eight points back and Manchester United 10 points behind the current leaders. It’s tight.

Speaking after their defeat at White Hart Lane, Conte revealed who he believes can win the title.

“I think the situation is very clear. There are six teams that can fight for the title or for a place in the Champions League,” Conte said. “I am sure one of these six teams will be champions.”

Before the festive period it appeared that just Liverpool or Man City would seriously challenge Chelsea for the title this season but with their winning run coming to an end, plus a few hiccups for Man City and Liverpool coupled with winning runs for Tottenham and Man United, the entire top six may now believe they can win the title.

Man City: I am not retiring any time soon, I love EPL -Guardiola

New Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has come under fire recently for saying he is starting to “say goodbye to my career.”

Guardiola backed down from those comments – made to NBC in a sitdown interview aired last week – suggesting the media took his words out of context and also taking responsibility for poor word choice.

“I said in the interview I am not going to be training when I am 60 years old,” Guardiola said in the prematch press conference prior to Friday’s FA Cup match against West Ham. “But guys, I am 45! I am not going to retire in two or three years. I love my job and am in the perfect place to do my job, especially here in England.”

“I won’t be training at 60 years because I want to do something else in my life. I started playing football as a young guy and my whole career was on the pitch, so I want to do something else in my life. But not in the next three, four, five or seven years. Maybe it was inappropriate to say I am starting to say goodbye to my career, but I know what I am thinking about when I am going to retire.”

Guardiola also praised his team’s ability to be fluid amid a season of bumps in the road. His tone was a significant U-turn from the previous months that have seen him throw players under the bus and show concern for his team’s ability to adapt to his tactics.

“I think all managers have to be so demanding,” Guardiola said. “But what I feel now – what I saw in the last few games – every time the situation is not going well, it’s my fault, not the fault of the players. That is my feeling now.”

The Spaniard pointed towards the most recent 2-1 win over Burnley where the team gritted out a victory despite playing the final 60 minutes with 10 men after Fernandinho was sent off. “The players have been amazing,” Guardiola said. “We have changed many things about the way we’re going to play this season so it was a special moment against Burnley. To see how they fought in such difficult circumstances, it was so emotional for me as a coach. So when I say to them I love them, it’s because really I love them.”

Finally, Guardiola backed his goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, who was brought in from Barcelona to replace incumbent starter Joe Hart, who was shipped out on loan to Serie A club Torino. “He has to adapt but all the goalkeepers, central defenders, full-backs and strikers do,” Guardiola said in support of his goalkeeper. “I know people are focused on Claudio but why does Claudio need to adapt and others don’t? I see many goalkeepers who had the same problems as Claudio with these balls and when they fight for them. It’s not only Claudio Bravo in this way.”

Man City 2-1 Burnley- Pep Admit mistake of not starting Aguero.

Man. City vs Burnley FC

Premier League

Today, 4:00 PM

City of Manchester Stadium

Man. City

2 - 1

FT

Burnley FC

Gael Clichy and Sergio Aguero scored as Manchester City overcame a first half red card to beat Burnley 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Monday.

All goals came after Fernandinho was sent off barely a half-hour into the match, as Ben Mee nabbed a late goal for the visitors.

The win pushes Man City back into third with 42 points, while Burnley sits 11th with 23.

City wasted a magnificent chance when Kelechi Iheanacho was stymied on a break by Burnley backstop Tom Heaton, and Raheem Sterling couldn’t maneuver Yaya Toure’s pass around the sliding keeper.

Iheanacho barely missed converted another pass from Toure in the eighth minute, seeing his shot take a slight deflection high and wide of the frame for a corner that came to nothing.

Burnley had a free kick from inside 20 yards in the 16th minute, but the wall did its job and an ensuing corner saw Man City on a quick counter attack. Jesus Navas bungled a chance from Raheem Sterling, and Toure called Heaton into duty again.

Fernandinho was sent off by Lee Mason for a two-footed challenge on Johann Berg Gudmundsson.

The 10-man hosts were still in control despite the disadvantage in numbers, and Gael Clichy’s seeing-eye shot off a Bacary Sagna cross went by five sets of legs before beating Heaton.

Aguero then scored from an improbable angle. Raheem Sterling dove past Tom Heaton in an attempt to win a penalty, but Aguero raced onto the loose ball and laced a shot off the inside of the near post and into the goal.

Burnley pulled one back through Mee, whose shot hit the underside of the bar during a scrum in which it appeared the Clarets scored twice (the second bulled out of Claudio Bravo‘s hands).

Liverpool Boss Over Manchester City in the last league match of the year. 31 Dec 2016

Liver

Liverpool vs Manchester City 31 Dec 2016 Full Time Score

Costly errors caused Barcelona loss to Manchester City-Luis Enrique

 Costly errors caused Barcelona loss to Manchester City-Luis Enrique 

Despite Lionel Messi's early goal, Ilkay Gundogan's double led Man City to a 3-1 win, ending Barca's recent dominance.

The ESPN FC crew break down Man City's win over Barcelona, saying Luis Enrique's men had no control over the midfield.

Luis Enrique thought his Barcelona side were spectacular for 40 minutes against Manchester City, but lamented the amount of errors they committed as they were eventually beaten 3-1 in England on Tuesday.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the first half and Barca could have added to their lead before Ilkay Gundogan capitalised on a stray Sergi Roberto pass to level the score just before the break.

That goal turned the game on its head, with the home crowd driving Pep Guardiola's men forward in the second period. Kevin De Bruyne scored a stunning free kick and Gundogan added his second of the evening as the Blaugrana failed to deal with a much improved City side.

Manchester City

Barcelona

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1

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Game Details

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Barca still lead their Champions League group and remain favourites to qualify in top spot despite the defeat, but Luis Enrique was left to blame mistakes as a three-game winning run against Premier League clubs came to an end.

"We played 40 spectacular minutes, especially on this stage against a top rival," Luis Enrique said in his postgame news conference. "But we committed a key mistake and that hurt us because we are not machines.

"It's a shame that we have made that error for the first goal and from there on we had a tough time.

Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring the opener, but Barca were ultimately beaten 3-1 by Man City.

"When you concede like that, it's normal that you have a bad spell. During that moment we wanted to continue to dominate the game, but it wasn't possible because of errors we made and pressure from City, too.

"We didn't have much of the ball and City took advantage of our errors. We just couldn't control the game in the same way and the result reflects that: first 40 minutes for us, the rest for them."

With nine points from four games, Barca remain two clear of Guardiola's side and five clear of third-placed Borussia Monchengladbach. For that reason Luis Enrique insists he is not worried about Tuesday's defeat.

"I'm not worried or surprised, they're things which happen in football," he added. "If things don't go to plan after playing well for 40 minutes then it's a strange feeling, but [City] played really well. They provoked more errors than us."

Barca were without Andres Iniesta, Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique for the game -- three regular starters -- but as he'd said in the preview to the match on Monday, Luis Enrique didn't want to use injuries as an excuse.

"If you lose it's not because of who's not there," he said about the missing players.

01 November 2016 - 19:45

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Manchester City

FC Barcelona

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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FORM

Manchester City 3-1 Barcelona live score and goal updates from Champions League clash

Pep Guardiola's side have a chance to avenge their humbling at the Camp Nou a fortnight ago when they host the Spanish champions at the Etihad

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Manchester City 3-1 Barcelona live score and goal updates from Champions League clash

• UPDATED 22:59, 1ST NOVEMBER 2016
• BY JACK RATHBORN

Pep Guardiola's side have a chance to avenge their humbling at the Camp Nou a fortnight ago when they host the Spanish champions at the Etihad

 
 
 
 
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KEY EVENTS SO FAR

• 14 HOURS AGOManchester City 3-1 Barcelona: 5 things we learned
• 14 HOURS AGOGoal! Man City 3-1 Barcelona (Gundogan)
• 14 HOURS AGOGoal! Man City 2-1 Barcelona (De Bruyne)
• 15 HOURS AGOGoal! Man City 1-1 Barcelona (Gundogan)
• 15 HOURS AGOGoal! Man City 0-1 Barcelona (Messi)

22:57LIAM PRENDERVILLE

Good night

That’s it tonight, folks, and what a night it’s been for Manchester City and their sensational victory over a world class Barcelona.

Ilkay Gundogan’s double and Kevin De Bruyne’s free-kick in reply to a special Messi goal probably clinched City’s greatest win in Europe.

Guardiola claims they did so against ‘the best team in the world,’ is he right?

Here are five things we learned from City’s famous win at the Etihad.

What about player ratings? Who took home the Man of the Match?

Reuters

22:40LIAM PRENDERVILLE

Guardiola has claimed City came up against the best side in the world.

Barcelona were rampant early on and almost put the game out of sight after Messi’s opener.

But City survived before turning the tide for a historic win.

City were nothing short of sensational in the second-half and De Bruyne was at the heart of their play.

He put his side in front with a stunning free-kick and then had an integral role in the third, which wrapped up the victory.

De Bruyne’s perfectly-weighted pass picked out Jesus Navas and after Aguero failed to convert, Gundogan was on hand to smash home.

The German has four goals in as many days but it was De Bruyne who caught the eye again as he delivered at the vital moments.

Is there anyone better in English football right now?

22:20LIAM PRENDERVILLE

4. Right-backs ran ragged

Both sets of defenders endured a tough night at the Etihad with Sergi Roberto, in particular, struggling.

The Barca full-back was at fault for the leveller and almost gifted City a second with another slack pass - and his opposite number Pablo Zabaleta didn’t fare much better.

The Argentine, who hadn’t played since the defeat at the Nou Camp, simply didn’t appear up to the task against Barca’s front three.

He isn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last to struggle against Messi and co. but it appears time is starting to catch up with him.

You would expect the City boss to be eyeing a new right-back in the summer - and Barca could be in the market too.

Roberto has impressed before tonight but there’s no doubt Dani Alves’ departure is being felt.

22:15LIAM PRENDERVILLE

Luis Enrique reacts

Luis Enrique believes his side played superbly until they allowed City back in with the equaliser.

“We played 40 spectacular minutes, but we committed a key mistake and that hurt us because we are not machines,” admits the Blaugrana boss.

“They forced us into mistakes, more than usual. Now the group is open and our objective is to win the two games left.”

Getty Images

22:12LIAM PRENDERVILLE

3. Iniesta leaves a huge hole to fill

Luis Enrique went into the clash without a number of key players.

Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba were certainly missed at the Etihad but without Andres Iniesta, Barca are not the same team.

Andre Gomes, who replaced him, did OK but the Spanish skipper makes this side tick.

Without him, the visitors were uncharacteristically sloppy as City forced them into mistakes before going on to dominate after the break.

Throughout the second-half, they needed someone to get his foot on the ball and calm things down.

Unfortunately for Enrique, he’s on the treatment table.

22:05LIAM PRENDERVILLE

2. Pep's pressing game pays off

They might play a better passing game than anyone on the planet but even Barca’s stars can make mistakes.

With Marc-Andre ter Stegen starting attacks from the back, City set to press the visitors high up the pitch - and it paid off.

Pressure was put on Sergi Roberto at right-back, who opted to play a calamitous pass across the box.

Sergio Aguero intercepted and found Raheem Sterling, who in turn picked out Ilkay Gundogan. He simply couldn’t miss.

History almost repeated itself early in the second-half as Roberto again gave the ball away but Sterling could only find the side netting this time.

It is almost impossible to press Barca for 90 minutes but they can be squeezed into errors and City proved it to drag themselves back into the tie.

That was the foundation for their outstanding second-half display.

21:53

McManaman feels Ter Stegen was at at fault fro the second goal.

“It was a mistake, a lovely free-kick, but a huge mistake. City deserve it though,” says the former City player.

Ferdinand has been raving about City’s pressing tonight in the studio.

“When you win it, attack! Don’t think about it, just create a problem for the opponent. They could have had two or three more goals. Look at Silva - who associated him with pressing before this? You win it, you don’t stand still, you need runners.”

Reuters