Barcelona - NouCamp Faithful

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Barcelona 6 - 2 Real Betis : Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez sparkle as Barcelona score six

Luis Suarez was on target with a hat trick as Barcelona began their LaLiga title defence with a convincing 6-2 defeat of Real Betis.

Their pursuit of a third successive Spanish championship began in typically one-sided fashion. A goal from Arda Turan, two from Lionel Messi and Suarez's treble secured all three points from their opening league fixture of the 2016-17 season.

Betis' won a free kick, which Ruben Castro impressively curled into the top corner beyond Bravo's reach.

Castro added a further goal for Betis in the 84th minute, powerfully shooting beyond Bravo with another fine finish, but it was little more than a consolation for his well-beaten team.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Athletic Bilbao 0 - 1 Barcelona : Barcelona edge Athletic Bilbao with Rakitic header

Ivan Rakitic's firm header in the first half steered Barcelona to a 1-0 victory away to Athletic Bilbao as Luis Enrique's champions made it two wins from two in La Liga.

The Catalan giants are still without the talents of Neymar and Andres Iniesta, but still had enough quality to resist strong opposition from Athletic at San Mames.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 1 - 2 Alaves : Newly promoted Alaves stun Barcelona at Camp Nou

Barcelona slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat to Alaves as the champions' hopes of retaining their league title suffered an early setback.

Luis Enrique brought Olympic gold medal-winning hero Neymar and new recruit Paco Alcacer into his side with Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Luis Suarez all on the bench after wins in their opening two games in La Liga.

But they fell behind when Deyverson caught them napping with a smart finish in the 39th minute and though French defender Jeremy Mathieu headed an equaliser a minute into the second period, Ibai Gomez took advantage of some sloppy defending to secure Alaves' first win away to Barca since February 2000.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 7 - 0 Celtic : Lionel Messi scores a hat trick as Barcelona easily see off Celtic

Lionel Messi helped give Celtic another harsh Champions League lesson with a hat trick as Barcelona thrashed the Hoops 7-0 in their Group C opener at the Nou Camp.

This was the Celtic's first game back in the group stage of the competition for three seasons, their most recent match ending in a 6-1 defeat at the same venue, and it was another chastening evening for the Scottish champions.

Brazilian star Neymar set up Messi for the opener in the third minute and the Barca captain added a second from close range in the 27th minute after Parkhead striker Moussa Dembele had a penalty saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Neymar added a third five minutes into the second half with a wonderful free kick, substitute Andres Iniesta scored with an even better volley and then Messi tapped in for his third with half-an-hour to play.

As Celtic continued to chase shadows Luis Suarez grabbed a double to give Celtic their heaviest European defeat.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Leganes 1 - 5 Barcelona : Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar on target as Barca rout Leganes

Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona thumped Leganes 5-1 in La Liga.

Having lost 2-1 at home to Alaves in their last league game, Barcelona have responded with 12 goals in a week with this result coming on the heels of a 7-0 Champions League rout of Celtic.

Five of those have come from Messi, who added to his midweek hat trick by opening the scoring and adding a second-half penalty. Strike partners Luis Suarez and Neymar were also on target in the first half, while Rafinha netted the fifth before Gabriel pulled one back from a free-kick.

Messi was denied a penalty in the early stages, while Leganes' Carl Medjani headed over the bar after confusion between Samuel Umtiti and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 1 - 1 Atletico Madrid : Lionel Messi injured as Barcelona held to draw

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid got the result only Real Madrid wanted as they drew 1-1 in a tightly-contested match at the Nou Camp.

Real had dropped points for the first time this season earlier in the evening at home to Villarreal and must have feared reigning champions Barcelona would cut their lead to one point when Ivan Rakitic headed home an inviting Andres Iniesta cross in the 41st minute.

But Diego Simeone's men were dogged opponents and got the equaliser their efforts deserved when substitute Angel Correa got the better of Javier Mascherano to score after an hour's play.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Sporting Gijon 0 - 5 Barcelona : Barcelona make light of Messi absence to thrash Sporting Gijon

Barcelona began their run of matches without Lionel Messi with a 5-0 win over Sporting Gijon at El Molinon.

An adductor injury is expected to sideline Messi for around three weeks, but Barca got the job done against Sporting without him.

The other two-thirds of the 'MSN' strike force, Luis Suarez and Neymar, played their part in covering for Messi's absence, scoring three goals between them.

Suarez got the ball rolling just before the half-hour and Rafinha headed in a second to put the champions in control.

Alberto Lora's dismissal in the 74th minute made it an uphill struggle for the hosts, with Neymar grabbing his first goal in the 82nd minute and Arda Turan's header making it four two minutes later.

The final word came from Neymar with two minutes to go as Barcelona returned to winning ways after their draw with Atletico Madrid in midweek.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Borussia Monchengladbach 1 - 2 Barcelona : Barcelona rally to victory with Turan, Pique goals

Gerard Pique claimed the winner as Barcelona came from behind to beat Borussia Monchengladbach and claim a second successive victory in Group C of the Champions League.

The Spain international defender seized on a mistake by Gladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer 16 minutes from time to scramble home from close range and give the La Liga champions a 2-1 win at Borussia-Park.

Thorgan Hazard's close-range finish following an incisive breakaway had put the hosts ahead at half-time, but Barca levelled 20 minutes into the second period through substitute Arda Turan's emphatic half-volley.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Celta de Vigo 4 - 3 Barcelona : Barcelona shocked for second straight season

Celta Vigo stunned Barcelona for the second season running as they pressed and harried their illustrious visitors to beat them 4-3 at Balaidos.

The hosts won the corresponding fixture 4-1 last season and surged into a 3-0 lead before half-time this time around to leave Luis Enrique's men shell-shocked.

Pione Sisto and Iago Aspas both took their chances well and Jeremy Mathieu's own goal, under pressure from Aspas, gave Celta a lead they fully merited.

Barcelona cut the deficit to one via a Gerard Pique header and a Neymar penalty, but visiting goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen completed a nightmare evening by blasting a clearance into the face of Pablo Hernandez to give Celta a renewed two-goal advantage.

Pique pulled a further goal back but Barca missed their chance to seize the initiative in La Liga as they slipped to their second defeat in domestic competition.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 4 - 0 Deportivo La Coruña : Lionel Messi returns from injury as Barcelona thrash Depor

Lionel Messi marked his return from injury with a goal as Barcelona beat Deportivo La Coruna 4-0 to atone for the horror defeat at Celta Vigo before the international break.

The Argentinian had only been on the field for three minutes when he scored Barca's fourth, having missed their last three matches with a groin injury.

Rafinha's brace set Luis Enrique's men on a winning path and Luis Suarez's well-taken effort just before half-time ended the match as a contest, with Manchester City -- and Pep Guardiola -- the next visitors to the Camp Nou on Wednesday.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 4 - 0 Manchester City : Lionel Messi hat trick as Barcelona beat Man City in Guardiola's return

Lionel Messi scored a hat trick in a sensational display as Barcelona beat Manchester City 4-0 at the Camp Nou on Wednesday.

The five-times Ballon d'Or winner struck in the 17th, 61st and 69th minutes -- the last two coming after City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo had been sent off -- as Pep Guardiola suffered an unhappy return to his old club.

Neymar got his goal late in the match, curling in a shot to make it nine points from three matches for Barcelona, with the only downside to their night being the loss of Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique to knocks.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Valencia 2 - 3 Barcelona : Lionel Messi's late penalty gives Barcelona win

Lionel Messi's last-minute penalty saw Barcelona snatch a 3-2 win over Valencia in an enthralling encounter at the Mestalla.

Messi, who recorded his 41st career hat-trick on Wednesday, opened the scoring in the first half but goals from Barcelona loanee Munir and Rodrigo gave the hosts a shock 2-1 lead after the break.

Barcelona responded immediately as Alves could only parry Rakitic's header towards Suarez who finished expertly to equalise just after the hour mark.

The trickery of Luis Suarez won the visitors a penalty at the death before Messi confidently dispatched the spot-kick for his brace as Barca remained top of La Liga.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 0 - 1 Espanyol : Espanyol beat city rivals Barcelona in Catalan Super Cup

Espanyol earned some bragging rights over their local rivals Barcelona with a 1-0 win in the Catalan Super Cup.

Felipe Caicedo took advantage of an error from Barcelona centre-back Jeremy Mathieu to score the only goal 10 minutes into the game, which was played at a leisurely pace in Tarragona.

Barcelona featured an experimental side without their star trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez in the squad, as a number of players from the reserves saw playing time.

Nili fired a shot just wide of the post in the second half, but the Blaugrana could not find an equaliser despite making five changes.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Barcelona 1 - 0 Granada : Rafinha strike enough for Barcelona in game of missed chances

Rafinha scored the only goal as Barcelona moved up to second in La Liga with a laboured 1-0 victory over struggling Granada at the Nou Camp.

The Brazilian struck in the 48th minute, pouncing on a rebound after Neymar hit a post, as Barca finally made their dominance of possession count against the bottom side.

Luis Enrique's men struggled to create meaningful chances throughout, with the normally clinical Luis Suarez enduring a particularly frustrating night.

Nevertheless, the result was good enough to take advantage of Sevilla's slip earlier on Saturday to move up to second behind leaders Real Madrid.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)

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Manchester City 3 - 1 Barcelona : City stun Barcelona as Ilkay Gundogan strikes twice

Manchester City produced an outstanding second-half performance to sweep past Barcelona 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

Pep Guardiola's side had gone behind to his old one when Lionel Messi, who scored a hat-trick as Barca won 4-0 in the reverse fixture at the Camp Nou, struck with a low finish.

But a brace from Ilkay Gundogan and a free kick for Kevin De Bruyne turned the game on its head as City gave their Champions League prospects a huge boost.

(excerpt from ESPN Soccernet)