Tony Watt incredibly gave Celtic one of the greatest European nights in their history

Neil Lennon’s Bhoys sent Glasgow’s East End delirious as they celebrated their 125th anniversary in style. Parkhead was in dreamland in the 21st minute when midfielder Wanyama headed in from a corner. The 67-year-old singer, whose hits include Hot Legs and Sailing, sobbed with joy at the final whistle in Glasgow last night. Underdogs Celtic beat Lionel Messi’s Spanish giants 2-1 in the Champions League thanks to stars such as Victor Wanyama and Georgios Samaras — despite a late comeback by the visitors.

Celtic have now played eight qualifying and group stage games in the Champions League and have won six, kept clean sheets in four, achieved victories on the road in Helsinki, Helsingborg and Moscow and – in this compelling spectacle – prevailed over a club that some believe to be the best the world has seen. If Lennon’s side should win their next outing, against Benfica in Lisbon in two weeks, they will be guaranteed a place in the knockout stage of the tournament.

Watt was one of four teenagers on the home bench. Barcelona, meanwhile, had David Villa, Gerard Pique and Cesc Fabregas on theirs. All three are World Cup winners and all came on. But for all the possession and shots, Barcelona were not at their fluent best here. Fraser Forster, nevertheless, made two magnificent saves from Messi - one in each half - and several others of real quality throughout.

Barça suffered only their second defeat of the season in Glasgow, the other being a 2-1 loss to Real Madrid in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup in August. However, they remain top of the group on nine points, two ahead of Celtic in second place. Benfica have four points and Spartak Moscow are bottom on three after the Portuguese side won 2-0 at home to the Russians on Wednesday.

"We are still in first place and we are relaxed," said Messi, who scored in added time after earlier striking the frame of the goal. "I think we did everything well, we got into goal-scoring positions but the ball just didn't go in. "They were comfortable closing ranks in defence, waiting for a chance to counterattack, a corner or a free-kick and that's how they managed to score the two goals."

The Spanish tabloid 'Marca' writed: "Barcelona revived their ghosts of last season in losing at Celtic Park in a match that recalled the two semi-finals against Chelsea. The Scots sat back and waited for a chance to counter. They gifted the ball to Barcelona, who were not able to break down their wall, and made the most of their only two chances … The second round will have to wait."

Celtic (4-4-1-1): Forster; Lustig (Watt 72), Ambrose, Wilson, Matthews; Commons, Wanyama, Ledley, Mulgrew; Samaras (Kayal 79); Miku. Subs: Zaluska (g), McCourt, Herron, Fraser, McGeouch. 
Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdes; Dani Alves, Bartra (Pique 71), Mascherano, Jordi Alba; Xavi, Song (Fabregas 71), Iniesta; Pedro, Messi, Alexis (Villa 65). Subs: Pinto, Jonathan, Montoya, Tello. 
Booked: Song, Jordi Alba, Miku
Goals: Wanyama 21, Watt 83, Messi 90
Referee: Kuipers (Holland)
Attendence: 55,283

Lionel Messi scored twice to help La Liga leaders Barcelona stroll to a resounding win

Lionel Messi scored twice to help La Liga leaders Barcelona stroll to a resounding win at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday night, as coach Tito Vilanova recorded the best start for a first-year coach in the 113-year history of the Catalan club. Barça’s magnificent start to the season continued with a comprehensive win in Vallecas to make it eight wins and a draw from their first nine games in La Liga. Goals from Villa, Messi (2), Xavi and Cesc saw Barça through after a pretty well balanced start, which really tilted the visitors’ way after the second goal, as Tito’s men took advantage of Rayo’s advanced back line.

Barca, with midfielder Sergio Busquets and fullback Adriano Correia deputising in central defence, were under a lot of pressure from hard-running Rayo before taking control in Vallecas. Cesc Fábregas set up David Villa's 20th-minute opener to set Barcelona on their way. Messi scored his 16th and 17th goals in all competitions – to take his career tally to 301 – in a second half that also saw Xavi Hernández and Fábregas find the net.

In the second half, Barça came out determined to put the game to bed and after just two minutes Messi rounded off a brilliant team move which saw Pedro beat two defenders and lay the ball off for Montoya who set up the world number one to fire home for the second. Barcelona's eighth win in their first nine games maintained their unbeaten start to the season and lifted them three points ahead of second-placed Atlético Madrid before Atlético's game against the bottom club Osasuna on Sunday.

 Goal.com

The no-nonsense win also kept up the pressure on Real Madrid by opening up an 11-point gap before the defending champion's tough test at Mallorca. "We are delighted for Lionel," Vilanova told a news conference. "He has scored a couple of goals but I prefer to remember the moment when he ran 30 metres to help out in defence in the 89th minute. I love the goals, but I like this more." Fabregas told Spanish television: "It's a difficult ground, with spectacular fans. They pressure you and don't let you breathe. But we played a serious game, perhaps the best of the season so far.

"This was our best game of the season,'' Fabregas said. Messi's two strikes, the first an unstoppable blast from the edge of the box, the second a showcase of fancy footwork to undo the defense, took his league leading tally to 13 goals, four more than Atletico's Radamel Falcao and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi has 73 goals for club and country in 2012, leaving him two shy of matching Brazil great Pele's milestone of 75 in 1958. "Scoring two more goals isn't important, the important thing is that we have another win and we believe we can keep this up,'' said Messi, who on Monday will receive the Golden Shoe award for Europe's top scorer last season with an unprecedented 73 goals.

credits to: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Report of 'El Clàsico' 2-2: Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi superstars

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo matched each other blow for blow at the Nou Camp tonight, scoring two goals apiece as Barcelona and Real Madrid battled out an entertaining draw in the first Clásico of the La Liga season. Heading into the game, Real Madrid trailed Barcelona by eight points, so this was billed as must-win win for the champions. Like they did when the two sides met in the Supercopa de España earlier this year, Madrid started off the better of the two sides and made the breakthrough midway through the first half when Ronaldo beat Víctor Valdés at his near post.

The great team rivalry between the two storied clubs, combined with the fact that these players are undoubtedly the best in the world, make a perfect storyline to follow for years to come. Ramos flashed a header just wide inside the 18th minute. That was the first good chance in the game. Iniesta attempted to reply a couple of minutes later but his effort from 20 yards out flew over the bar. 

The deadlock got broken by a very familiar name, Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese winger fired the ball at the back of the net with his left foot to give the visitors the lead midway through the first half. Benzema had a great opportunity to double the lead a few minutes later but his ball crashed off the post. It came back to Angel Di Maria who agonizingly fired it wide.

Adriano impressed in central defence, but centre-back is stretching the Brazilian's 'utility man' tag too far and he cannot be considered a solution in that role. With Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol sidelined, plus Eric Abidal out long-term and Dani Alves forced off injured, Vilanova reminded the press that he was denied his first-choice back line. But Puyol's problems are well known and Abidal has been out all year, so the argument hardly seemed convincing and had the club signed a centre-back in the summer, they surely would not be in this predicament now.

Barcelona had chances to win it late on, but Madrid had given as good as they got in the first half and should have been two up as Karim Benzema hit the post when he really should have scored shortly after Ronaldo's opener. Mourinho's men took the game to Tito's team and took advantage of some poor positioning from Barca's defence and midfield in the second goal. Vilanova has received much praise for his tactical nous but on occasions last night, his players were all over the place - except where they needed to be.

In the end, it was problems in defence which blighted Barca's campaign in 2011-12 - when the Catalans captured four trophies but missed out on La Liga and the Champions League. Already there are concerns this term, although their problems have been masked by their near-perfect start in the Primera Division. This battle might have hit its peak on Sunday when Barcelona and Real Madrid competed in the latest edition of El Clasico. The match ended in a 2-2 draw, with each forward scoring both goals for his team.

'Remuntada' Barcelona: D. Villa's late goal helps Blaugrana beat Sevilla

Barcelona maintained their 100% record in La Liga on Saturday night with a memorable 3-2 win against Sevilla at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. David Villa scored in injury time after Cesc Fabregas netted a brace to give Barcelona a dramatic 3-2 comeback win against 10-man Sevilla on Saturday, equaling the Spanish pacesetter's best league start ever with six straight wins.

Winger Piotr Trochowski put the home side in front firing home in the 26th minute before Spanish striker Negredo doubled the lead in the 48th minute -- executing a delightful chip over the onrushing Victor Valdes after being played in by Gary Medel.

A Barca fightback looked unlikely, but was given momentum five minutes later when Cesc Fabregas fired home a left-foot drive. Tito Vilanova's side were in serious danger of dropping their first points of the campaign when Sevilla went 2-0 up at their Sánchez Pizjuan stadium through Piotr Trochowski and Alvaro Negredo.

It proved a pivotal point in the game. Barcelona, aided by substitute's Thiago and Villa, surged forward in search of an equalizer which eventually arrived from the boot of Fabregas who calmly slotted home under Andres Palop after Lionel Messi had played him in. Sevilla were not helped by the 72nd-minute dismissal of Gary Medel following a clash with Fabregas, with Barca's final two goals coming while the hosts were attempting to hold on.

The stage was set for Villa, only recently returned from a broken leg, and Spain's record scorer ran through deep into added time and sent a left-foot shot past Andrés Palop. "We were never comfortable during the game, but when things got complicated we demonstrated our character," Fabregas said.

"Once again, [Fabregas] played at an excellent level," said Vilanova. "He was really driven tonight. The first goal reflects that. He ran a lot and I hope we recovers well for the Champions League." "It is very good for Villa to score. It had been a long time since he had played as our striker," said Vilanova. "A few months ago it would have been unthinkable that he would be this well by now."

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Sevilla-Barcelona 2-3

Sevilla FC: Palop, Cicinho, Botía, Spahic, Navarro, Medel, Maduro, Rakitic, Navas, Negredo, and Trochowski

FC Barcelona: Valdés, Alves, Song, Mascherano, Alba, Busquets, Xavi, Fábregas, Alexis, Messi, and Pedro

SUBSTITUTES:

Sevilla FC: Diego López, Luna, Fazio, Babá, Kondogbia, Manu del Moral, and Campaña

FC Barcelona: Pinto, Bartra, Montoya, Sergi Roberto, Thiago, Villa, and Tello

SUBSTITUTIONS: Sevilla FC: Manu on for Trochowski (26′), Kondogbia on for Rakitic (75′), Luna on for Negredo (81′); FC Barcelona: Tello on for Alexis (70′), Thiago on for Busquets (75′), Villa on for Alves (79′)


credits to: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/29/sport/football/football-spain-barcelona/index.html

Xavi match-winner, Blaugrana win over Granada: 2-0

Xavi Hernandez scored three minutes from time to seal Barcelona’s hard-fought 2-0 home win over Granada on Saturday, keeping the Spanish leaders perfect through five rounds. A miraculous goal from the midfielder with just minutes to go, followed by an own goal, gave Barça the win in a gripping climax to a game against a surprisingly daring Granada. Goalkeeper Antonio “Tono” Rodriguez was keeping his net clean with an inspired performance until Xavi pounced on a loose ball at the top of the area and fired it off the underside of the crossbar to finally break through for the hosts. Barca moved on to 15 points from five games.

The first chance of the game fell to Lionel Messi, but surprisingly it didn’t bring the breakthrough goal. Dani Alves was the creator with a jaw-dropping diagonal pass into the area to pick out Messi’s run, but the Argentine was unusually slow on the trigger, allowing Granada to recover and make the block. However, Granada were not prepared to simply lie down and accept defeat. They fought hard and even took the game to Barcelona when they could, making life difficult for the Blaugrana.

The visitors started well, pressuring the Barcelona players into early mistakes, creating their first half-chance of sorts as early as the first minute. Dani Alves gave the ball away in midfield allowing Guilherme Siquiera to roam free down the left-hand side, but his cross was dealt with – at the second time of asking – by the Barca defense. Despite the early pressure, Barcelona quickly settled into the game, working the ball around the pitch – it was almost like a child’s game: everyone got a touch in the early stages.

It took 86 minutes for Barça to break down a surprisingly resistant Granada. An absolute cracker of a goal from Xavi finally rewarded the Catalans for their insistence, and won a match that looked to be slipping away from them. The Andalusians did a terrific job of containing the Barça onslaught, and if it hadn’t been for a terrific save from Valdés, the visitors could even have taken the lead with a mere five minutes left on the clock. But Xavi, who replaced David Villa in the 53rd after the Spain striker made his first start since breaking his leg last December, placed his right-footed strike in about the only place he could be sure Tono would not be able to reach to claim the win. As Barça made it five wins out of five, Valdés made a crucial save just seconds before Barça opened the scoring at the other end.

Barcelona started the second half well; David Villa displayed fabulous improvisational skills to deflect a low cross towards goal, but in doing so, he sent the shot straight at Tono. Alex Song also had a chance to open the scoring with a header though his effort lacked any real power, so Tono made another comfortable save. Clearly, Tito Vilanova had had enough and sent on the reinforcements: Xavi and Pedro were on, Thiago Alcantara and David Villa went off.

Messi's persistence then saw him squirm into the area and strike a low cross that was turned into his own net by Borja Gómez in time added on to destroy Granada's resistance. “We didn’t play an excellent match, and Tono was incredible and stopped everything,” said Xavi. “We were rescued by a shot from outside the area, practically just before the final whistle. When you don’t score early they just close up even more, but we tried until the end and got the win.”

Granada largely kept Barcelona out of its area, and even showed moments of attacking intent, in an evenly matched first half. And Tono’s numerous acrobatic saves to deny Barcelona after halftime gave the modest side hope that it would finally take at least a point away from Camp Nou Stadium after having lost in its 18 previous visits.

credits to: http://sports.inquirer.net/63612/xavi-gives-barcelona-2-0-win-over-granada

Preview 'La Liga': Barcelona-Granada, 22 September 2012

The fifth consecutive win, 15 points out of 15 available: what asks Vilanova to Messi and company is to win, always. The Granada does not seem an insurmountable obstacle.

Barcelona take on Granada tonight in La Liga action, looking for their fifth win in as many league matches. Granada on the other hand are looking for their first win of the season, but chances are that they will have to wait another week with Barcelona in such sensational form. The Blaugrana may have injury concerns at the back, but with Lionel Messi and co in such great goal-scoring form, they should have enough to see off Juan Antonio Anquela's team.

FC Barcelona face the Andalusians with a number of absences in their rearguard. Without Puyol and Piqué, Tito Vilanova will need to change his defensive plans. The most likely candidates to join Mascherano as the other centre back are Bartra and Song, although Sergio Busquets has also shown in the past that he’s capable of playing in that position. But those problems aside, Barça can welcome back Jordi Alba, who is now fully recovered from a nasty attack of the flu.

The Andalusians were extremely poor on the road in the previous campaign and have lost nine of their last 11 away matches. The Catalan's strength at home is of course well documented, with April's defeat to Real Madrid the only time in the last 15 league matches they have failed to win at Camp Nou. 

David Villa says he feels now ready to return full time, but Vilanova not see it that way. For the Barca's trainer, ''el guaje'' has 45 minutes in his legs, but did not dispel the doubts about its use from the beginning. Unlike the speech for Alex Song: the new signing of Barcelona is likely to start again from the bench, despite the many absences in defense. Vilanova sees as central praises his commitment and his technical skills, but probably prefer the young Bartra. The only chance for the former Arsenal could come from midfield in case Vilanova decides to rest some players.

There are not only positive news for the Catalans. This season, the port of Valdez has remained inviolate only one chance out of 7 games played (Valencia) and Barça had to replace the score three times. Tito Vilanova about Messi: "Leo is the best player in the world, if not the history, it will eventually be," he says, and "it is important that it be put in a position to end his career here. We will not see a player like him. "The important thing is to keep him, how it is for other people.

Champions League debut: Blaugrana win 3-2 over Spartak

Barcelona won the first match of the Champions League group but has difficulty to defeat Spartak. After 12 minutes Piqué is injured (out two-three weeks); Song (ex Arsenal) replaces Piquè. Spartak scored an own goal by Dani Alves and then goes ahead with Romulo (59').

Injured Puyol, mister Vilanova put Mascherano as central defender with Pique, on the outside there are Dani Alves and Adriano. In midfield there are Fabregas, Busquets and Xavi. Messi in attack returns from the first minute, Vilanova launches into the fray, the young Tello and to support Messi.

Spartak Moscow trying now to press the hosts in the first minutes of the game. Barcelona then immediately take the ball in the game and start the usual interminable typical possession. It is played nearly always in the half Russian, to the advantage of the hosts with an inspired Tello, who scores Dykan with a nice shot in turn.

It looks like the prelude to a goleada of Messi and company, but in the only offensive sortie, guests find a lucky par, with Dani Alves who scores own goal and returns the match in balance. Then the men of Vilanova react and pour in a determined way towards goal, finding in front of a well-organized defense. With every passing minute the occasions come, especially with the placement of midfielders, but the aim is not the best.

The second half began with the usual pattern: great possession of the hosts and control of the game. But to go ahead dramatically are the Russians, who make a perfect counterattack and pierce the Spanish defense with a nice phrasing. The men of Vilanova is thrown forward with his head down and began to grind the game.

To open the defense of Spartak thinks once again the young Tello that packs a perfect assist for Messi's equalizer. The same eight minutes after Messi disguises himself as a pure striker and finalize an excellent cross to head the newly entered Sanchez. From now until the end of the match FC Barcelona holds the ball and control a match that had started too uphill.

When things go wrong, we always think of the usual Messi to solve the problems of Barcelona. The 'Pulce' is well assisted by Tello and Sanchez and scores two goals in eight minutes, showing a sense of impressive goals. With a player like everything becomes easier.

Champions League 2012-2013 - First Round for Gunners and Blaugrana

Arsenal.

Gervinho and Podolski scored as Arsenal came back from a goal down to win 2-1 at Montpellier in their Champions League opener on Tuesday, 18th September 2012. Montpellier midfielder Younes Belhanda won and converted a penalty in the ninth minute, Podolski equalized in the 16th and Gervinho put the Gunners ahead two minutes later.

“Podolski has made a real impact. I have to say I’ve not seen many finishers as good as him – ever, right foot, left foot,” said Arsenal’ s assistant coach Steve Bould, who led the team as Arsene Wenger served the first game of a touchline ban. “We have had a decent start to the season and we have kept the run going so it’s important all round,” Bould continued. “We have got great team spirit and I think that was evident tonight. Everybody is digging in and things are looking okay.”

Barcelona.

FC Barcelona play host to Spartak Moscow this evening as they look to get their 2012-13 UEFA Champions League campaign underway with a win. The Russians were drawn into Group G from the Third Pot, so in theory they are the third best team in the group, but given that Benfica have sold a number of key players, The Blaugrana, with four wins from four, they are in fine domestic form, and aside from a blip against Real Madrid, they are 100% under Tito Vilanova. 

Barça have never lost their first game in the Champions League when it’s been played at the Camp Nou. Over the last eight games when they have opened their campaign at home, Barça have won seven – with last year’s 2-2 draw against AC Milan the only time they’ve failed to claim an opening home victory.

Other News:

PSG's Zlatan Ibrahimovic became the first player to score for six different clubs in the competition as the French team attacked with gusto from the outset, eight years after its last appearance in the competition. The convincing win confirmed PSG's status as Group A favourite ahead of Porto.

"It's always important to win your first game in the Champions League," PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "To play the way we did tonight can only be good for our confidence."