Author: Crazy

Tests have revealed that the Argentinian has bruised the femoral biceps tendon in his left thigh

It is not clear yet whether he will be fit enough to feature in this weekend’s game away to Malaga

Tests have revealed that the Argentinian has bruised the femoral biceps tendon in his left thigh. The FCB Medical Services have announced that they will be monitoring the player’s progress this week before deciding whether he will be fit to play on Sunday.

Off at half-time

Leo Messi was substituted at half-time in Wednesday’s match at Atlético Madrid as a precautionary measure after he complained of pain after taking a nasty knock to the back of his thigh

Leo Messi played in five of Barcelona’s six preseason fixtures, and also started the Liga match with Levante (7-0) and last night’s 1-1 draw with Atlético in the Supercup.

All of the available players trained on Thursday, along with Sergi Roberto, Adriano and Oier, who hadn’t travelled to Madrid

After drawing 1-1 in the Spanish Supercup first leg at Atletico Madrid, the first team got back to work on Thursday. The session started at 13.00 and included all of the available players, although the ones that started at the Vicente Calderón only did recovery exercises.

Gerardo Martino also trained with the three players that weren’t picked for Wednesday’s match Sergi Roberto, Adriano Correia and Oier Olazábal. However, Leo Messi did not join his colleagues and instead took medical tests to evaluate the extent of the troubles that led to him being substituted as a precautionary measure in Madrid.

The team has flown back to Barcelona the team went straight from the airport to Sant Joan Despí for training

El primer equip de futbol ja es troba a Barcelona. Un cop va haver acabat el partit d’anada de la Supercopa d’Espanya al Vicente Calderón davant l’Atlètic de Madrid els jugadors del FC Barcelona es van traslladar a l’hotel de concentració, on han fet nit. Aquest matí, a les 11 hores, l’avió amb l’expedició blaugrana s’ha enlairat de l’aeroport de Barajas i poc abans de les 12 del migdia ha aterrat al Prat.

L’equip s’ha traslladat directament a la Ciutat Esportiva de Sant Joan Despí per dur a terme un entrenament.

At 24 minutes past midnight, the Brazilian scored his first official goal for his new club

Atletico Madrid have scored first in the last three games against Barça, but have not won any of them

The Supercup match against Atletico Madrid provided plenty to talk about, and here we pick out some of the most interesting pieces of trivia:

• At 24 minutes past midnight, Neymar scored his first official goal for his new club. He headed home just seven minutes after coming on for Pedro.

• In  just two official matches, six different players have already scored for Barça. Alexis, Messi (2), Alves, Pedro (2) and Xavi all scored in the 7-0 win against Levante.

• Mascherano (14), Busquets (11) and Alves (10) recovered the most balls at the Calderón.

• Atletico had nine shots compared to FC Barcelona’s eight, with four each being on target, and the home side crossed 10 times into the area, while the visitors did do 12 times.

• But there was a clear leader in terms of possession. FC Barcelona completed a massive 638 passes compared to just 183 for the red and whites.

• Only five players played all 90 minutes against both Levante and Atletico. These were Valdés, Alves, Piqué, Mascherano and Busquets.

• David Villa scored his eighth goal against Barça in 15 games. His teams have won five, drawn six and lost just four of those games.

• Atletico Madrid have scored first in their last three meetings with Barça, but have not won any of them. Last season, they lost 4-1 at the Camp Nou and 2-1 in Madrid.

The Argentinian recognises that it’s difficult to defeat Atlético Madrid

Xavi: “We were patient and in the end we scored a goal that will help us in the return leg”

Mascherano and Xavi talked to the press after this evening’s match against Atlético Madrid (1-1). The Argentinian praised the defensive work and intensity shown by Barça’s opponent: “Atlético are a very tough team. They know how to compete and they believe in their manager.”

“We know that we can play much better”

Mascherano explained why the Blaugrana struggled to find their stride in the first 45 minutes: “In the first half we were unable to do what we wanted. They were tight, we couldn’t find any spaces and the pitch didn’t benefit us. It was slow and dry.

“In the second half pushed more, we were more intense went it came to fighting for 50/50 balls and that’s why we drew level. Everything was more equal and I think the result is fair,” said Mascherano.

On the return leg at the Camp Nou, Mascherano said: “The two matches are finals. We aren’t favourites, it’s at 50%. We know that we can play much better. Sometimes you can’t play like you want to, you just do what you can.”

Valuable goal ahead of the return leg

Xavi said that “we tried to do a good job both in the first and second halves. In the end we found more space. We tried to be patient and we managed to score a goal that will help us in the return leg.”

The midfielder also highlighted Atlético’s performance: “They are a strong rival and they defend really well.” The Catalan then went on to evaluate Neymar’s performance: “The goal he scored will give him confidence.”

Hoping for a speedy recovery

Both Mascherano and Xavi hope that Messi recovers quickly. The Argentinian noted that “he has a contusion. He’ll have more tests tomorrow.” Xavi added: “I hope it’s nothing serious.”

After the match Cesc and Neymar also made statements to the press.

Neymar:

“I’m very pleased that I scored the tying goal. It was a difficult match against quality players.”

Cesc:

“We took a step forward with Neymar’s goal. It’s great news that he scored. It’s the first of many.”