Barcelona crashed to a shock 1-0 defeat at Getafe on Saturday and now trail Real Madrid, who earlier beat 10-man derby rivals Atletico Madrid 4-1, by six points in the chase for La Liga title.
It was the first defeat of the season for the reigning Spanish and European champions as Getafe frustrated their illustrious visitors and grabbed the points thanks to a second half header from Juan Valera.

In a scrappy game Nikolas Miku shot over for Getafe after 20 minutes and Alexis Sanchez, a surprise inclusion in the Barca starting eleven, was denied by a fine reflex save from keeper Miguel Moya before half-time.
Barca continued to press but Getafe surprisingly took the lead with practically their only effort on target in the whole game when Valera, left unmarked, headed in a corner after 67 minutes.
Deep into injury time Lionel Messi had a golden chance to equalise but his shot came back off a post.

Barcelona’s last defeat came on April 30 when they lost 2-1 at Real Sociedad.
Saturday’s drama added an extra edge to the build-up to the first El Clasico meeting of the season between Real and Barcelona which takes place on December 10.

Real maintained their imperious form at the top as they beat a robust Atletico Madrid with the game turning on the first half dismissal of keeper Thibaut Courtois and a penalty converted by Cristiano Ronaldo.
It is 12 years since Atletico beat their rivals at the Bernabeu and they had a tough task against Real who were looking for their 13th successive win. More here on football.co.uk

Gerar Piqué is not bothered by the Getafe defeat and he said the following:

Gerard Piqué is confident that FC Barcelona will bounce back after the loss to Getafe. “I’m convinced that the team will give everything they’ve got to be fighting for the title at the end of the season.” The centre defender called on the Camp Nou faithful to “trust us.” While adding that, “there are may games still yet to be played, a lot of points up for grabs. Madrid is doing things a bit better and we have to turn this situation around. We are Barça and we’ll move forward.”

The players are aware that they have no time to dwell on the defeat against Getafe as FC Barcelona will host Rayo Vallecano on Tuesday at the Camp Nou. Piqué said he doesn’t wan’t to think about the game against Madrid but it’s important, with the Clásico looming, that against Rayo and Levante “the team must win six points.” Original here.

Barcelona shouldn’t get their heads down over this minor setback as 6 points is not the end of the world. They should evaluate what went wrong and put it right, they are Barcelona after all.

Surprisingly, Pep Guardiola chose to play Leo Messi and rest David Villa for the visit to Granada, despite calls for the little Argentine to be rested. Guardiola also gave a game to youngster Isaac Cuenca who became the 47th player to play under him and who started on left wing.

The game got off to a quick start as could be expected, and Uche picked up a yellow card within the first five minutes of play. Messi was played through on the fourth minute, but was caught off side.
It was Messi who had the first shot, bending the ball wide from the edge of the penalty area, and Cuenca promptly followed, though his effort wasn’t really a test for Roberto. Xavi then tested Roberto with a powerful long-range effort after 20 minutes of play, but no Barcelona player was up for the rebound.

Pedro found himself with a free header from less than 10 yards out, but he could not find the goal. It seemed that a bit of lethargy had entered the Barca team, but Granada were not posing any threat to them.
Then Jaime Romero made a rather rash challenge that resulted in a free-kick 25 yards from goal. Xavi positioned himself up and bent it into the corner of the net. A beautiful strike by little Xavi, although if truth be told, Barcelona’s play had not warranted a goal. With ten minutes to go Barcelona failed to impress and Xavi’s goal was just a consolation with no real merit.

The second half of the match was much like the first, but with less chances of goal. Jaime Romero then picked up a second yellow for a high foot and was promptly dismissed
Pedro was then tackled shortly after and picked up a knock on his ankle. It was a rather poor challenge, but the referee played on and when Pedro was finally stretchered off, it became evident that he had made a wrong call. Initial observations from the Barcelona medical team show no break, but further tests will be carried out today to make sure. It looks like Pedro will be sorely missed for up to two weeks.

An hour into play, and Barcelona’s front men hadn’t had a shot on target. Then, Granada’s keeper cleared the ball poorly and it went straight to Villa. He, in turn found Messi, who lifted the ball over Roberto, but Mainz got back in time to clear the ball off the line. Then Xavi played in Isaac Cuenca on 70 minutes, but the young player could only fire straight at Roberto.

David Villa continued with a string of poor passes and average shots, and more worryingly, Leo Messi has now gone over eight hours without scoring away from home in La Liga.
Granada were finally reduced to nine men in injury time with Dani Benitez seeing a red card for kicking the ball away after an offside decision went against him. This act of petulance will rule him out of the derby match with Seville FC this weekend.

As usual, the crowds in Barcelona headed towards Canaletas in Las Ramblas for a victory celebration. after being pipped to the post in La Copa del Rey by Real Madrid, they savoured every moment. Keita put Barcelona ahead and Caicedo got one back for Levante in Valencia last night.

This is the third consecutive year that Barcelona has won the league title and the twenty first in total to Real Madrid’s 31.

After winning the league, Pep has his mind set on the UEFA Champions League title in Wembley, London on May 28th. Will they beat Manchester United? Will Manchester United know how to get around the Barça formula? We will see.

The first leg was marred by a series of fouls, histrionics and post-match claim and counter claim from both clubs. The second leg was played in a more sporting fashion and Real briefly had hope when Marcelo cancelled out Pedro’s goal, but it was only good enough for a 1-1 draw as Barcelona secured safe passage to Wembley.

Real made a bright start, with Cristiano Ronaldo – so frustrated in the first leg – producing a couple of dazzling runs. Barca weathered the early storm and Sergio Busquets should really have put his side ahead after finding space at a corner, but he sent his header straight at Iker Casillas.

Real threw men forward in the final 20 minutes but Barcelona locked the door to secure their passage to London and the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for Eric Abidal who has fought his way back to fitness after having surgery to remove a tumour in his liver.

So, who will be Barcelona’s rivals, Manchester United or Schalke 04? At the moment it looks like Man Utd with two precious away goals but who knows what will happen in tonight’s game at Old Trafford. We will see.

Manchester United v Schalke 04 Live Stream

Highlights of the game was a brave Osasuna and a majestic Víctor Valdés who had a lot of work to do and who saved Barcelona’s neck on various occasions especially towards the final part of the first half. so with Barcelona still 8 points clear at the top of the table it looks like the Blaugrana’s are walking away with the title unless disaster strikes.

Barcelona are now a full ten points clear at the top of the table with 71 points to Real Madrid’s 61.

Meanwhile Gerard Piqué is having to give press conferences about his private life and his form on the pitch. It seems that since he’s been going out with popstar Shakira his match form has dropped somewhat. Piqué has strongly denied such allegations saying that his match form doesn’t have anything to with going out with the Colombian sexpot…..yeah right

Spain and Barcelona FC player Xavi Hernández has kindly donated the shirt in which he won the FIFA World Cup Final 2010

The Barcelona FC player and reigning world champion with the Spanish national team, will present the shirt to the winner in person. All proceeds from the raffle will go towards the social work of the NGO Prodis.

Barcelona, 17th of January 2011 – 11th July 2010 marks a momentous day in the history of Spanish society. A day on which the Spanish football team showed a remarkable display of team spirit and fraternity and was subsequently crowned World Champions for the first time in history. The main award was the title of World Champions but they also received a title that got far less attention – the FIFA Fair Play award. In continuation of this spirit of cooperation and fair play that gave Spain the deserved title, Xavi has donated his shirt for a raffle in aid of the NGO PRODIS which helps people with disabilities. The prize will be personalized with an autograph and presented to the winner by Xavi Hernández himself.

Tickets can be purchased for only 2€ through the online raffle platform www.raff.me and the draw will be held on the 31st March 2011.

The two teams that have won this tournament the most times provided the expected footballing feast at San Mamés, Bilbao. There was no end of intensity, emotion and also two great goals on a memorable night of cup football. Barça controlled the play, but it was a tight game, and extra time looked on the cards until Abidal struck in the 75th minute, the first time he has scored in 130 appearances for the club. It looked the goal had done the trick, but a late Llorente goal meant a nail-biting finish to the match.

Watch Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona FC on Live Streaming TV

But then you have Barcelona FC and the logic-defying year they’re having. With the dominant streak this team is on, one would think the men were playing against the boys, or even that the master was taunting students with the proverbial pebble.
Just some Saturdays ago, Barcelona kept its improbable streak of results alive and well by decimating in-city rivals Espanyol 5-1. The best part of that for Barcelona faithful is that one-sided, high-scoring matches seem to be contagious this year. Espanyol went down as the sixth team this season to give up five or more goals.

Blaugrana isn’t just doing this to cut-rate teams. They’ve also bowled over the likes of Sevilla, Real Sociedad, Almeria, Panathinaikos, and Real Madrid. The odds Barcelona experiences another season like this are rather low – we’re talking 30:1. Again, judging by the parity and conventional football wisdom, teams just aren’t this dominant in the sport, especially after competition resets. If you were a gambling man, playing blackjack online would be a sure bet in comparison to betting Barcelona defy odds in consecutive seasons.

However, the odds they continue the run for this season, going into 2011, are another story entirely. We’re looking at only 3:1.
Every expert knows this club is dangerous. They’re young, they’re motivated, and they’re absolutely obliterating everyone they come in contact with. Barcelona will end 2010 in sole possession of first place, earning 14 wins with a draw and one defeat, along with 43 points, and no real signs of slowing down.

Currently, Barcelona is experiencing the best start in La Liga’s history, and they’re the odds-on favorites to take away yet another trophy. Not to say a championship is a foregone conclusion, but the odds are certainly better than playing at top 10 online casinos, or even better than betting on a competing league club. Time will tell if Barcelona’s improbable run will be halted, but for right now, fans are certainly enjoying the dominant show the club is providing.