All posts tagged: Barca

Raphinha Bags Hat-Trick As Barca Hit Real Valladolid For Seven

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Raphinha scored a hat-trick as Barcelona thrashed Real Valladolid 7-0© X (Twitter) Brazil winger Raphinha scored a hat-trick as Barcelona thrashed Real Valladolid 7-0 on Saturday to make it four wins from four in La Liga under new coach Hansi Flick. While bitter rivals Real Madrid have stumbled early following the much-trumpeted arrival of Kylian Mbappe, Barcelona are off to a flying start despite their continued financial difficulties. Raphinha opened the scoring at the Olympic Stadium on 20 minutes as he chested down a pass from Pau Cubarsi and flicked elegantly into the far corner with the outside of his left boot. Robert Lewandowski soon doubled the lead when he latched onto a ball through from Lamine Yamal and squeezed a shot past Valladolid goalkeeper Karl Hein, on loan from Arsenal. Jules Kounde made it three before half-time when a corner dropped to the France defender inside the area and he stabbed into the top corner while off-balance. Raphinha had a simple tap-in from close range just past the hour, with Lewandowski and …

Raphinha Guides Barca Past Las Palmas To Pressure Leaders Madrid

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Spanish champions Barcelona cut the gap on Real Madrid at the top of La Liga to five points with a 1-0 win over 10-man Las Palmas on Saturday. Raphinha headed home in the second half to clinch Barcelona’s victory after the visitors had goalkeeper Alvaro Valles dismissed after 24 minutes for a rash foul. Barcelona warmed up for their Champions League quarter-final clash against Paris Saint-Germain, their next match in 11 days’ time, with a straightforward victory, albeit by a tight scoreline. Xavi Hernandez’s side are unbeaten in 11 games since the coach said he would leave at the end of the season and their recent form has given them some faint hope of retaining their title. “We could have scored more, we had many chances to kill the game off,” said Xavi. “It’s a summary of our season, we’re finding it hard to close out matches.” Real Madrid face Athletic Bilbao on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu, aiming to restore their eight-point advantage on the Catalans in second. “They’re three important points, we know …

Lionel Messi’s Promised Barca Contract, On a Napkin, Up For Auction

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To the untrained eye, it might look like just another used napkin. But the serviette, expected to fetch up to $635,000, was actually soccer legend Lionel Messi‘s springboard to greatness at FC Barcelona, and records the promise of a contract made to him at the tender age of 13. The napkin has gone on show in New York to drum up interest, ahead of the start of bidding on March 18, against a backdrop of soaring interest in soccer memorabilia. Though officially estimated to go for between $380,000 and $635,000, Ian Ehling, the head of fine books and manuscripts at Bonhams New York, said “I do expect it to sell for much more.” Last December, a set of six shirts worn by the number 10 during Argentina’s victorious Qatar World Cup campaign in 2022 sold for $7.8 million at auction at Sotheby’s, exceeding estimates. The story of the napkin has already been told many times in profiles of “Leo” Messi, one of the greatest players in soccer history, who now plays for Inter Miami. Born …

‘Huge Player’ Victor Osimhen Gives Napoli Barca Draw And New Hope

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Victor Osimhen was described as “a huge player” after marking his return for Napoli with a goal that gave the Italian champions a 1-1 draw with Barcelona and hope that a dreadful season might have reached a turning point. Nigeria forward Osimhen rolled home the leveller with 15 minutes left of the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, in his first match since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations. The 25-year-old equalised Robert Lewandowski‘s 60th-minute opener, which seemed likely to be the decisive goal as Barca were for long periods the better team, with Napoli’s first and only shot on target. “He’s a huge player for us,” said Napoli skipper Giovanni Di Lorenzo to Amazon Prime Video. “He’s come back with the right attitude. We knew he would though as he’s a great player and professional. He’ll give us a hand in the matches to come.” Osimhen had last played for Napoli in a 2-0 defeat at Roma just before Christmas, when he …

Denzel Washington as Hannibal Barca, Netflix faces backlash for ‘miscasting’ | Web Series

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American actor and producer, Denzel Washington’s casting as the legendary ancient general Hannibal Barca in an upcoming Netflix project has been receiving extreme backlash from outraged Tunisians, who have accused it as an act of ‘miscasting’ and ‘falsifying history.’ “To consider Hannibal as a black African would be, according to Tunisians and many observers, a historical error…”(REUTERS) The streaming giant endorsed the film release about, “the Carthaginian general who famously led an army of warriors and elephants across the Alps to fight the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.” Stay tuned with breaking news on HT Channel on Facebook. Join Now Hannibal’s home region, Carthage is now a part of Tunisia, the northernmost state in Africa and is considered to be a part of the Arabic World. Also Read: Comedian Matt Rife ‘cheated on me with 20 women before blocking me,’ claims Brooke Schofield The ‘miscasting’ of Hannibal As per the English translation of the French-language Tunisian new outlet, La Presse, the casting of a Black actor to play the legendary role of Hannibal …

Barca Beat Betis On Penalties, Reach Clasico Super Cup Final

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Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved twice from the spot to help Barcelona beat Real Betis 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw on Thursday, setting up a Clasico Spanish Super Cup final. The Catalans will face their bitter rivals Real Madrid on Sunday after Carlo Ancelotti’s side beat Valencia on penalties on Wednesday. Barcelona needed spot-kicks to see off Betis after an entertaining draw over 120 minutes at Riyadh’s King Fahd Stadium. Robert Lewandowski put Barcelona ahead after 40 minutes but Betis playmaker Nabil Fekir levelled with 13 minutes remaining. Ansu Fati smashed in a fine volley to put Barcelona ahead in extra-time but Loren Moron pulled Betis back level with a cunning backheel flick. Ter Stegen denied Juanmi and William Carvalho in the shootout and Pedri converted the decisive spot-kick. “(The final) will be a very nice game, everyone wants to see these type of games and we’ll be delighted to play it and win it,” Ter Stegen told Movistar. The goalkeeper made some fine saves even before the shootout, where he was key. “I …

Spanish Court Acquits Neymar Of Corruption Over Barca Transfer

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File image of Neymar Jr.© AFP A court in Spain on Tuesday acquitted Brazilian superstar Neymar of corruption charges related to his transfer to Barcelona from Santos in 2013. The judges decided to acquit the nine defendants who were being prosecuted in this trial, including FC Barcelona, former club presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, Santos FC and Neymar’s father, the court said in a statement. Neymar’s high-profile trial got underway in mid-October in Barcelona, just a month before the start of the World Cup in Qatar where the 30-year-old — who is now at French champions Paris Saint Germain — and Brazil crashed out after a penalty shootout against Croatia in the quarter finals. Prosecutors had initially sought a two-year jail term and a 10-million-euro ($10.5 million) fine for Neymar but in a surprise move they dropped corruption and fraud charges against all the accused at the end of October. Brazilian sports investment firm DIS, which owned 40 percent of Neymar’s sporting rights when he was at Santos, filed a lawsuit in 2015 …