Barcelona: Lionel Messi netted two goals within 15 minutes of coming on as a substitute to give Barcelona a 4-2 comeback win over Real Betis on Sunday and push his team to the brink of the Spanish league title.
After his teammates had rallied back twice to level at 2-2, Messi went on in the 56th and four minutes later curled in a free kick to extend his record scoring streak to 21 straight league appearances.
The Argentina forward struck again in the 71st by polishing off a superb passing combination with Andres Iniesta and fellow goalscorer Alexis Sanchez to reach the 60-goal mark in all competitions for the second straight season.
"We know Messi is the best," Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said. "We know every time he comes on he will give us something."...
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08:03 AM, May 06, 2013
Barcelona: With both Barcelona and Real Madrid still smarting from their respective Champions League collapses, the talk is already turning to what changes can be made - maybe even need to be made - for next season. Both Spanish teams lost to German opposition in the semi-finals. Bayern Munich routed Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate, and Borussia Dortmund survived a second-leg loss to reach the final with a 4-3 combined score...
06:29 PM, May 03, 2013
Madrid: FC Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez has made a passionate defence of his side's passing style of football as they prepare for the run-in to the end of the season. Barcelona are almost assured of winning Spain's BBVA Primera Liga thanks to an impressive 13-point lead over Real Madrid, but face a tough task in the Champions League, where they will meet last season's defeated finalists Bayern Munich in what...
01:41 PM, Apr 18, 2013
Barcelona star Messi has been below par in the last two high-profile encounters against Real Madrid and AC Milan. ...
08:28 PM, Feb 27, 2013
Messi scored his 300th and 301st career goals for Barcelona and extended his record-scoring run to 14 league games. ...
02:38 AM, Feb 17, 2013
Messi received the FIFA Ballon d'Or for 2012, beating his club team-mate Andres Iniesta and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo. ...
12:36 AM, Jan 08, 2013
David Villa is an important member of the Barcelona squad, his club and international team-mate Andres Iniesta said on Thursday amid speculation the Spain striker could move in the January transfer window. ...
08:27 AM, Dec 28, 2012
Iniesta has written an open letter asking for people to invest money to help save his boyhood club Albacete from extinction. ...
08:52 AM, Nov 30, 2012
The two midfielders are among the 23-man shortlist for the honour and the eventual winner will be revealed Jan 7. ...
06:02 PM, Nov 29, 2012
Madrid: Barcelona didn't need Lionel Messi to secure a successful start to their Copa del Rey defence on Tuesday, beating third-tier Alaves 3-0 after goals by David Villa, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas. Villa opened the scoring in the 40th minute when he perfectly timed his run past Alaves' back four to powerfully latch onto a long pass by Iniesta and send it into the net via the crossbar. Villa,...
08:36 AM, Oct 31, 2012
Madrid: Andres Iniesta returned from Spain international duty with a muscle strain in his right leg and will be out for 10 and 15 days, his club Barcelona said on Wednesday. Iniesta will miss Saturday's La Liga match at Getafe and Wednesday's Champions League Group G opener at home to Spartak Moscow but could be back for the La Liga game against Granada a week on Saturday. His Spain and...
08:29 AM, Sep 13, 2012
Monte Carlo: Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta won the UEFA Best Player in Europe award for the 2011-2012 season on Thursday. Iniesta earned 19 votes in the poll of journalists from across Europe, two more than Barcelona teammate and last year's winner, Lionel Messi, and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo. The 28-year-old Iniesta was instrumental in helping Spain successfully defend their European Championship title this summer and was crowned the tournament's best...
10:46 PM, Aug 30, 2012
Tarragona, Spain: First Europe's most important football trophy, then a player of the tournament award and, now, marriage. It's been a good week for Spain's Andres Iniesta. Iniesta, clad in a navy blue suit, posted a photo on Twitter on Sunday with his new wife Anna Ortiz saying "Amazing day! Just married." The 28-year-old midfielder helped Spain become the first nation to defend its continental crown with last Sunday's 4-0...
11:12 AM, Jul 11, 2012
Tarragona, Spain: First Europe's most important football trophy, then a player of the tournament award and, now, marriage. It's been a good week for Spain's Andres Iniesta. Iniesta, clad in a navy blue suit, posted a photo on Twitter on Sunday with his new wife Anna Ortiz saying "Amazing day! Just married." The 28-year-old midfielder helped Spain become the first nation to defend its continental crown with last Sunday's 4-0...
01:37 PM, Jul 10, 2012
Kiev: Spain's talented midfielders answered weeks of criticism over boring play with a masterclass performance of attacking football that led it to a second straight European Championship. Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Cesc Fabregas and David Silva repaid coach Vicente del Bosque's trust in fielding a starting lineup without a traditional striker by pulling the strings in Sunday's 4-0 victory over Italy. The four players were involved in nearly all four...
09:34 AM, Jul 02, 2012
Gdansk (Poland): Andres Iniesta doesn't want any of the limelight during Spain's campaign at the European Championship. He might not have a say in the matter, however. Iniesta will lead the defending champions into their Group C opener against Italy at the PGE Arena in Gdansk on Sunday in better playing shape than any of his previous major championship appearances. But the Barcelona visionary, whose extra-time goal earned Spain its...
01:02 PM, Jun 10, 2012
Madrid: Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso feels that his side face a tough task to win Euro 2012 due to the high expectations, but insisted that they are determined to successfully defend their title. The title-holders are seen as the favourites to win this summer's tournament, but the Real Madrid star believes it will be very difficult to go all the way. "The expectations aren't just high, but they are soaring....
02:11 PM, Jun 04, 2012
Four years ago, Spain made history at the Euros, finally ending 44 years of pain and misery as the perennial under-achievers of international football. Now they arrive at Euro 2012 as defending champions and World Cup winners, looking to become the first side to win three major international trophies in a row. It is no surprise that Spain are the favourites once again, with the core of the squad that...
11:49 AM, Jun 04, 2012
Seville: Spain midfielders Andres Iniesta and David Silva combined to score a late goal in a 1-0 victory over a stubborn China on Sunday in the team's last warm-up before defending their European Championship title. Iniesta jumped on a loose ball inside China's half and scurried into the area before passing to Silva for the 84th-minute winner that gave the World Cup champions their 25th straight victory at home. A...
09:12 AM, Jun 04, 2012
