Tag: Barcelona

By Daniel Akinte

Espanyol have enjoyed an excellent 2025-26 campaign to date, with Manolo Gonzalez’s side boasting a record of 10 wins, three draws and four defeats from their 17 matches to sit fifth in the La Liga table, five points ahead of sixth-placed Real Betis.

The White and Blues finished 14th  in Spain’s top flight last season, so there was clear room for improvement this term, and it has been an impressive campaign to date.

Espanyol have not finished higher than seventh in La Liga since claiming fifth in 2004-05, so there is plenty on the line this term, and the Catalan outfit will enter this match in strong form, having been victorious in each of their last five league games against Sevilla, Celta Vigo, Rayo Vallecano, Getafe and Athletic Bilbao.

Periquitos have incredibly not managed to beat Barcelona at home in La Liga since January 2007, while their last league success was a 2-1 win at Camp Nou in February 2009.

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Espanyol have been largely impressive at home this season, boasting a record of six wins, one draw and two defeats from their nine league games in front of their own supporters.

Barcelona, meanwhile, have won each of their last seven matches in all competitions, including a 2-0 success over Villarreal in their final match of 2025.

The Catalan outfit have triumphed in their last eight league games, with a total of 46 points from 18 matches leaving them top of the table, four points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, with Los Blancos having a wobble towards the end of the year.

Barcelona have comfortably the best attacking record in La Liga this season, scoring 51 times, but they have conceded 20, which is the most in the top seven, and that will be concerning for head coach Hansi Flick at this stage of the season.

Blaugrana are looking to record a fourth straight win over Espanyol, but they did drop two points against their Catalan rivals at RCDE Stadium in February 2022.

Barcelona’s attention will switch to the Spanish Super Cup after this match, preparing to head to Saudi Arabia to tackle Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals of the tournament, ahead of a potential final against either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid.

Defender Jules Kounde scored twice as Barcelona fought back from a goal down to beat Eintracht Frankfurt – in Barca’s first Champions League game at the Nou Camp in more than three years.

The visitors went ahead in the 21st minute when Ansgar Knauff raced on to Nathaniel Brown’s pass, held off Alejandro Balde and slotted the ball past Joan Garcia.

England forward Marcus Rashford, on as a half-time substitute, made an instant impact as his cross from the left was headed in by Kounde in the 50th minute.

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The France defender scored his second three minutes later, this time connecting with Lamine Yamal’s delivery when unmarked six yards out.

The victory takes five-time European champions Barca on to 10 points from their six matches and, with two games to go, still in contention to claim a top-eight place that would see them jump straight into the last 16 and avoid the play-off round.

Hansi Flick’s side play at Slavia Prague on 21 January and end their league phase campaign at home to Copenhagen a week later.

Meanwhile, Eintracht Frankfurt, seventh in the German Bundesliga, are in serious danger of being eliminated from European competition as they only have four points from their opening six matches.

BBC

UEFA has given Barcelona the go-ahead to play Champions League matches at their partially rebuilt Camp Nou stadium, the La Liga giants  have said.

The news comes just a couple of days after Barca announced their long-awaited return to league action at the stadium, which had been beset by construction chaos, after more than two years in exile.

The Spanish champions will host Eintracht Frankfurt at the Camp Nou on December 9, just over two weeks after re-inaugurating the stadium against Athletic Bilbao in domestic action on November 22.

Barcelona said in a statement that “UEFA accepted the request, considering that all the necessary requirements have been met.”

The Camp Nou return will end a messy saga in which Barcelona repeatedly had to postpone their announced reopening of the stadium as construction delays and a failure to secure safety licences curtailed their plans.

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The Catalans were humiliatingly forced to play two matches at their 6,000-capacity Johan Cruyff training ground stadium in the first weeks of the season after failing to get the permit they needed for Camp Nou, because of safety reasons.

They have since then been playing in the 55,000-seater Olympic stadium on Montjuic hill.

Barcelona will open the Camp Nou against Bilbao with a temporary capacity of 45,401 spectators, with space for 105,000 when the top tier is eventually completed.

They opened the stadium up for 23,000 fans to watch a training session earlier in November as a test event in the reopening process.

The delay in the work represents a huge financial loss for the club, which needs the revenue generated by its stadium to regain stability.

Financially troubled Barcelona are estimated to be spending 1.5 billion euros ($1.74bn) on the rebuild.

Barcelona will finally return to their reconstructed Camp Nou stadium against Athletic Bilbao on November 22 in La Liga, the club said Monday, after more than two years in exile.

Since the stadium closed at the end of the 2022⁄23 season, the Catalan giants have been forced to play elsewhere, mainly at the Olympic Stadium on the city’s Montjuic hill.

A series of delays means Camp Nou is reopening a year after it was originally slated to, following a 1.5 billion euro ($1.75 billion) transformation beset by construction chaos.

Barcelona will open the stadium with a temporary capacity of 45,401 spectators, with space for 105,000 when the top tier is completed.

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They opened the stadium up for 23,000 fans to watch a training session earlier in November as a test event in the reopening process.

Barcelona are also hoping to receive the green light from UEFA to host Eintracht Frankfurt at the Camp Nou in the Champions League on December 9.

The Spanish champions were forced to play two matches at their 6,000-capacity Johan Cruyff training ground stadium in the first weeks of the season after failing to get the permit they needed for Camp Nou, because of safety reasons.

The previous iteration of Camp Nou was built in 1957 and had a capacity of 99,000.

Barcelona plan to add a roof to the stadium which will be installed in the summer of 2027, a year later than the project was anticipated to be completed.

Barcelona will face Villarreal in Miami in a La Liga match on December 20, the Spanish top flight said Wednesday, making it the first European league fixture to be played abroad.

Earlier this week, European football governing body UEFA said they opposed the idea of games being played overseas but would permit it on an exceptional basis, along with a Serie A match in Australia in February between AC Milan and Como.

 “With this match we take a historic step that projects La Liga and Spanish football into a new dimension,” said La Liga president Javier Tebas in a statement. “We understand and respect the concerns that this decision may generate, but it is important to put it into context – it is a single match out of the 380 that make up the season.”

The game was due to be played at Villarreal’s home stadium but will now take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in the United States, in Florida.

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Villarreal will take measures to compensate season ticket holders after the game was moved.

 “Villarreal season ticket holders will be able to travel for free to the match, and those who choose not to travel to Miami will enjoy a 30 percent discount on their season ticket price as part of the measures designed to reward their support and loyalty,” said La Liga.

In September a total of 18 fan groups from both teams involved expressed their “complete opposition” to the match taking place abroad.

La Liga have attempted to play matches overseas dating back to 2017 but the Spanish football federation (RFEF) frequently resisted, despite hosting the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia themselves.

Barcelona’s rivals Real Madrid have also expressed their disapproval at the decision to take a La Liga game abroad.

They said in August hosting the game in Miami would “alter the competitive balance” of the league and set an “unacceptable precedent”.