Tito Vilanova spoke to the media during Saturday’s press conference, after it was released that he will head to New York on Monday for further cancer treatment.

In preparation for Valladolid, he talked about the incentive to win 100 points. “We’ll try to win our remaining three matches. The more goals we score, the better. We can’t stop competing, that’s the only thing I wouldn’t like. We owe our fans and we have to finish the season in strong fashion.”

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At today’s lunchtime press conference at the Ciutat Esportiva, Pedro Rodríguez expressed his pleasure at winning the league title, as it is a mark of consistency across the entire year and the effort that the team exerted, although he would have liked to have given more.

About the possibility of reaching the 100 points record through the last three remaining games, he echoed the sentiments of his teammate Jordi Alba by saying, “the 100 point record is a motivation for us and an objective we have in mind. We know it will be difficult because the other teams we are playing are still playing for things – but we intend to try.”

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FC Barcelona took to the Vicente Calderon field surrounded by the Atlético Madrid guard of honor, with friendly greetings and congratulations between the two sets of players. As the new champions of Spain, the blaugrana went into the game with nothing but pride forcing them to go for the victory, which they did in one of the most testing games of the season.

Although this season’s La Liga title seems like a small achievement to many football fans around the world, that is only due to the extremely high standards that Barça has set throughout the last five years, and the high expectations from their ruthless displays early in the season. However, the fact still remains that they have won this trophy because of an amazing showing in the domestic league, with the only slump happening later on in the season because of many unfortunate events at the club.

A league title is won by the best team, so imagine a team winning it with our point difference, and a possible 100 points collected, to equal last year’s Real Madrid record.

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Thiago Alcântara gave a press conference after Thursday’s training session to stress the importance of the league title, and how much FC Barcelona wants it.

“We’ve been fighting for this all season. Last year we lost the title and we want it back. It’s a lovely title. Sometimes you get so used to winning it’s as if you don’t value the title, but I can tell you that here in the squad we know how hard it has been to face up to and win so many games.”

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Avoiding the blame-game for the time being, the main thing learned from the previous few matches is that errors cost games. Defensively, there were three errors committed throughout the second leg against Bayern Munich, and they all resulted in goals. Offensively… there was no end in sight. Pedro had a good shot on goal, in a single unexpected long distance attempt. Dani Alves broke through the box with no one covering him, but then hesitated to finish it, waiting for someone to break into the box, to pass it to. The problem is that the Bayern defense recovered during his wait. The rest of the attempts were either similar or less important.

There are many reasons as to why these displays happened, and there are many theories as to how they can be addressed, but the one sure thing is that regardless of the scoreline against Betis in La Liga, Barça will not claim the title on Sunday night.

Real Madrid had battled to a 4-3 score at the Bernabéu against Valladolid, and so pushes our party to at least next week, if we manage to draw and win our next two games (including Sunday’s Betis game). So how will Barça bounce back after the German hammering?

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Tonight’s game against Levante UD can be labelled amongst the worst played by FC Barcelona during this season. It’s not because the team was bombarded with constant attacks by Levante, because they were not; Levante barely had a shot on target, and their time in the Barça half was minimal. It was a bad, or at best a mediocre game because the quality that usually defines our play was missing. The number of misplaced or inaccurate passes was higher than usual, and the starting frontline lacked any effectiveness.

However, the good news is that Bayern Munich wasted a plane ticket by sending a scout to observe the game. He returns to Munich bamboozled by what to report, since Barça gave up nothing of note other than that Abidal’s class is eternal, and that Fàbregas and Alexis play well when they are partners. More after the jump.

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If there is ever a football representation to what is referred to as a ‘Sunday picnic’, Real Zaragoza can be considered as lunch to FC Barcelona’s day out. The match started with all guns blazing, and soon it became obvious that the game would be highly dominated and controlled by Barça. Thiago finally showed his fantastic talent, without resorting to needless risks, and his focus truly orchestrated the game, with Tello wrecking havoc on the backline and left-wing with his immense speed and technical skills. A dominant performance, with the 0-3 scoreline, tells little of the brilliance on display.

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After spending months warming the bench, the time for Marc Bartra has come. He started this season by featuring in occasional matches during Tito’s earlier constant rotation of the players, and didn’t disappoint in his performances. Yet as the season progressed he stopped playing altogether, until now.

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We’re now at the time of the season when injuries seem to pile up, one after the other, with the recoveries being replaced by freshly received physical damage. The FC Barcelona website reports that the latest to join this conveyor belt of heroic-wounded is José Manuel Pinto with lumbago (lower back pain), and Sergio Busquets, who has a groin injury. More after the break.

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On a celebratory night, many happy events scrambled to make the ultimate headline:

• Barça Keeps Cleansheet
• No Messi? No Problem!
• Cesc Fabregas Scores Hat trick
• Barça Thrashes Mallorca with 5 Golazos!!
• Tito Leads His Team at Home
• KING ERIC RETURNS!!

It was in the 55th minute that euphoria truly enveloped the Camp Nou, although all 5 goals had already been scored. It was in the 69th minute that the euphoria went from enthusiastic to explosive. King Eric was back on the pitch, one year after his liver transplant, and he looked like he hadn’t missed a game. More after the break.

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In a match full of headlines, one incident seems to have trumped all other match events; Lionel Messi has suffered an injury to his right hamstring at the 42nd minute of the first half. FCBarcelona.com reports that further tests will be carried out on Wednesday to determine the extent of the injury. More after the break.

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FC Barcelona’s official site has reported that fullback Jordi Alba has left the Spanish national team camp with an injury, and returned to Barcelona to undergo further tests.

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In our La Liga return game at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid, Barça has carried on with our record-breaking trend, and has now managed to do something that hasn’t been done since 1962. The blaugrana squad has now conceded goals in its 13th consecutive game. Join me in exploring the whats, the whys, the whens and the how-comes, of the game, and if indeed FC Barcelona were playing Casper the Ghost as a defender, and with Callejon looking more like Bart Simpson everyday, this was indeed a game of comical events fit for the Cartoon Network, and not a sports channel. More after the jump.

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FC Barcelona started on its journey of recovery from a disappointing midweek loss to record a 2-1 win over Sevilla. The possession rate was high as always, and there were some wasted chances and some defensive mishaps as well. However, the encouraging signs of the match, including having Villa and Messi on the scoresheet, leaves much to be talked about. More after the jump.

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“Iniesta is as good as Messi. What can you do when you’re up against two of the three best players in the world?”

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FC Barcelona will resume the quest for the La Liga title in a match against Getafe CF this Sunday afternoon. The team will look to regain winning form following two consecutive draws, against Valencia CF and Real Madrid. While international breaks have been a bane to the team in the past, this season has proven to be different, with the blaugrana smashing their opponents throughout this campaign following international breaks. Barça’s static lineup in recent matches has garnered much attention and debate. More on the lineup and other team news after the jump.

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Alex Song will not take part in the Cameroon national team’s game against Tanzania in Dar es Salaam. As reported by FC Barcelona’s official website, the blaugrana player “felt a twinge in his left knee and as a precaution, he will not be traveling with the Cameroon squad”.

He is one of 16 Barça players called up to their national teams for this week’s round of international games.

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As FC Barcelona prepares to take on Malaga CF for the third time in less than two weeks, here are the things to keep in mind as we get ready to watch the game:

1- Malaga is and has been one of the strongest sides in Spain, and in Europe, judging by their Champions League group stage performance this season.

2- Malaga was dangerous in both games so far, including the first of these three matches that they lost 1-3 at home.

3- And as always, it’s Barça’s level that will decide this game.

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