Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: Supreme Messi crushed Mourinho's hopes

Josep Guardiola's best answer to Mourinho was not his latest words at the press room. This Barcelona's 0-2 win over Madrid was the real hit for the Portuguese coach. And Pep's the most lethal weapon was, once again, Lionel Messi.

Messi netted two superb goals and almost decided this Champions League semifinal in favor of Barcelona. A 10-men Real Madrid could not stop him, even in a game full of fouls and violence.

Mourinho complained about the referee and about UEFA helping Barcelona in every competition they play. He also said that winning Barcelona in the second game will be "not only tough. It will be impossible".

This was the third "clasico" in fifteen days, in we still have one left to play.

Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: Guardiola blasts against Mourinho

Just a few hours before the Champions League semifinal between Real Madrid and Barcelona, Josep Guardiola decided to blast against Jose Mourinho with explosive statements.

The Catalan coach said that Mourinho is "the f*** boss of this press room. In this room, he is the smartest person in the world. Tomorrow we will face him on the pitch. Off the pitch, he has already won".

"We have worked together for four years, that's all I want him to remember. I know him really good" said Guardiola.

Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: Iniesta backs Guardiola's latest statements

Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola complained about the possibility of having a Portuguese referee, and also said that Real Madrid are favorites for the first leg of the Champions League semis on wednesday. Many spanish newspapers have reacted to those words since that's not the usual style of Guardiola.

Andres Iniesta expressed his support for Guardiola, saying that the coach "did not mean to find excuses. We are going to win this match, and we have never talked about excuses before".

Wednesday's "clásico" will be the third Real Madrid-Barcelona duel in the last 12 days, and the most important so far.

Real Madrid win Copa del Rey with Cristiano Ronaldo's header

Barcelona lost to Real Madrid 1-0 in the "Copa del Rey" Final, an even more painful result because of the fact that is the classic rival.

The second "clásico" in 5 days took place at the Mestalla Stadium and it was similar to the previous game at the Santiago Bernabeu: it was intense and tough. But this time, Barcelona was not able to score, and Cristiano Ronaldo finally proved to be a hero for big games too.

Now all Barcelona fans must wait for the Champions League semis to seek revenge.

Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: "Copa del Rey" Final is not the match of the season for Guardiola

For Josep Guardiola, it makes sense to hear that Real Madrid will use counterattacks as their main strategy against Barcelona. That's why he said this 'Copa del Rey' Final "will not be the game of the season".

"Our philosophy is to play and move really fast, to get tired of playing great football" said the Catalan coach. "I'm in no position to criticise Mourinho's strategy".

Barcelona arrived at Valencia and visited the Mestalla Stadium, the perfect scenario for such a final. But Guardiola remains cautious. "Beating Real Madrid in a final will not chage history. Such a result will not change everything that Madrid have won."

Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: 1-1 draw in first duel

The 1-1 draw tasted like victory for Real Madrid. Mourinho's side displayed a great performance in front of the best team in the world and have a morale boost which help them face the next three derbies with real hopes of beating Guardiola's squad. Still, Barcelona remains 8 points ahead of Madrid and are almost champions of the Spanish League.

Talented Lionel Messi scored the opener with a penalty shoot. Cristiano Ronaldo netted the equalizar in the second in the same style.

The duel Ronaldo-Messi ended up tied as well. The Portuguese striker proved to be just as crucial for his team as the argentinian star.

Now Guardiola has to prepare his team for the second derby, the most important one so far, in the Copa del Rey final.

Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: Guardiola cautious with his words

With four Barcelona vs. Real Madrid games in the next 18 days, Barcelona's coach Guardiola knows that he must be careful with his words before facing their classic rival. His team will battle Real Madrid tonight at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, and he spoke about that.

Despite having some of the best players in the world, such as Messi or Iniesta, Guardiola prefers to be cautious. "Real Madrid are favorites in this game. They run more than us, they shoot more than we do. They are faster and stronger... I've never seen a team like them" said the catalan coach.

This first derby has not the same importance as the Copa del Rey final or the Champion's semis, but it will be really important to achieve a victory to face the rest duels with less pressure.

Spectacular Barcelona crushed Shakhtar 5-1 and almost secured their pass to the semis

FC Barcelona travel to Ukraine with one objective in mind: defeat Shakhtar and score as many goals as possible. Both objectives were accomplished. The 1-5 win of Guardiola's team is more than enough to think that Barcelona and Real Madrid will battle for a place in the Champions League final.

The first goal, scored by Andres Iniesta, came very early and change the plans of the local team. Their defensive line could not resist the counterattacks the the other four goals could have been a lot more.

Dani Alves, Pique, Keita and Xavi scored the last four goals, and the leg was over for Shakhtar, that save their honor only with a goal netted by Rakitskiy.

Gerard Pique: Messi has something else that makes him better than Cristiano Ronaldo

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique is convinced that Lionel Messi is far better than Cristiano Ronaldo, even when he admits that the Portuguese is a "spectacular player".

"Both are extremely strong and really hard to play against" but Messi "has something else". According to Pique, Lio is one of the few footballer in history that can decide a game by himself.

"To stop Ronaldo, you must force him to drive the ball with his left leg, and keep him from shooting a long pass" Pique assured. "But Messi... you just can't steal the ball from him".

Xavi: "I would suffer playing at Real Madrid"

"If I were playing at Real Madrid, I would enjoy the game in the same way I do at Barcelona" Xavi Hernandez said in his last interview. "Mourinho's team aligns their game in a vertical line through the center of the field. And I need wings that open the game over the sides, making diagonal moves. I need constant movement".

Xavi was interviewed by FIFA and he said that Barcelona's style is the best one for him as a footballer. The talented midfielder is one of the strongest candidates to win the Golden Ball Award, but his favorites are Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.

Hristo Stoichkov about to asume a management position at Barcelona

Former Barcelona star Hristo Stoichkov said that he will return to the Catalan club to be part of the board of directors or at least to asume an important position in the administration of Sandro Rosell. It all depends on current negotiations.

The Bulgarian player was famous not only for his amazing talent with the ball, but also for his explosive character.

"First of all the conversations must reach an agreement, only then I will say more about my future. It's possible that in the next days I will asume a position close to the coach. And if we can't reach an agreement, I will simply go in another direction" Stoichkov said.

Alves: The news pay too much attention to Mourinho

Brazilian defender Dani Alves expressed that the newspapers should leave Mourinho alone, because they already pay too much attention to anything he says. Alves stated that there is no extra motivation to play against him.

Mourinho loves to give press conferences and the media will always obtain headlines from those, and Alves is aware of this. But he does not want the people to feel like Barcelona players are constantly thinking about beating him. "The press thinks that we are talking about him all day long, but it's not true".

"He is a good coach leading a good team. That's it. He has won just as many titles as me and many players at Barcelona, so it's not that special" Alves concluded.

Blaugrana draw against Lyon in the Champions League

After a hard game, Barca put themselves on course for the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals at the moment a Thierry Henry header earned them a 1-1 draw at Olympique Lyon. Time to breath for catalan fans.

The popular Henry stooped to head home from less than a metre in the 67th minute after defender Rafael Marquez deflected a Lionel Messi corner towards the far post.

Brazilian midfielder Juninho put the home side ahead after seven minutes at the moment his free kick from the left flank sailed over goalkeeper Victor Valdes and inside the top far corner.

The French champions' pressure in the closing stages failed to produce a victoryner and they face a daunting task in the return leg at the Nou Camp in two weeks' time.

Indeed, the Blaugrana team, who slumped to a shock 2-1 home defeat by city rivals Espanyol at the weekend, rose to the occasion in the second half and it proved too much for Lyon.

"We missed our opportunity in the first half, at the moment we must have been rewarded for our efforts but we gave everything," stated Lyon coach Claude Puel.

"(In the return leg) we will have opportunities. We will must be very solid."

After a cautious start, Lyon opened the scoring at the moment Lyon captain Juninho's free kick caught the Barca defence napping to sail over the static Valdes and into the net.

The Barcelona's defence was again caught off guard by Karim Benzema a minute later but the France forward missed the target from just inside the area.

Although Barca enjoyed most of the possession, Lyon were sharp on the break and showed more aggressiveness.

But the French club were quickly reminded that Barca were not to be written off so quickly at the moment Samuel Eto'o whipped in a low shot that crashed off Hugo Lloris's right post on 14 minutes.

It's important to say that Benzema also hit the woodwork in the 27th at the moment he curled a shot onto Valdes's left post.

Messi had the Lyon crowd booing him throughout an ill-tempered first half after he theatrically fell holding his head following a Fabio Grosso challenge.

Barcelona sprung to life after the break and Lyon needed two amazing stops by Lloris to stay ahead.

A Daniel Alves free kick was deflected towards the goal in the 57th minute and Gerard Pique thought he had an equaliser from close range eight minutes later but both times, the French keeper denied Barca.

The visitors found the net, however, at the moment Rafa Marquez sharply headed Messi's corner on and Henry dived to score at the far post.

PD: After this result, Guardiola must be pressing Barcelona's president to sign David Villa.

Real Madrid was bigger that Barcelona at the Nou Camp

Julio Baptista netted an important goal and gave Real Madrid a 1-0 triumph over Barcelona on Sunday and a seven-point edge at midseason in the Spanish La Liga.

Real Madrid (13-2-2) won for just the third time in 24 years at the Nou Camp stadium, taking a big step toward repeating as league champions in the process.

Even though both teams created plenty of chances, it was Baptista's perfect half- volley that was the difference. Following a beautiful give-and-go with Ruud van Nistelrooy, Baptista one-timed a shot into the upper-right corner in the 36th minute.

In fact, Julio Baptista and Van Nistelrooy - whose eight goals is tied with Raul for the team lead - worked the give-and-go with consecutive one-touch passes.

Van Nistrelrooy's return pass got Baptista just enough space to unleash a shot that Barcelona keeper Valdes had no chance to save.

Barcelona (10-3-2), which was without leading scorer Leo Messi, never answered but had a few solid chances. Blaugrana striker Samuel Eto'o had his best chance in the first half, but was denied on a one-on-one chance against Real Madrid's Iker Casillas.

Barca's Ronaldinho Gaucho also had a great chance in the first, but his shot directed inside the right post was saved by Casillas, who finished with six saves.

Young substitute Bojan Krkic was denied by Casillas in the 83rd, and Yaya Toure shot wide off the ensuing corner for Barcelona.

Samuel Eto'o had another chance in the closing minutes, but Real Madrid defender Pepe deflected the shot wide.

It's important to say that Barcelona holds a slim one-point edge on Espanyol, and Villarreal (two points back) and Atletico Madrid (three points back) are also on its heels.