Emphatic Barca look to build on Man City success
22 Feb 2014 7:21 AM IST
Despite some more unsavoury headlines surrounding Barca’s signing of Brazilian forward Neymar, which saw the club indicted over an alleged tax fraud on Thursday, the mood in Catalonia is positive after they overcame a huge hurdle by beating Manchester City 2-0 away of their Champions League last-16 tie.
That match continued Gerardo Martino’s men’s impressive return to form in recent weeks after a shock 3-2 defeat to Valencia at the beginning of the month.
However, midfielder Sergio Busquets has warned against reading too much into his side’s upturn in the past few games.
‘After the game against Valencia it seemed as if the world had ended and now, three weeks later, it seems as if everything has changed, but it is not like that. We are not now suddenly in our best form, nor were we in our worst before,’ he said.
The trip to San Sebastian will be Barca’s second in 10 days after a 1-1 draw at Anoeta in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final eased them into the final 3-1 on aggregate.
Like Barcelona, Real are still in the running for a potential treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League. And with his side unbeaten in their last 25 games in all competions, defender Dani Carvajal acknowledged that the treble is a realistic target for Madrid this season.
‘I would give everything to win the treble, but it is not easy to win three titles. We will fight for it and give our all until the end to achieve it,’ he told the club’s website.
Barcelona preZ denies tax fraud on Neymar deal
MADRID: President Josep Bartomeu defended Barcelona’s dealings in signing Neymar, saying the Spanish champion would do it all over again despite being charged with tax fraud.
A Spanish judge charged Barcelona with the crime on Thursday. ‘We did everything according to the letter of the law and we’ll go wherever we have to, to explain it.’ Our contract with Neymar and Santos is totally legal.’
That match continued Gerardo Martino’s men’s impressive return to form in recent weeks after a shock 3-2 defeat to Valencia at the beginning of the month.
However, midfielder Sergio Busquets has warned against reading too much into his side’s upturn in the past few games.
‘After the game against Valencia it seemed as if the world had ended and now, three weeks later, it seems as if everything has changed, but it is not like that. We are not now suddenly in our best form, nor were we in our worst before,’ he said.
The trip to San Sebastian will be Barca’s second in 10 days after a 1-1 draw at Anoeta in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final eased them into the final 3-1 on aggregate.
Like Barcelona, Real are still in the running for a potential treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League. And with his side unbeaten in their last 25 games in all competions, defender Dani Carvajal acknowledged that the treble is a realistic target for Madrid this season.
‘I would give everything to win the treble, but it is not easy to win three titles. We will fight for it and give our all until the end to achieve it,’ he told the club’s website.
Barcelona preZ denies tax fraud on Neymar deal
MADRID: President Josep Bartomeu defended Barcelona’s dealings in signing Neymar, saying the Spanish champion would do it all over again despite being charged with tax fraud.
A Spanish judge charged Barcelona with the crime on Thursday. ‘We did everything according to the letter of the law and we’ll go wherever we have to, to explain it.’ Our contract with Neymar and Santos is totally legal.’
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