Barça celebrated their league crown by coming back and defeating Atlético Madrid 2-1 after being a goal down. Falcao opened the scoring in the 51st minute after both sides played to a scoreless first half draw. Barça were facing an uphill battle by being down a goal when they had to play the rest of the half with 10 men after Messi left the match with an injury. All the substitutions had been used prior to that injury but Barça kept on fighting and grabbed the equalizer in the 72nd minute courtesy of Alexis.  Seven minutes later, Barça took the lead for good when David Villa’s effort on goal took a slight deflection from Gabi for the own goal game winner. Messi rejoined the bench and no word yet on how severe the injury is. Players began celebrating on the Calderon pitch after the final whistle blew. This was the club’s 22nd league conquest with three league matches to go with a home encounter against Real Valladolid next weekend.

FC Barcelona inched closer to capturing their 22nd Spanish league title after defeating Real Betis 4-2. The victory came down to another performance from Messi who entered the game when it was 2-2 and scored two goals to ensure the victory. Betis delivered an early sucker punch to the Blaugrana in front of their fans at the Camp Nou when they took the lead after two minutes. Pabón gave his sides the lead after he latched on to a long ball that Song missed while Adriano and Pinto were caught in no man’s land, which allowed the Betis player to slot it past Pinto. Barça would equalize five minutes later when Alexis headed in Iniesta’s cross. Betis would recapture the lead two minutes before the break when Rubén Pérez scored an amazing goal from way outside the box. Barça though would perform better in the second half and Villa scored the equalizer in the 55th minute when he headed in Dani Alves’s cross to make amends for his missed chances in the first half. Messi would then replace Villa a few moments later and give his side the lead for good at the hour mark with a superb free kick goal and then score the much needed insurance goal eleven minutes later following some ball movement that resulted in Messi scoring from close range. This victory ensured that Barça maintained their 11 point lead atop of the standings and could clinch the league crown if Real Madrid falls to Malaga on Wednesday. If not, then Barça get their chance to clinch the title in Atletico Madrid’s Calderon stadium next weekend.

Bayern Munich completed their dominance over FC Barcelona with another one sided performance following their 3-0 victory at the Camp Nou.  After a scoreless first half, Arjen Robben gave Bayern the lead in the 48th minute before an own goal from Pique made it 2-0 in the 72nd minute. Thomas Muller then scored the third and final goal of the evening a few minutes later. Barça’s Wembley dreams went from being shattered to being obliterated after a 7-0 aggregate that did not see Messi feature at all in the second leg. Barça will now have to try to put this humiliating defeat behind them and focus on Real Betis when they come to the Camp Nou this Sunday.

The shocking 4-0 loss to Bayern Munich rocked the foundation of FC Barcelona last week. Sure, there had been hiccups along the way this season but this was a colossal wake up call for the Blaugrana. Issues have to be addressed from the top all the way down to the players on the pitch. Changes have to be made with regards to transfers and the change of guard with regards to the veterans at the club. By no means am I saying this is the end of era but perhaps the cycle has run out and the club needs a transformation.

FC Barcelona were minutes away from celebrating capturing the league title but their lack of concentration came back to haunt them again when Herrera scored in the 89th minute to salvage a draw for Bilbao. This was Barça’s final appearance in Athletic Bilbao’s San Mames stadium and the Blaugrana guests were down in the first half courtesy of a Susaeta goal. Barça were struggling to make an impact but that all changed when Messi came off the bench right before the hour mark. His impact would be felt in just minutes after he scored an amazing goal and then played a part in Alexis scoring the go-ahead goal. However, Barça lacked focus paid the price with the Susaeta goal which delayed the club celebrating another league conquest. Barça will have to wait till next week to win the league title against Real Betis but now they have to shift their attention to Wednesday’s Champions League tie where they host Bayern Munich.

Barça’s chances at advancing to the Champions League Final were severely dented after Bayern Munich demolished a subpar Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their Semi-Final clash at the Allianz Arena. Thomas Muller scored the opening goal in the first half and grabbed his brace in the second half after Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben also scored in the second half. Barça did not have much to show for their efforts with Messi clearly not 100%. Barça will now have to recover from this disappointing defeat when they travel to Basque country to face Athletic Bilbao on Saturday before hosting Bayern on Wednesday.

FC Barcelona traveled today with 21 players in preparation for tomorrow’s big clash against Bayern Munich. Messi was part of the group following his involvement in yesterday’s training session. He also participated in today’s training session too. The game kicks off at 2:45 PM and you can watch it with your fellow Barça fans at Fritz & Franz. Fox Soccer will also be broadcasting the game live.

FC Barcelona hosted Levante today in a difficult match where Cesc helped Barça edge a 1-0 victory with his in the final minutes of the match.  Barça did squander an early chance to grab the lead when David Villa saw his penalty effort stopped by the Levante keeper, Navas, and then blocked Cesc’s follow up. Nevertheless, Barça managed to grab the winner in the 83rd minute courtesy of Cesc thanks to the hard work from the substitute Alexis. Barça will now shift their focus for their important clash in Germany against Bayern Munich on Tuesday.