Unbeaten Barcelona run ended by Levante

Levante hosted Barcelona in the Estadi Ciutat de València for a La Liga clash between the two Spanish teams. The Catalonia giants had not been defeated up to this stage and were on course to be a part of the historical Invincible sides like Arsenal and Juventus who achieved this feat in their league. All they had to do was to avoid defeat in their last two matches but Levante had other ideas. Valverde started the match with Mina and Vermaelen in the middle of defense flanked by Semedo and Alba. He was made to rue this decision as he saw his Barcelona team ship in a number of goals. Barcelona started off well with Dembele fizzling a shot just too high over the goal before seeing his cross to an unmarked Suarez was blocked. On the 8th minute, Ghanaian striker Boateng scored from Jose Luis Morales cross. The forward scored Levante’s second on the 30th minute when he latched onto Sasa Lukic’s pass before rounding off Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and shrugging off a challenge from Barcelona right-back, Nelson Semedo. Philippe Coutinho reduced the deficit in half when he struck a beautifully curled effort on the 38th minute past the Levante goalkeeper.

From then, it was all Levante as Enis Bardhi scored just 33 seconds into the second half from a through pass by Jose Campagna. Boateng completed his hat-trick before Bardhi scored Levante’s 5th of the night. Barcelona needed to score 5 to win the match and they came close through Coutinho’s second-half double and Luis Suarez’s penalty. 5-4 was the final score from the match and Boateng shined on the greatest night in Levante’s 108-year history. This result marks the first defeat for Barcelona in La Liga meaning that Iniesta will leave the club without completing this final piece.

Barcelona win 5-0 in the Copa del Rey final

Sevilla, who have been a strong team this season, succumbed to a 5-0 defeat against Barcelona when it mattered the most. Sevilla had enjoyed a great campaign that saw them defeat Manchester United in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League before being eliminated by Bayern Munich by one away goal. The club also made their way into this year’s Copa del Rey final which is equivalent to the FA Cup in England or the Nedbank Cup in South Africa.

Barcelona looked like they were playing with a different team as they went into the break with a 3-0 advantage. New signing Philippe Coutinho made a sprint into the box on the counter from a brilliant pass by Ter Stegen and drew the keeper to his feet before chipping a pass to his former Liverpool teammate, Luis Suarez to score on the 13th minute. Iniesta then played a delightful one-two with Jordi Alba before he made a brilliant back-heel pass to Messi who shot into the roof of the net for the second goal of the game. Suarez again made it on the score sheet after playing another one-two with Messi but this time from outside the box before sprinting for a short distance before meeting Messi’s pass which he calmly converted into the net. The second half was not disappointing either. Barcelona was out to prove that they are the best and they can beat Sevilla effortlessly. It is like they agreed that all the goals of the night have to come through their tiki-taka passes as this time Iniesta played with Messi before making a fake shot that got everyone on their feet. Iniesta then smashed the ball into the empty net having already dealt with the keeper with his trickery. The Spaniard played a crucial role in this match which some are saying it could be his last final before leaving Barcelona. Philippe Coutinho was handed the penalty to score on the 69th minute which completed the scores for the match. Barcelona ran out 5-0 victors and lifted the Copa del Rey for the 30th time.

Unsettled Pogba wants to play with Neymar

Paul Pogba has shown that he is an individual that admires a lot of things in different players that play in his position. He looks at players like Iniesta, Yaya Toure, Kevin De Bruyne and Luka Modric for inspiration to improve his game. He also had time to mention a player who is also world class but does not play in his position or even for Manchester United. The unhappy player who has been benched by Mourinho in recent matches has admitted to being a big fan of Neymar and appreciates the fact that the player is always happy on the pitch. It is clear that the player is not enjoying his current form and situation which was also backed by his French national team coach Didier Deschamps. Pogba went on to say that he would like to play with Neymar someday. Could it be that the player is hinting at a move to Real Madrid where he could be a long-term replacement for Modric and be joined by Neymar if Florentino Perez bids the rumored €400 million? Surely, he is saying something when he is talking about playing with a player from another club.