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MESSI’S BRACE IMPRESSES KOEMAN IN GIRONA DEFEAT

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Barcelona’s Lionel Messi shakes hands with coach Ronald Koeman as he is substituted off. PHOTO: REUTERS

Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona eased to a 3-1 victory over Girona in their second pre-season friendly under Ronald Koeman on Wednesday (Sept 16).

Philippe Coutinho struck the crossbar early on before giving Barca the lead midway through the first half, tapping into an empty net after brilliant link play between Messi and new signing Francisco Trincao.

Messi then doubled Barca’s advantage later in the half, spinning away from a defender to thump a shot in off the post and score for the first time since threatening to leave the club last month.

Samu Saiz scored for Girona right at the start of the second period but Barca’s captain struck again in the 50th minute, also cutting inside to shoot from outside the area but this time benefiting from a heavy deflection.

Koeman made four changes to the lineup that had beaten Gimnastic de Tarragona 3-1 in his first game on Saturday and made nine substitutions midway through the second half, only keeping on defender Ronald Araujo and goalkeeper Neto.

This was a more fluid and exciting display than against Gimnastic, with Messi looking sharper and Portuguese Trincao showing confidence and flair every time he got on the ball.

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Teenager Pedri was Barca’s liveliest substitute and had three attempts on goal after coming on, forcing Girona keeper Jose Suarez to make two smart saves, while American forward Konrad de la Fuente also impressed.

Barca play promoted La Liga side Elche in their final pre-season game on Saturday before beginning their league campaign the following weekend at home to Villarreal.

-Reuters

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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La Liga

Barcelona seal 29th LaLiga title with 2-0 Clasico win over Real Madrid

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LaLiga - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - Spotify Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain - May 10, 2026 FC Barcelona players and coach Hansi Flick celebrate with the trophy after winning the LaLiga REUTERS/Albert Gea

Barcelona turned the Clasico into a coronation ​on Sunday, swatting aside Real Madrid 2-0 at a roaring Camp Nou to claim their 29th LaLiga ‌title.

Hansi Flick’s side moved to an unassailable 91 points, 14 clear of second-placed Real with three games remaining.

The triumph capped a dominant campaign in which they lost only four league matches. Villarreal are third on 69 points.

Real arrived needing victory to keep their wafer-thin title hopes alive, but Marcus ​Rashford crushed those aspirations just nine minutes into the game.

Antonio Rudiger fouled Ferran Torres just outside the box, and ​Rashford bent a superb free kick into Thibaut Courtois’ top-left corner, giving Barcelona the early ⁠lead and sending the home crowd into raptures.

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Nine minutes later, Barcelona doubled the lead. Fermin Lopez crossed into the ​area, and Dani Olmo produced a clever backheel that sent the ball into the path of Torres, who rifled a ​fierce strike into the top corner.

The win completed back-to-back league titles for Flick, who also delivered the LaLiga and Copa del Rey double in his first season last year.

Both sides were heavily depleted. Barcelona were without Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Jules Kounde from the starting ​lineup.

Real’s list of missing players was longer, with Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy, Arda Guler and Rodrygo all absent. Federico ​Valverde also missed out after suffering a head injury following a midweek changing-room fight with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni, with both players ‌fined 500,000 ⁠euros over the incident.

Kylian Mbappe did not travel because of a leg muscle injury, forcing manager Alvaro Arbeloa to start Vinicius Jr alongside academy striker Gonzalo, with Jude Bellingham and Brahim Diaz pushing forward in support.

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Real threatened through Vinicius and Gonzalo before halftime, but Barcelona carried the greater menace. Courtois kept the visitors alive with fine saves from Torres ​and Rashford before the interval.

Barcelona ​continued to press after the ⁠break, Rashford repeatedly tormenting left back Fran Garcia down the right, while Courtois produced another sharp stop with his left foot to deny Torres from point-blank range in the ​56th minute.

Bellingham had a goal ruled out for offside in the 62nd minute, and ​Joan Garcia was quick to ⁠deny Vinicius in a one-on-one, preventing the Brazilian from lifting the ball over him.

Real kept probing late on, but there was little bite in their attack, and Barcelona calmly saw out the win before the title celebrations began.

“This title is even ⁠more special ​because we won it at home against Real Madrid. Now it’s time ​to enjoy it with the fans,” Frenkie de Jong told Spanish broadcaster Movistar Plus.

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“Every title has to be celebrated in style. Especially LaLiga, which ​is a year-long competition. We’ve clearly been the best in Spain.”

-Reuters

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Two goalkeepers sent off for stoppage-time punching brawl in Spanish derby

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Real Zaragoza goalkeeper Esteban Andrada was sent off for punching Huesca captain Jorge Pulido in a fiery ​Spanish second division clash on Sunday that descended into ‌a mass brawl, with Huesca keeper Dani Jimenez dismissed for punching Andrada.

Zaragoza’s Dani Tasende was also dismissed after a VAR review ​of the brawl.

With tensions simmering in a relegation scrap, ​Argentine Andrada lost his composure moments before the ⁠final whistle. Ignoring the run of play, he approached ​Pulido and struck him in the face with his right ​hand, sparking chaotic scenes eight minutes into stoppage time.

It was an ugly flashpoint in a match already short on finesse and heavy on ​nerves, and could carry serious consequences for the goalkeeper.

Huesca ​manager Jose Luis did not attempt to defend the scenes.

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“It’s hard ‌to ⁠explain; I think it’s a complete loss of control. I can put myself in their shoes, given what was at stake and all. But it’s unjustifiable. It’s just that ​I don’t know ​what to ⁠do or how to stop it; a brawl breaks out,” he said.

“It’s ugly; this was ​supposed to be a celebration of Aragonese ​football. I’d ⁠like people to talk about the match, even though it was ugly, with little play but a lot of ⁠hard work.”

Oscar ​Sielva’s goal secured a 1-0 ​win for Huesca, lifting them to 36 points in 19th place, while Zaragoza ​remain second-bottom on 35.

-Reuters

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Laporta re-elected as Barcelona president

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 FC Barcelona elections - Barcelona, Spain - March 16, 2026 Joan Laporta celebrates his victory after being re-elected as FC Barcelona president REUTERS/Albert Gea

Joan Laporta has been re-elected as ​Barcelona president after winning ‌over 68 percent of the vote and ​will begin his ​second consecutive term, and fourth ⁠overall, from July ​1, the club said ​on Sunday.

The 63-year-old took office in March 2021 and stepped ​down last month ​in line with club statutes ‌in ⁠order to seek re-election.

Laporta described the election as a “celebration of ​democracy and ​civic ⁠responsibility” and said the tasks ​ahead included finishing ​work ⁠on the Camp Nou and strengthening the ⁠men’s ​team.

-Reuters

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