Will Barcelona be able to Maintain their Momentum at Santiago Bernebeu?

Santiago Bernebeu has been one of Barcelona's most favorite away Stadium to visit in the recent past. Barcelona is in a four-match winning streak in the visits. Will Barcelona be able to make it five in a row?

There is so much at stake when Barcelona visit Santiago Bernebeu on the First Sunday of 2020 March. The destiny of the League could very well be defined by the end of the match. At least we will get a picture of who will be having the advantage of going forward. A victory for both teams is vital as La Liga is decided in the end by head-on head record if the two teams are tied on points!

Statistically both teams are currently tied at 72 wins each in El Clasico matches. So there is a small point of which set of fans gets to brag more about being ahead in head-on head clashes. So there is more at stake here for everyone involved.

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Is there Conflict between Setién and Barcelona Players about Tactics?

Quique Setién has walked back on many of the revolutionary ideas he was keen to introduce in the first few matches. Is he being pressured to do so by the players?

From the time Setién took over from Valverde, there was a huge emphasis on improving the tactical side of the game in Barcelona. In all honesty, we all felt like we started once again to play football. The newly arrived coach categorically denied giving up his beliefs in the 'Beautiful game' if results turn sour.

In the last few matches Barcelona has gone back to the old 4-3-3 formation and a style much different from what we saw in Setién's first few matches. One wonder why Setién suddenly made a sharp change from what his core beliefs are.

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Why Using Arturo Vidal on the Wing is Sheer Stupidity?

The Chilean looked inept for the task on hand at the wing of an attacking trio. Should Setién continue the self-defeating experiment of using Vidal upfront? Left or Right doesn't seem to make a difference!

Vidal's moment of recklessness could seriously hamstring Barcelona at the return leg of Napoli clash at the Camp Nou. With him being not available, Barcelona has been left with just three regular starters to fill the midfield roles. Setién could be seriously worried here as the Chilean was one of the Coach's favorite player.

Vidal has been one of the important weapons in Setién's armory. He along with Roberto is the ultimate utility player in the squad and the coach has been using the Chilean regularly as an offensive weapon. But has the experiment with Vidal is slowly losing its focus?

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Barcelona Secures a Valuable Draw against Napoli with a Timid Performance

The 1-1 draw seems to be the most perfect result Barcelona could hope for, especially with the kind of performance on display. But with Busquets and Vidal suspended for the return leg, has Barcelona made life tougher at Camp Nou?

Barcelona produced a lackluster display where the emphasis was more on the fight at hand and less on the skill on display. The affair of last night was more or less like a boxing match where both participants were looking for landing some punches, but not the knockout one! Barcelona made life difficult for them by making some strange starting choices, which had a huge implication the way we played.

In the end, this was not the most desired result but still a perfect one. Griezmann's equalizer gives Barcelona the away goal advantage, which they could build upon at the Camp Nou. Then there is a small problem of finding enough players to make the starting eleven!

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FC Barcelona vs Napoli Highlights Video | Barca - 1, Napoli - 1

FC Barcelona was held on to a 1-1- draw at the San Paolo Stadium in Naples by a spirited Napoli side. Napoli went ahead in the first half through Mertens. For Barcelona, it was the French, Antoinne Griezmann who found the precious equalizer.

Do not miss to watch the highlights below:

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Will Bartomeu Survive the 'The Barca Gate' Crisis?

Bartomeu could be Offering Prayers to St.Messi to create the magic necessary to keep BarcaGate Stories only in the back pages. Will that be enough? Can he once again survive from a damaging crisis riding on some good results of the team?

It's been quite some time since we have seen the white handkerchiefs on display at the Camp Nou. That dreadful display of displeasure by the fans is usually deserved for something quite nasty. And nasty is it, the current situation of the club under this management.

Since the time I wrote last about the I3 Ventures controversy, a lot has happened. The entire controversy itself received a name and an apt name it is - 'The Barca Gate'. Bartomeu had a meeting with the Captains, which didn't go well. But the Board meeting went well for him giving us also an indication of how this will be handled.

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Barcelona Looking for a Solid Result against Napoli in the First Leg

Barcelona will be looking to take home a good result that could make life easier in the second leg at home. The first meeting between Maradona's former team and Lionel Messi could turn out to be a cracker of a contest.

For Lionel Messi, this match could be extra special. Having been considered as the true heir to 'Diego Maradona', Lionel Messi will be playing for the first time in the stadium where the Great Argentinian made fairy tales come true. This is the house of 'Diego Armando Maradona', where it's time for Messi to script his fairy tales!

It's quite strange that Messi has never been able to visit the Stadio San Paolo in Naples. It's partly due to Napoli missing out in Champions League for some time and also the fixtures never had Barcelona paired with Napoli earlier. So tonight Messi checks another checkbox in the list of Iconic stadiums which witnessed his otherworldly talent. Will he be able to score at the Stadio San Paolo when two former teams of Maradona clashes?

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Why Setién shouldn't Line-Up Barcelona in 4-3-3 Formation against Napoli?

Barcelona have been on quite a roll in recent matches, with Messi in the mix of everything. Now all eyes would be on Setién, on how he handles the Champions League test.

Quique Setién will be managing a team for the first time in UEFA Champions League when Barcelona travel to Napoli for the first leg of the first knockout stage of this season's competition. This would be a dream come true for the Spaniard, managing a team like Barcelona in the most prestigious club competition in the world.

It is easy to get carried over by the moment, but Setién cannot afford to! He has to be on top of his job this week, which could turn out to be extremely crucial for Barcelona's ambition this season.

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3 Positives from Barcelona's 5-0 Victory over Eibar

FC Barcelona opened up a two-point lead at the top of the league with a great 5-0 victory over Eibar aided by Real Madrid's defeat at Levante. The victory gives Barcelona a bit of cushion heading into next week's Clasico. Things have turned around quite a bit of Setién's Barcelona. The pressure was relieved a bit of now.

Once again there was a thing which could worry on display at Camp Nou. Like I have mentioned in previous matches, Barcelona players took the game lightly especially after the break. One could forgive them as a 3-0 lead at the half time allowed them to ease off a bit. For the time being let's focus on the positives from the match.

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Lionel Messi Five Star Performance against Eibar in GIFs | Barca Images GIFs

Lionel Messi Gifs against Eibar

Lionel Messi ended his mini goal drought by scoring not one but four against Eibar. The first one of those will be remembered as one of the greatest by the Argentinian. The other three also were of brilliant quality.

Check out his performance against Eibar below in GIF images:

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Messi Inspired Manita Takes Barcelona to the Top of the League

Opening up a two point lead just before the Clasico at Bernabeu is the answer to every Barcelona fans prayers. Lionel Messi stole the show as usual with a four goal five-star performance.

FC Barcelona - 5 | Eibar - 0

The biggest question in the build-up of this match was whether the 'Ball will Go In'. Everyone expected goals from Eibar, but will it come from Messi that was the big question. And he answered in quite some fashion scoring four, his fourth poker in the League, second versus Eibar. This victory along with Real Madrid's loss at Levante later opened up a two-point lead for Barcelona at the summit.

Eibar has been one of his favorite opposition scoring 20 times in eleven meetings. So this clash came at the right time when Messi was struggling to score goals but was assisting left, right and center. Currently, Messi leads the Pichichi charts having scored 18 goals and the assist chart providing 12 assists. The second-placed in both charts is five goals away from him.

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FC Barcelona vs Eibar Highlights Video | FC Barcelona - 5, Eibar - 0

Lionel Messi secured another solid victory for Barcelona against Eibar scoring four in a 5-0 victory. The other goal came from Arthur. Braithwaite, Barcelona's new signing made a huge impact playing a critical role in Barcelona's last two goals. It was a dream debut for the Dani International.

Check out the highlights below:

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5 Year Deal for Braithwaite or the 300 Million Release Clause! What Made you Laugh the Most?

Ironically, the night Martin Braithwaite was unveiled at Barcelona, some of the outcasts (loaned out players) made quite a big statement in Europe! Still having a player with 300 Million as release clause is more valuable to the Club.

Let's be honest, Martin Braithwaite does not deserve any of the criticism that is following his signing at Barcelona. It is unfair to criticize someone who didn't even properly place his foot at the Camp Nou. But then not an iota of that criticism is directed at the player, it all is targetted at the Club.

His signing, unfortunately (for the player) is seen as a testimony of the failure of this current management. In all honesty, a club of this stature should not have ended up in this position.

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Barcelona Signs Braithwaite for 18 Million Euros

The Deportivo Leganés' player becomes Barcelona's emergency signing after the Federation gave them the green signal. Fans around the world will be relieved by the fact that we were able to make a signing; that's quite big under this management!

So all rumors have been put to rest. Barcelona has signed Martin Braithwaite after the club decided to use 'a never been used clause' in Spanish Federation as an emergency option. This adds the mercurial talent of Braithwaite into the mix, who going by all indication could replicate what Boateng did in Barcelona. That is absolutely nothing!

A lot of people have been relieved seeing the club sign someone. We assumed that the Club has forgotten to get the deal done. Now, this is a huge relief. Setién could be quite relieved as he has one more player in the squad. At least it will make the numbers.

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Why Lionel Messi Should Handover a Transfer Request to Save the Club?

With every passing hour, it is becoming clear that the Board's claim of innocence in the I3 Ventures Controversy will not hold water. It is time for Lionel Messi to take revenge on them on behalf of them and all the fans. Will he?

Barcelona as a Club is moving into further chaos with every passing minute following the unprecedented I3 Ventures Controversy. The attempt by the Club management to push things under the carpet with a rather diplomatic statement was kind of 'Dead on Arrival'. The fact that moments after issuing the statement, the entire I34 Ventures team (including the web presence) went to hiding negated anything that was said in the statement.

The current explanation from the Board is that they severed all the ties with the agency the moment they became aware of the issue. Will anyone believe any of this? We may not be such big fools as they imagine us to be! With every passing moment, Bartomeu seems to get into a deeper hole than he earlier was!

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Barcelona Issues Statement on I3 Ventures Controversy. Will Anyone Buy It?

The curious aspect in the Club's statement is the absence of defemation case threat. Instead what is there is a hint that the Club may take legal position if the information is not rectified.

Everyone was eagerly waiting for Barcelona's response to the revelations made by SER Catalunya. And last night, Barcelona put out a detailed statement as a response to the story which has shocked the entire club setup. As expected, the Club denied any involvement as accused by SER Catalunya.

The entire story has even drowned the other big story of the day - Messi winning the Laureus Award. Normally it would have been the headline of every news outlet, but for the time being the Crisis at Club dominates.

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Lionel Messi Crowned Laureus World Sportsman of the Year

Lionel Messi became the first player from a team sport to win the prestigous Laureus Award, often dubbed as the Oscars of the Sporting World.

Lionel Messi, Captain of Barcelona became the first player from a team sport to win the Prestigious Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award. He shared the award with Formula One Champion, Lewis Hamilton. The very fact that he was able to hold his fort along with Hamilton, makes it's quite an achievement.

This is sixth time lucky for Lionel Messi who was nominated five times before this year. Coming from a Team Sport, it becomes extremely difficult to win the award as the individual sports players have an unfair advantage. Laureus has always been considered as being unfair to Team Sports!

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Bartomeu Accused of Trying to Destroy Players and Club Legends' Reputation

This latest revelations by SER Catalunya Radio Channel could endanger the current Board's future. Will Bartomeu be able to whether the Storm?

If the current state of crisis surrounding the club wasn't enough, the club was thrown into more chaos by the revelations from SER Catalunya. The Catalunya based radio channel has made a stunning revelation which could jeopardize Bartomeu's career as Club President.

It is alleged in the story that Bartomeu has hired Company I3 Ventures to improve the image of the Board in social media. That is not a huge problem, every organization does the same. But what has thrown the club into a tailspin is the other revelation in the story.

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3 Lessons Learned from Barcelona's Victory over Getafe

Barcelona's 2-1 victory over third placed Getafe at Camp Nou raise more questions than answers for Quique Setién.

Barcelona's hard-won victory against third-placed Getafe proved to be extremely vital in the grand scheme of things. With Real Madrid dropping points last night, Barcelona clearly has the destiny of La Liga in their hands. A huge step will be to defeat Real Madrid when they meet in two weeks' time.

Once again, like last week this was a hard-fought match. Barcelona should thank Ter Stegan for guaranteeing the three points. In the end, Setién has too many things to worry about than take comfort after the victory against Getafe.

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Barcelona Frantically Searching for Players to Make the Line-Up against Getafe

With almost everyone on the backline in danger of missing out, Quique Setién is struggling to find players to make the starting eleven. There is a good chance that we may have a central defense of Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto. That would be some setup!

When I wrote a week ago about Barcelona's struggle with squad, I never anticipated all my fears coming to fruit so soon. As we feared, Barcelona is currently struggling to find players to fill the backline of their defense when third-placed Getafe arrives at Camp Nou on Saturday.

Getafe arrives at the Camp Nou on the backdrop of four consecutive victories, that too against good teams. Last week they defeated Valencia 3-0 and a week before they won against Athletic away from home. We all remember how our latest matches with these teams went!

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Should Barcelona Really Give Up on Ousmane Dembele as a Credible Option?

The biggest worry for Barcelona is that even if they try to sell him, there could be no takers. Forget the 140 Million we paid, Barcelona will be lucky enough even if we get 30 Million for the player.

Ousmane Dembele has been successfully operated and the club has confirmed that he will be not available for at least six months. This rules him out of the rest of the season with Barcelona and also dashed any hopes of him playing at the Euros. The Euros was anyways in question considering the shaky season he already had.

With another injury layoff, if one has to value the time spend by Dembele at Barcelona - most of the time has to be either at the medical table or getting fit after an injury. His case resembles the case of Vermaelen who was brilliant when available but struggled to make himself available. On that backdrop, Should Barcelona keep believing in Dembele?

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Why it is Unfair to Allow Barcelona to Sign a Player as Dembele's Replacement?

Barcelona is looking to use a never-ever used rule in Spanish Football Federation books to sign an emergency signing as a potential replacement for the injured Dembele. Is it fair for other clubs?

Barcelona Football Club has presented their case to the Spanish Federation to allow them to sign an emergency player using a loophole in the Spanish federation rules. The rule allows the club to sign players outside of the transfer window in exceptional circumstances. Remember no club has ever used this rule. That says so much of Barcelona's preparation and management of their squad!

Even though this rule allows for an emergency player signing outside of the transfer window, it comes with a lot of restrictions. Many of which the English pundits who are going crazy about it may not have informed their viewers.

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3 Reasons Why Lionel Messi is Struggling to Score Goals Suddenly?

The Guy who was scoring for fun, even after missing months of action suddenly is struggling to find the back of the net. Will this hurt Barcelona in the long run?

Lionel Messi has been struggling for goals since the turn of the new year, a stark contrast to how he finished 2019. Gone are those days where every free-kick from the little maestro was heading to the top corner of the goal. He has scored thrice under Setién, which in normal cases is a great feat. But the Lionel Messi is not your normal Super Hero!

Lionel Messi still leads the Pichichi race having scored 14 goals so far. This in itself is an almighty feat as he missed a sizeable part of the season. But if Setién's Barcelona is to achieve greater success, they want their talismanic leader in fine form. Let's look at the factors which are hindering Messi currently.

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3 of the Most Important Takeaways from Barca's 3-2 Victory over Betis!

Quique Setién will be a very much relieved man following Barcelona's victory over Real Betis at the Estadio Benito Villamarín in Sevilla. This was Setién's first away victory in his Barcelona Managerial career. The earlier victory at Ibiza shall not be considered of high significance.

What should make the manager happy is that the victory came against Real Betis. Not because he managed the side before, but because that's one of the toughest opposition for Barcelona. Usually, they present the biggest test on the road for Barcelona.

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Inspirational Lionel Messi Performance against Real Betis in GIF Images

Lionel Messi may not have scored last night, but his performance warranted another ten out of ten. It's not a normal thing to have one guy assist all three goals - a hat-trick of assists.

Enjoy Lionel Messi mesmerizing performance against Real Betis in GIFs below:

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Barcelona Secures Three Points against Betis with a Sprirted Fightback

Barcelona came from beind twice to secure vital three points against Real Betis, what incidentally is the first away win under Setién in the League.

Real Betis - 2 | FC Barcelona - 3

This was an emotional affair on so many levels. First, there was this Manager who is making a visit to the place where he made the real mark, then there is a host of ex-Barcelona players, some sold out and some on loan and finally there is the stadium, which for the Catalan side is nothing short of a bull ring! This was bound to be messy, and so it was.

In the end, Setién would be a relieved man, having secured the three points which keep his team on the heels of arch-rival Real Madrid. Barcelona needed to come back from behind twice in the match. The goals came from pretty much unlikely sources - De Jong, Busquets and Lenglet; assisted by the usual suspect Lionel Messi.

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FC Barcelona vs Real Betis Highlights Video | Barca - 3, Real Betis - 2

FC Barcelona came back from behind twice to secure their first away victory under Quique Setien in the League. This victory was vital as it keeps them with the reachable distance of League leaders Real Madrid. Lenglet scored the winner for Barcelona from a towering header.

Check out the highlights below:

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FC Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao Highlights Video | Barca - 0, A.Bilbao - 1

Barcelona has been knocked out of Copa del Rey Competition with a late goal at the San Mamés stadium. This was supposed to be a tough match and that proved right. Despite having the best of chances, which they failed to capitalize on. Now we will be only fighting on two fronts.

Check out the Highlights below:

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Barcelona Visits San Mamés with Messi - Abidal Mess Dominating Everywhere

The spat between Barcelona's Captain and Director of Football dominated everywhere, even in the Press conference ahead of a 'life or death' visit to San Mamés. The Captain has stood up for the players' defense, and if they rally to the Captain, San Mamés may not be able to contain them.

FC Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao Copa Match Preview

A visit to San Mamés is always a scary affair for Barcelona, especially in recent times. We may have emerged victorious, but not without the enormous struggle where we had to face eleven spirited souls on the pitch and an additional 53,000 inspired on the stands. Despite being one of Messi's favorite opponents, Barcelona knows clearly that this will be a 'Night of Great Battle'.

None of this dominating the news right now, instead of its all about the Lionel Messi - Eric Abidal spat. It appears this is dominating one of the biggest contests in Spanish Football history. After all, these are the two sides that have won the most in the Copa Del Rey competition.

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3 Reasons Why Eric Abidal Should be Sacked from Barcelona?

Barcelona management needs to revisit its choice of making Eric Abidal the Club's Director of Football. There is little chance of the team, especially Messi reconciling with him soon, despite the public show of compromise!

The spat between Lionel Messi and Eric Abidal has been dominating the news for the last 24 hours. One has to wonder what will be the scar that this will leave out to the fabric of this team. Already they are running against time to get in ready with Philosophy of the new manager!

Bartomeu has declared the crisis to be over after calling a meeting between the two former teammates, Messi and Abidal. Despite that, one should question the feasibility of things going back to normal. Maybe it's time we let Abidal go off his responsibilities, which he had failed to do as detailed below.

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Why Messi was Right to Criticize Eric Abidal? And, it's Time He Talked!

Lionel Messi lashing out on Eric Abidal may have upset some of the fans, but he was within the right to defend himself and the squad. Eric Abidal should be sacked now!

It appears there cannot be any death of news when it comes to the Barcelona's State of Affair this season. We all thought this week will be dominated by the two crucial away matches, that could define the future for Setién's Barcelona.

It didn't happen that way! Now, there is a full-blown battle between the Captain and the Technical director - Messi and Eric Abidal. The former teammates have gone against each other with statements, even though one could argue that Messi took it personally.

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Will Barcelona's Clueless Actions in Winter Market hurt their Title Challenge?

Barcelona instead of strengthening its rooster, went on an overdrive to weaken its reinforcements in the Winter Transfer market. Will, it hurt them?

Barcelona fans agree on one thing in particular - that is the incompetence of this Board and management. That aspect was laid bare to the whole world with what transpired in the recently concluded January transfer window. There were expectations of high profile signings even at the very end of it. But those who are keen observer, the reality was too plain to be hidden.

In the end, we were all glad that the window closed. It amounted to torture, especially for Barcelona fans - every day getting linked to anyone available. When it all came to an end, many were relieved that at least Vidal and Rakitic remained in the team!

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Why This Week will be the Most Crucial for Setién's Barcelona Future?

With two crucial away matches in the Copa del Rey and La Liga, this could be a week which could make or break Setién's Managerial reign at Barcelona.

Barcelona manager, Quique Setién, has somewhat successful in bringing some stability to the team after the disastrous Valverde regime. Despite the trophies won by Valverde (all thanks to Lionel Messi), one has to agree that he destroyed what was known as the Barcelona way of playing 'The Beautiful Game'.

Setién so far has remained adamant to the fact that he prefers to lose beautifully rather than win ugly. Since he has taken charge, we have seen Barcelona going the 'Tiki-Taka' way and trying to build everything based on their La Masia philosophy.

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Incredible Lionel Messi Action against Levante in GIF Images

Lionel Messi may not have been uopto his usual standard, but was critical in everything Barcelona did. His two assist for Ansu Fati makes him the leading assist maker in the League. So he is the only one who is leading the Goalscorer ranking and Assit maker ranking currently.

Check out Messi in Action against Levante in incredible GIFs:

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3 Reasons Why Setién is Worried about Barcelona's Victory over Levante?

Despite the 2-1 victory, Quique Setién will be a worried man with what he witnessed in the second half of that match. These issues cannot be hidden from the keen eyes of someone as intriguing as the Coach.

Quique Setién in his own word is someone who cares for 'feeling more than results'. If that's true, and it seems true; he could be worried about what he saw in the second half of Barcelona's performance last night against Levante. Having said that, the first half could be mentioned as the best offensive half played under Setién so far.

It is easy for everyone to just go with the flow of the 2-1 victory. Ansu Fati's two goals were quite brilliant. But that should not make us invisible to the fact that Setién have very limited time for getting his team ready for the rest of the season, we need to be focussed.

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Ansu Fati Brace Secures Barcelona an Essential Victory that inspires Hope

The very fact that it was the youngest member for the eleven who secured this victory for Barcelona gives a lot of hope for Barcelona for the future under Setién. With a solid victory, which wasn't devoid of issues, Barcelona remained on the heels of league leaders Real Madrid.

FC Barcelona - 2 | Levante - 1

Barcelona kept their pursuit of league leaders Real Madrid with a not so spectacular 2-1 victory over Levante at the Camp Nou. Ansu Fati, the young start from Barcelona B scored twice in the first half to secure Barcelona's victory. Levante scored a late consolation in the injury time through Rochen, which was clearly justified for their efforts of the second half.

Ansu Fati scored both his goals from Lionel Messi assists. Even though Messi was instrumental in creating the chances, the finishing from the youngster showed why he is rated so high in footballing circles.

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FC Barcelona vs Levante Highlights Video | FC Barcelona - 2, Levante - 1

Ansu Fati's two first-half goals gave Barcelona a vital victory at the Camp Nou tonight. This victory keeps them on the heels of the League Leaders Real Madrid. Lionel Messi created both the goals for the youngster, who was magnificent with his finishes.

Check out the highlights from the match below:

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