United News of Bangladesh

Barcelona entered the pitch at Balaídos aware that Real Madrid had dropped points against Rayo Vallecano. They successfully capitalized on the situation, closing the gap on La Liga summit to three points. The Catalans secured an important 4-2 victory over Celta Vigo on Sunday night thanks to a hat-trick from Robert Lewandowski. Lamine Yamal netted the other goal, while Marcus Rashford provided two assists. Despite falling behind twice, Celta fought back each time before succumbing after Barcelona’s third goal. Lewandowski gave Barcelona the lead with a perfect spot-kick in the 10th minute after Marcos Alonso of Celta handled the ball in the box. However, Sergio Carreira took no time to equalize for the hosts through a counterattack. The Polish striker scored again in the 37th minute to make it 2-1, but defensive lapses haunted Hansi Flick’s side as Borja Iglesias restored parity six minutes later. Barcelona regained the lead before halftime when young sensation Lamine Yamal scored a superb goal. Barcelona resumed the second half with greater composure, controlling the tempo and piling pressure on Celta’s defense. Lewandowski sealed the victory in the 72nd minute, heading home a well-placed corner from Rashford with a spectacular back-header. The victory was slightly marred as Frenkie de Jong received a red card late in the match, ruling him out of the next game. Barcelona head into the international break sitting in second place with 28 points from 12 matches, three behind leaders Real Madrid. After the break, the Catalan giants will host Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou on November 22.

Barcelona dominated possession by 76 percent and produced 23 attempts, but spent almost the entire match chasing equalizers as a defensive nightmare sank the Catalans in Belgium. Hansi Flick’s men dropped points again, this time in a 3-3 draw against a promising Club Brugge side. It was a match where the Blaugrana could easily have returned home with a big win, but their recurring defensive woes haunted them from the opening whistle to the last minute. In fact, they could have lost the match 4-3 had Brugge’s stoppage-time goal not been ruled out. The home side started brightly, taking the lead in the 6th minute after creating a couple of early chances. On their third attempt, Carlos Forbs initiated a counter-attack and squared the ball to Nicolo Tresoldi in front of Barca’s box. The 21-year-old Italy-born German international slotted the ball under Wojciech Szczęsny to give Brugge the opening goal. However, the visitors wasted no time in responding, as Ferran Torres equalised just two minutes later. Fermín López carried the attack through the right channel and delivered a delicious low cross across the six-yard box. The Spanish forward made no mistake in connecting and finding the net. After the quick exchange of goals, Barca took complete control of the match and began to pile pressure on the Brugge defence. Fermín nearly put the visitors ahead in the 11th minute, but his long-range shot struck the outside of the left post and bounced away. Despite Barcelona’s dominance, it was the home team who struck again, capitalising on another counter-attack in the 17th minute. Barcelona’s defensive line was pushed too high, allowing Christos Tzolis to break from midfield on a solo run. The winger squared the ball to Forbs, who beat Szczęsny without facing any challenge to restore Brugge’s lead.

Barcelona returned to winning ways after a frustrating 2-1 defeat in El Clásico last week, securing a 3-1 victory over Elche on Sunday. The win brought Barcelona within five points of arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of the table. The Catalans went ahead with two quick goals from Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres in the 9th and 12th minutes respectively. Rafa Mir pulled one back for Elche three minutes before halftime, before Marcus Rashford sealed the victory for the Blaugrana in the 61st minute. Injury-plagued Barcelona had struggled to show character at the Santiago Bernabéu last week, but this time Hansi Flick’s men responded in style. Their intent to return to form was evident from the opening whistle, as they dominated the early stages. In the ninth minute, Alejandro Balde intercepted a misplaced pass in midfield and sent a precise through ball into the penalty area. Yamal controlled it between two defenders and fired a powerful shot past the goalkeeper to give Barcelona the lead. Barely two minutes later, Barcelona doubled their advantage. From the left flank, Fermín López’s low cross found unmarked Ferran Torres inside the six-yard box, and the winger calmly slotted home with his right foot. It was Ferran’s 50th goal wearing the Barca shirt. López, who had scored Barcelona’s only goal against Real Madrid the previous week, almost found the net again in the 33rd minute with a curling long-range effort that was superbly pushed away by the Elche goalkeeper. After spending most of the first half defending, Elche pulled one back in the 42nd minute with their first meaningful attack. Álvaro Núñez led a counter-attack and set up Rafa Mir, who drove into the box unchallenged and finished clinically into the far corner.

FC Barcelona’s injury crisis deepened as Pedri González became the latest player to be sidelined, suffering a hamstring injury in his left thigh, the club said on Wednesday. Before the injury, the Canary Islander midfielder had missed only one game under coach Hansi Flick, featuring in 72 of a possible 73 matches, according to the club. Pedri is the only player in the squad to have surpassed 1,000 minutes this season, having started all 13 official matches and played nearly every minute. With very little rest, he now appears to have reached his physical limit. He had even worked out in the gym on Wednesday morning before the bad news arrived. “The first team player Pedri has suffered a tear in the distal biceps femoris muscle in his left thigh. The player's recovery will dictate his return to action,” the club said in a statement. Pedri was already set to miss Sunday’s La Liga match against Elche due to a red card suspension in Sunday’s El Clásico, but the new injury means he will be sidelined for a much longer spell. The club has not provided a specific recovery timeline, but several Spanish media outlets report that he is not expected to return before the November international break, ruling him out of the Champions League clash against Club Brugge and the La Liga fixture against Celta Vigo. This news is a real headache for Hansi Flick, who loses his midfield metronome ahead of key fixtures. With Pedri sidelined, the number of injured Barcelona players has now climbed to eight, including Lewandowski, Raphinha, Dani Olmo, Joan Garcia, Christensen, Gavi, and Ter Stegen. Among them, Lewandowski is the only one nearing a return, having trained with the full squad on Wednesday. The Polish striker could feature against Elche after missing three games (against Girona, Olympiacos, and Madrid) due to an injury sustained during the last international break. Meanwhile, Dani Olmo and Joan Garcia have resumed light field training but will not be rushed back. Raphinha is also expected to return after the international break, following his injury in Oviedo on September 25.

Ronald Araujo struck a dramatic stoppage-time winner as Barcelona edged Girona 2–1 in La Liga on Saturday, but head coach Hansi Flick’s red card late in the match cast a shadow over the victory ahead of next week’s El Clasico. The match appeared to be heading for a draw when Araujo, who came on in the 82nd minute, slid in to convert a cut-back from Frenkie de Jong in the third minute of added time. The defender ripped off his shirt in celebration as the home crowd erupted at the Olympic Stadium. Earlier, Pedri had given Barcelona the lead in the 13th minute with a fine low finish after combining with Lamine Yamal. Girona levelled in the 20th minute through Belgian midfielder Alex Witsel, who found the net with a spectacular bicycle kick following a corner. Messi breaks another record in international football Barcelona dominated possession, enjoying 68 percent of the ball and registering 27 shots, nine of them on target. Girona had 11 attempts, with four on goal. Despite creating several chances in the second half, the hosts were repeatedly denied by the Girona goalkeeper until Araujo’s late winner. The victory ended Barcelona’s run of two straight defeats in all competitions, including losses to PSG in the Champions League and Sevilla in La Liga before the international break. With the win, the defending champions moved one point clear at the top with 22 points from nine matches. Real Madrid, second with 21 points from a game in hand, can regain the lead if they beat Getafe on Sunday. Ronaldo breaks new record as Hungary hold Portugal in WC qualifier However, Barcelona’s celebrations were slightly dampened as head coach Flick received a second yellow card for dissent just before Araujo’s goal, ruling him out of the season’s first El Clásico against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.