Alen Halilovic: Sporting Gijon loan proving to end up being ones perfect selection pertaining to Barcelona starlet

The Croatian teenage sensation raised only two eyebrows onto his arrival for the Spanish giants Barcelona as a possible unknown youngster.

Dubbed your current new Messi inside his homeland, your 19-year-old Alen Halilovic has become dealing having a heavy burden on his delicate age as well as the pressure-filled tag connected with being when compared with single of any largest ever feel sure as a load.

However, Halilovic will be coping well.

He did have a series of Conditions in his early days in Barcelona.

Schmidt: Leverkusen must beat Barcelona now

Roger Schmidt stressed Bayer Leverkusen tend to be not giving up hope connected with reaching your Champions League knockout stages despite the agonising 3-2 defeat to help Roma on Stadio Olimpico.

Bundesliga side Bayer fought back through  a great 2-0 half-time deficit on the Group E clash thanks to be able to goals from Admir Mehmedi and Javier Hernandez, but Omer Toprak’s red, regarding shoving Mohamed Salah on the  location led to be able to Miralem Pjanic scoring your own winner because of the penalty spot.

Leverkusen and then drop to be able to third with four points  coming from  As  numerous matches, individual adrift of second-placed Roma whilst  the gap in order to Barcelona is usually six.

Head coach Schmidt is adamant The item Leverkusen may reach your own round connected with 16, but says they will  to be able to beat shock defending champions Barca to get  almost any hope.

“Congratulations to help Roma, but when i  usually are not giving up,” Schmidt said in  a good news conference.

“It are annoying The item  my spouse and i conceded your own 3-2 soon after  my spouse and i had managed to help fight ourselves back into  ones game after going 3 goals down.

“We currently  have to win both of  remaining a couple of games, my partner and i would of course have chosen  in order to  always be  in  a good  greater position.

“We granted them too much day to be able to play This very first ball from the back  build counterattacks. This really is  challenging  in order to contain them then.”

Goalkeeper Bernd Leno, meanwhile, feel pleased throughout his side’s mentality, but concedes Leverkusen were lucky for you to always be  just  two goals down  at the break.

“Of course it’s annoying, but ones fact The item  i came back shows that the  division  possesses  a great mentality,” Leno added.

“We had to be able to attack, but when i left them too much room they this season took advantage of any  quickly players It\'s  within attack. when i waited too long  were too afraid. with the end when i were lucky That  am  lone 2-0 in half-time.”

Luis Enrique: Barca obviously miss Messi a great deal

Luis Enrique accepts Barcelona miss Lionel Messi but believes results have curbed talk of a dependence on the Argentina forward.

Barca claimed a routine 3-0 win over BATE in the Champions League on Wednesday, a 30th-minute penalty from Neymar and Luis Suarez’s goal on the hour mark putting the hosts in command at Camp Nou before the latter added his second seven minutes from time,

The Catalan club lead Group E with 10 points from four games and need only a point against Roma on November 24 to ensure a place in the last 16.

Messi’s knee injury suffered on September 26 in a 2-1 victory over Las Palmas has had little impact on Barca’s form, with the defending Spanish and European champions losing only one of the eight games he has missed.

Luis Enrique said: “We obviously miss Messi a great deal, but I have always said the team had resources.

“There is no mention of Messidependencia [dependence on Messi] because the team is winning and playing well.”     

Liverpool eyeing Vietto deal

The Metro understands that Villareal striker Luciano Vietto will consider moving to England at the end of the season.

The 21 year old moved to the La Liga side in the summer having been previously linked with a move to Liverpool, and it is Anfield that is his most likely destination next year.

Since arriving at Estadio El Madrigal, Vietto has made thirty-five appearances in all competitions, scoring eighteen goals.

Prior to his switch to Spain, he spent three seasons with Racing Club in his native Argentina, while internationally he has four caps for their under 20s side.

Falcao linked with La Liga return

The Mirror understands that Radamel Falcao could be set to return to La Liga at the end of the season, with Valencia tipped as his potential next destination.

The Colombia international has failed to live up to expectation since moving to Manchester United on loan from Monaco last summer, with just four goals coming in nineteen appearances in all competitions.

Prior to his move to Monaco, the 29 year old spent two seasons with Atletico Madrid, while he has also played for Porto and River Plate.

Internationally, he has been capped fifty-four times for his country, scoring twenty-one goals though injury ruled him out of last summer’s World Cup finals in Brazil.

Real Madrid must learn from Villarreal draw – Marcelo

Marcelo has warned Real Madrid they must learn lessons from their draw with Villarreal if they are to lift the Liga title this season.

Real Madrid can ill afford a repeat of Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Villarreal if they want to lift the Liga title, says Marcelo.

The Liga leaders were pegged back by Gerard Moreno at the Santiago Bernabeu after Cristiano Ronaldo had opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 52 minutes, and despite immense pressure they were unable to find a winner.

Villarreal’s dogged display saw Real drop points at home in the league for only the second time this season, enabling Barcelona to close the gap to two points at the top of the table.

Ancelotti´s side looking to keep chasing pack at bay

Real Madrid hope to extend their strong recent record against Villarreal when the two meet in La Liga on Sunday.

La Liga leaders Real Madrid will hope their strong record against Villarreal continues on Sunday when the two sides clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real have enjoyed much the better of this fixture in recent years, recording seven wins and two draws in the last nine meetings.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side hold a four point lead at the top of the table, although that could be cut to just one by the time they kick off against Villarreal, with second-placed Barcelona visiting Granada 24 hours earlier.

Barcelona coach has accused English media of launching a campaign

Luis Enrique has leapt to the defence of Luis Suarez after attempts to whip up another biting frenzy around the Uruguay striker.

Barcelona coach has accused English media of launching a campaign over Luis Suarez after claims he bit another opponent in midweek.

Suarez returned to English shores for the first time since leaving Liverpool in July, scoring twice in a 2-1 win at Manchester City.

Despite his goalscoring exploits, many media outlets in the UK instead focused on images which they claimed appeared to show Suarez biting the hand of Martin Demichelis.

Quique Flores has left the Liga club

Getafe coach Quique Flores has left the Liga club after just 11 matches in charge.

Quique Flores has quit his role as Getafe head coach after less than two months in charge, citing personal reasons.

Flores was appointed as Cosmin Contra’s successor in January and has guided the club to four wins from 11 subsequent matches in all competitions.

Sergio Busquets agreeing to sign a new contract with the club

Sergio Busquets will remain at Barcelona until June 2019 after agreeing to sign a new contract with the club.

Barcelona have announced that midfielder Sergio Busquets has agreed a new three-and-a-half-year deal with the club.

Busquets, who made his debut for the Catalan giants in September 2008, will sign the contract – which includes the option of a further year – on Friday.

Since making his bow, the Spain international – capped 74 times – has gone on to make 313 appearances for Barcelona.

Barcelona and Juventus keeping Fluminense midfielder Gerson

European powerhouses Barcelona and Juventus are keeping close tabs on Fluminense midfielder Gerson, according to O Globo.

The 17-year-old caught the eye of quite a few top European sides with his performances at the Under-20 South American championship in Uruguay, and it appears he won’t be staying in Brazil for much longer.

O Globo has revealed that the player’s father was invited by both Barcelona and Juventus for talks as the two clubs hope to secure the services of Gerson at the earliest opportunity.

Juventus have an advantage due to the fact that the Catalans are not allowed to sign new players before January 2016, but the Catalans are not prepared to give up that easily.

Gerardo Martino ´could not be happy´ at Barcelona

Gerardo Martino has lifted the lid on his time in charge at Barcelona, revealing he “could not be happy” in the role.

Former Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino has revealed he “could not be happy” during his time in charge at Camp Nou.

Martino led the Catalan giants from July 2013 to May 2014, failing to win any silverware other than the Supercopa de Espana.

And the Argentine says he struggled to cope with the magnitude of the job, which is now held by Luis Enrique.

Messi aims to bounce back from penalty miss, leaders Real host Villarreal

Barcelona take on Granada in La Liga this weekend, while Real Madrid are at home to Villarreal.

Barcelona will be hoping Lionel Messi does not suffer a hangover from his UEFA Champions League penalty miss at Manchester City as they look to bounce back from a Liga defeat to Malaga this weekend.

The Catalan giants lost 1-0 at home to Malaga last time out in the league, before picking up a 2-1 win in the first leg of their last-16 clash at the Etihad Stadium.

Messi missed a golden opportunity to effectively put that tie to bed when he saw a stoppage-time penalty saved by goalkeeper Joe Hart, before heading the rebound wide of an open goal.

However, Luis Suarez has backed his team-mate to bounce back when Barca take on struggling Granada on Saturday, insisting: “Leo knows how to deal with these situations.”

Barca sit four points behind leaders Real Madrid, who welcome Villarreal to the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.

Van der Vaart linked with La Liga return

German newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt understands that Hamburg SV midfielder Rafael van der Vaart could be returning to Spanish La Liga.

The Dutch footballer spent two years with Real Madrid between 2008 and 2010, but he didn’t quite manage to prove his worth in Spain’s top flight.

He could now get a second opportunity with Sevilla and Valencia reportedly considering summer bids for the 32-year-old.

Barca keen on Leverkusen star duo

El Mundo Deportivo is reporting that Barcelona are keeping close tabs on Lars Bender and Hakan Calhanoglu.

The Catalans recently appointed Ariedo Braida to improve their technical department and the former AC Milan official is already working on potential reinforcements.

According to El Mundo Deportivo, Bayer Leverkusen duo Lars Bender and Hakan Calhanoglu are among players Barcelona are looking at.