FC Barcelona News: 15 December 2018

The Lowdown on Levante UD | FC Barcelona
Barça face Levante in La Liga (Sunday 8.45pm CET) and will be facing them twice again in the Copa del Rey after the Christmas break. So it’s worth getting to know a bit more about the side known as the ‘granotas’ (the frogs) …

Dembélé awarded ‘Goal of the Week’ | FC Barcelona
Ousmane Dembélé is the winner of the ‘Goal of the Week’ award given out by UEFA after each round of Champions League matches. The Frenchman takes the prize thanks to his wonder goal against Tottenham Hotspur at Camp Nou in the 1-1 draw. Dembélé nicks the ball from Walker Petes in midfield, goes past Harry Winks and then beats Hugo Lloris with an excellent finish.

The Ousmane Dembele Show continues at Barcelona but the team back their young talent | ESPN
Ousmane Dembele did it again. Both its. On Saturday night, he scored a wonderful goal as Barcelona beat Espanyol 4-0. On Sunday morning, he was late to training. Two hours late, in fact. Which is not so much late as not showing up at all; it’s turning up as the rest are heading home with their work done, getting there just in time to ask how it went. No wonder he was all they were talking about on Monday.

Barcelona’s Dembele ordered to pay €20,000 for abandoning former Dortmund home | ESPN
Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele has been sentenced to pay €20,725 by Dortmund’s district court through judgement by default after failing to react to a civil suit. Dembele left Borussia Dortmund in August 2017 as he forced through his €105 million transfer to the Camp Nou, and never returned to his former house in Germany.

Barcelona and Jordi Alba ‘far apart’ on contract talks | Football Espana
Barcelona and Jordi Alba ‘remain very far apart’ on their contract renewal talks, according to a report in Diario AS. Alba’s contract is about to enter its final 18 months, despite the Spaniard being Barca’s first-choice left-back and in fine form.

Messi’s direct freekick secret: Three different ways of hitting the ball | Marca
A real headache for the goalkeepers is the way in which Leo Messi takes his direct freekicks. In his infinite repertoire - well, without counting Pele’s opinion - the No.10 has become a dead ball specialist in recent years.

All the goals from the Champions League group stage | FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona rounded off the group stage of the 2018/19 Champions League on Tuesday with a 1-1 draw against Tottenham at the Camp Nou. The early strike from Ousmane Dembélé was the team’s 14th in Europe so far.

Operation centre-back: Barça make loan move for Chelsea’s Christensen | Sport
Barcelona have turned to the market to find a centre-back for six months to cover the possible absence of Samuel Umtiti. There is still no official confirmation and they will not take a definitive decision until next week, but the club have little hope that the Frenchman can avoid surgery.

Arsenal want Denis Suarez to replace the outgoing Aaron Ramsey | Sport
Arsenal are thinking of Denis Suarez as Aaron Ramsey’s replacement. The Welsh midfielder is out of contract at the end of the season. With Denis is out of favour at Barcelona and seeking an exit, he has been offered to the Premier League side. It will not be easy, though, as AC Milan are also strongly in for him.

‘I would like to see Isco in Barcelona’ - Rivaldo proposes shock Real Madrid transfer | Goal
Ex-Barcelona star Rivaldo would like to see Real Madrid outcast Isco make a controversial move to the Santiago Bernabeu. Isco has found himself way down the pecking order under Santiago Solari following his appointment as Julen Lopetegui’s replacement back in October.

Andre Gomes’ sincere confession about his two years at Barcelona | Sport
“My stay at Barcelona was difficult for me, because I didn’t feel good,” Gomes explained. “I had good moment, but in the bad moments it was difficult because I saw my mum and dad suffering.

Source: barcablaugranes.com