FC Barcelona News: 16 January 2019

When and where to see FC Barcelona v Levante | FC Barcelona
The cup is back at the Camp Nou, with the Catalans looking to turn around a 2-1 deficit from last week’s first leg at the Ciutat de Valencia. It’s a 9.30pm kick off local time, while this guide will help you to work out what time it will be starting in your part of the world.

Barcelona transfer targets in January: Willian, Fernando Llorente, Olivier Giroud | Sky Sports
Ernesto Valverde’s side currently have a healthy five-point gap over Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga, and a Champions League last-16 date with Lyon to forward to in February. Barca look well-placed going into the second half of the season, but as they continue to fight on all fronts, could they seek strength in depth this January?

Messi hungry for more after reaching 400 La Liga goals | Goal
Lionel Messi paid tribute to team-mates past and present after reaching 400 La Liga goals for Barcelona in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Eibar. The 31-year-old is the league’s all-time top goalscorer by some distance, having surpassed the previous record of 251 – held for 59 years by Athletic Bilbao great Telmo Zarra – in November 2014.

Backup forwards continue being crushed at Barcelona | Marca
Having a player like Luis Suarez is a blessing as the Uruguayan is one of the best strikers to have ever worn the Barcelona colours, but his presence does block the path to first-team minutes for the club’s backup strikers. These second-choice forwards can’t get on the pitch as much as they’d like and are being forced to pack their bags, one after another.

How has VAR worked in La Liga? Statistics released by referee’s body | Sky Sports
The use of VAR has been hotly-debated in La Liga in recent weeks, but just how are they getting on with the technology this season? Introduced at the start of the season, VAR has received a mix response, with several high-profile incidents in recent weeks. But the stats, according to the referee’s body in Spain, are positive.

Vives: Barcelona are happy with VAR, it’s a magnificent tool | Marca
Barcelona official spokesman Josep Vives has backed the use of VAR, which has been heavily criticised in the past few weeks. Despite the controversy over its application, the club representative praised the newly introduced technology.

Barcelona confirm Paulinho sale to Guangzhou Evergrande | Football Espana
Barcelona have confirmed that Guangzhou Evergrande have activated the buyback clause on Paulinho’s loan deal. There is no mention of a fee involved for the Brazilian, who joined Barca from the Chinese Super League club in the summer of 2017 for a reported €40m.

Barça optimistic Ilaix will renew despite Man City, Juve offers | Sport
Barcelona have learned their lesson and want to make a statement. The name in question is Ilaix Moriba, one of the stars of La Masia and the club believe he has first team potential. For that reason, they have made a huge sporting and financial offer to the player and are optimistic of tying him down.

Leaders in social media interactions | FC Barcelona
Barça closed the 2018 calendar year as the only sports club with over one billion interactions on social media. No club anywhere in the world topped the FC Barcelona’s figures, which over 365 days had a total of 1.189 billion interactions on platforms like Instagram (989m), Facebook (130m) and Twitter (70m), according to data extracted from CrowdTangle.

Source: barcablaugranes.com