FC Barcelona News: 18 January 2019

Barcelona beat Levante in Copa del Rey amid threat of expulsion from competition | Sky Sports
Barca won 3-0 at the Camp Nou on Thursday, with Lionel Messi setting up two Ousmane Dembele goals and then scoring himself to seal a 4-2 victory on aggregate. Their place in the quarter-finals, however, is under threat after Levante president Francisco Javier Catalan confirmed shortly before kick-off the club would lodge a complaint to the Spanish Football Federation on Friday.

Seven possible opponents in the quarter finals | FC Barcelona
The defending champions, the team who have won the competition for the last four seasons, will once again be present in the draw for the quarter finals in the 2018/19 season. Ernesto Valverde’s team came back from a first leg deficit to get past Levante with a 3-0 win at Camp Nou and they are amongst the clubs who will go into the hat for the draw that will take place on Friday at 5.00pm CET.

Messi equals Kubala to become 2nd leading scorer in Copa del Rey | FC Barcelona
Lionel Messi reached yet another new milestone by moving into second place on Barça’s all-time scoring list in the Copa del Rey after scoring a goal in Thursday’s match against Levante. Messi now has 49 Copa del Rey goals, equaling/surpassing László Kubala. Barça’s all-time leader in Copa del Rey goals is Josep Samitier, who scored 64 for Barça between 1919 and 1932. Last Sunday, Messi reached the 400-goal plateau in La Liga.

Levante to launch complaint against Barcelona for allegedly fielding ineligible player - president | ESPN
Levante president Quico Catalan says the club will lodge a formal complaint against Barcelona with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for fielding an ineligible player in the two sides’ Copa del Rey meeting last week. Barcelona sources had earlier told ESPN FC that the club had not breached competition rules by selecting B team defender Juan “Chumi” Brandariz.

Amor on the Chumi situation: Barcelona are calm and have acted correctly | Marca
Barcelona defeated Levante on the pitch on Thursday evening, but will have to wait to see what the outcome of the Chumi situation is before they can know for sure that they’ll be in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals. The mood at the Camp Nou is a calm one, though, according to director of institutional relations Guillermo Amor.

Valverde: We knew perfectly well that Chumi was suspended | Marca
Ernesto Valverde batted away questions about whether or not Chumi was eligible to play in the first leg defeat against Levante last week, with Barcelona winning the second leg 3-0 on Thursday night. Having received a fifth booking of the season for the B team, Chumi was considered ineligible but Valverde says there is no case and that the suspension does not apply in the Copa del Rey.

All the answers to the main questions surrounding the Chumi situation | Marca
Barcelona’s Copa del Rey participation is up in the air after Levante filed a complaint over an alleged illegal line-up from the first leg of the two sides’ last 16 tie. B team defender Chumi played in that game even though he had to serve a suspension with the B team the following weekend and Levante are claiming this should see the Blaugrana punished.

Kick-off time announced for Barça vs. Valencia | FC Barcelona
C Barcelona and Valencia CF’s Matchday 22 game will take place on February 2 at 6:30pm CET, it was announced on Thursday afternoon. The two sides will meet at the Camp Nou in a Saturday evening fixture, having played one another earlier this season at Mestalla. The first game, on Matchday 8, ended 1-1. Garay put Valencia ahead, but Leo Messi equalised on 23 minutes.

Barcelona’s Malcom available in January for bids above €41m - sources | ESPN
Malcom, 21, was set to join Serie A side Roma from Bordeaux until Barca swooped in with an eleventh-hour bid to take him to Camp Nou. However, coach Ernesto Valverde appeared to suggest he didn’t want the player by labelling him “a signing made by the club.” Since then, Valverde has offered Malcom very few opportunities to prove himself at Barcelona. He has made just 10 appearances in all competitions, with six of them coming as a substitute.

Barcelona loan for Carlos Vela ruled out by Los Angeles | Football Espana
Former Real Sociedad striker Carlos Vela will not be leaving Los Angeles on a loan deal despite links of a move to Barcelona. Diario AS cite LAFC’s Director of Football John Thorrington as ruling out a temporary exit for the forward, with the only possibility of a deal being a permanent departure.

Source: barcablaugranes.com