FC Barcelona News: 18 August 2019

Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

The training schedule for the second week of the season | FC Barcelona
After the first league match of the season against Athletic Club (1-0), Ernesto Valverde’s squad return to the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper to prepare for the second game of the 2019/20 campaign; Real Betis at Camp Nou on Sunday 25 August (9.00pm CEST).The agenda for the forthcoming week includes a double session and a rest day, on Thursday, August 22.

The alternatives to Luis Suarez against Real Betis | Sport
Messi suffered an injury in his calf in the first training session of the season, hours before the team travelled to the USA for their tour. He has worked alone since to recover. He started kicking the ball again last Friday and Barcelona hope he will keep improving rapidly in the coming days. Valverde believes he may be able to be in the squad against Real Betis.

Gerard Pique calls on FC Barcelona to improve | Football Espana
FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has called on his teammates to improve following an opening day defeat to Athletic Bilbao. Ernesto Valverde’s side lost 1-0 away at San Mames, following Aritz Aduriz’s spectacular late goal, as they kicked off their La Liga title defence in 2019-20.

Eight question marks for Barcelona after their opening game | Marca
Aritz Aduriz ruined Barcelona’s start to the new campaign with a wonderful winning goal on Friday evening, in a match which left far more doubts over the defending champions than people expected. Despite the fact Antoine Griezmann made his competitive debut, Los Cules were a little toothless in the 1-0 defeat, showing they are still a long way from their optimum level.

Tuchel: If there’s no solution Neymar stays with us | Sport
“We don’t have a solution but our relationship is the same, because it’s a thing between him and the club. If there’s no solution, he stays with us, he has three years on his contract,” said Tuchel.

Philippe Coutinho is in Munich already | Sport
Philippe Coutinho landed in Munich on Sunday and his loan to Bayern Munich will go through this week. Sky Sports published images of the Brazilian in the German city, where some fans were waiting for him already. He flew in a private jet to Germany where he headed to the club offices for his medical and contract documentation.

Marko Grujic: Philippe Coutinho will be a Bundesliga star | Football Espana
Philippe Coutinho will become the best player in the Bundesliga, according to former team mate Marko Grujic. The Brazilian international is set to seal a season-long deal to the Bundesliga champions in the coming days, with FC Barcelona open to letting him leave the Camp Nou.

Source: barcablaugranes.com