Manchester United-FC Barcelona: Penalties give Barça the win (0-0) | FC Barcelona
Barça controlled possession and had the majority of the chances, even though United did well to snuff out a lot of Barça’s passing game and actually enjoyed the best chance when Rooney had a penalty saved by Valdes at the end of the first half. That was the first of two penalty saves from Tito’s team, with Pinto saving in the shootout to give Barça another win on penalties following Saturday’s defeat of PSG.
Vilanova: "We played well against Manchester United" | FC Barcelona
"We wanted to give the players that returned from the Euro more minutes on the pitch, and that’s what we did. Manchester United are a very good team and they’ve been practicing longer than we have. Our tone was good. It’s true that they could have scored but we also created our own chances," said Tito Vilanova. The Azulgrana manager also noted that subbing Messi out of the game had been decided before kickoff.
Jordi Alba debuts for the first team | FC Barcelona
On the first day back from a well-earned holiday, Jordi Alba made his debut for FC Barcelona’s first team. The left back donned the blaugrana colours in Barça’s fourth pre-season match of the summer, against Manchester United in Gothenburg. Tito Vilanova took Adriano off the pitch and sent out Barça’s newest player on 66 minutes. Alba only played for 24 minutes, but he did make a few runs down the line into Manchester United territory.
FC Barcelona support charity project against extreme poverty | FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona has always been committed to alleviating the most serious problems in today’s society, and over the next few months, its Foundation will be supporting another initiative against extreme poverty. The highlight will be what is being billed as the Global Festival, organised by the Global Poverty Project, which is being designed to raise awareness of such a serious issue.
Mascherano: "Messi will be more fresh this season" | FC Barcelona
Messi, the team’s highest scorer of the pre-season with four goals, was the focus of attention at the start of the press conference. "Leo came back [from holiday] on form. The truth is that pre-season games are designed to get us back into our normal routine, to remember our playing habits, but a month of vacation has been good for him. He’ll be more fresh this season," said Mascherano.
Barça B claim victory in England (0-2) | FC Barcelona
After a very even and intense first half, Eusebio Sacristán’s men wrestled control of the match away from the home team in the second. Deulofeu, from the penalty spot on 63 minutes, and Araujo, 7 minutes later, sealed Barça B’s victory over Huddersfield. Despite the 0-2 scoreline, the home team enjoyed quite a few chances to score.
Jose Mourinho: I was wrong to stick my finger into Tito Vilanova's eye - Goal.com
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has conceded he was wrong to poke current Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova in the eye during a touchline altercation during the Spanish Supercopa last season.
Friendly: Five-star Real Madrid outshine Milan - ESPN Soccernet
Ronaldo dominated the match in the second stanza after Angel Di Maria put Madrid ahead on 25 minutes with a stunning volley. Parity was restored eight minutes later, though, when Robinho netted for the Serie A outfit. But the second half was all Madrid as Ronaldo scored twice in 16 minutes before Sergio Ramos and Jose Callejon sealed an emphatic victory for the reigning La Liga champions.
Joselu joins Hoffenheim | Sky Sports
Last season Joselu scored 26 goals in 36 games for Real's reserve side, and also scored on his first-team debut in the Primera Liga and Copa del Rey. The striker's good form had attracted interest from a number of Premier League clubs, but Hoffenheim have announced that the Spaniard will be turning out for them in 2012/13.
Milan sign Zapata to bolster defence - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
Milan have taken the 25-year-old from Spanish club Villarreal who were relegated from La Liga last season and have brought in former Sweden defender Olof Mellberg. Zapata, who can play in central defence or at full-back, spent six seasons with Udinese before joining Villarreal, having started his career in his homeland with Deportivo Cali.