FC Barcelona News: 14 September 2011; Barca Draw against AC Milan, Iniesta Sidelined, Puyol Plays

Cruel start (2-2) | FCBarcelona.cat
Barça have started their European title defence with a bittersweet draw with the Italian champions. Pedro and Villa neutralised Pato’s shock opener after 25 seconds, but when Barça looked assured of a 2-1 win, Silva headed an injury time equaliser.

"It was a more than acceptable performance" | FCBarcelona.cat
Pep Guardiola was happy with his team despite the cruel outcome of the game with AC Milan. "We were Barça, we played as we always have done, trying to play football, shooting … everything we were supposed to do to win".

Hamstring tear to keep Andres Iniesta out for a month - ESPN Soccernet
Iniesta limped out of the match at the Nou Camp in the 38th minute to be replaced by Cesc Fabregas and subsequent tests have revealed the Spain international suffered a hamstring tear. Iniesta is now set to be out of action for around four weeks, according to a statement on the Barca website.

Carles Puyol plays again | FCBarcelona.cat
Puyol came on in the 67th minute of the game with AC Milan as a substitute for Keita and was welcomed with a huge ovation from the Camp Nou faithful. After several months on the sidelines recovering from an knee injury, everybody involved in Barça was delighted to see the captain back in action.

Michael Cox -- Champions League group stage is all about watching the minnows, not the sharks -- soccer - ESPN
With two clubs progressing from a four-man group, it means that the difficulty of the group is determined according to how good the third-best side is. Barcelona and Milan being paired together is very exciting, but with relative minnows like BATE and Viktoria Plzen alongside them, both should be comfortable.

La Liga - Oliveira denies Neymar agreement - Yahoo! Eurosport
The Santos president said: "A few days ago I spoke to Sandro Rosell (Barcelona president) and Florentino Perez (Real Madrid president) and if they want to get in contact with me again, then they have my phone number. "Real Madrid and Barcelona are two historical clubs in European and world football, and we have the best of relations with both."

Jurcic: Mourinho ban could help Dinamo - Yahoo! Eurosport
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho's touchline ban could put "wind in the sails" of Wednesday's Champions League opponents Dinamo Zagreb, according to the Croatian team's coach. "Mourinho's absence could make a difference because he has a huge influence on the team and takes an active part in the game with his game plan and instructions," said Jurcic.

Injured Kaka misses Zagreb trip - Yahoo! Eurosport
Kaka has failed to recover from a bruised heel and has subsequently been left out of Real Madrid's squad to face Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener on Tuesday. The Brazilian playmaker has been training away from the rest of the squad since Saturday, when he came on as a substitute in Real's 4-2 home win over Getafe, in order to prepare for the clash with Dynamo but will miss out.

Snore draw in Genk | Sky Sports
Given Genk and Valencia have never previously met it is a shame that Tuesday's goalless stalemate in the UEFA Champions League will have been forgotten about by the time the last supporter left the stadium.

Three months out for Albin | Sky Sports
Espanyol have confirmed that Uruguayan striker Juan Albin will be out for around three months after tearing a muscle in his right leg. The 25-year-old left-sided forward sustained the injury in last Sunday's 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao.