FC Barcelona News: 25 March 2012; Barcelona Win Against Mallorca But La Liga Gap Remains Six Points

Guardiola: "We didn’t lament when we were down to 10 men, we worked harder" | FC Barcelona
Josep Guardiola was pleased with his team’s victory in Mallorca (0-2). The manager said that this win will help "prepare the right tone" for Barça ahead of the Champions League match this Wednesday against AC Milan. "Despite everything, with our effort and not complaining, we came out ahead and we won," said the manager.

Messi matches Barcelona record for most appearances by a foreign player in La Liga - Goal.com
Lionel Messi has equalled Barcelona's appearance record in La Liga for an overseas player after matching Phillip Cocu's tally following the 2-0 victory over Mallorca on Saturday. Once broken, it will be the second of Cocu's records that the Argentine has bettered, having already overtaken the Dutchman's achievement of being the most-represented foreigner in all competitions with 292 appearances.

Piqué: "We deserved the three points" | FC Barcelona
After taking the three points from the complicated match against Mallorca (0-2), the Barça players are keen on making a comeback in La Liga. The Barça players said it’s essential to keep on winning points to put pressure on the League leaders. The match winner was scored by Gerard Piqué, who recognised the difficulty of winning the match especially after Thiago was sent off. "It was very hard to win, especially with 10 men," said the defender.

Mascherano enjoying defensive role with Barcelona - Goal.com
Javier Mascherano insists that he is thoroughly enjoying playing in defence for Barcelona. "I feel great playing in the back-line, even though my position on the right-hand side is a bit weird for me," the 27-year-old told his club's official website. "But we did a good job and our defence was great."

600 goals since Guardiola took charge of the Barça bench | FC Barcelona
Josep Guardiola’s Barça have won 170 of their 233 official matches in all competitions (73% win rate) and they’ve scored 600 goals, averaging 2.57 per game. The first was scored by Samuel Eto’o in the Camp Nou against Wisla Cracovia, in the 2008/09 season pre-Champions League playoff. The 600th goal was scored this Saturday by Piqué against Mallorca.

Rafinha, doubtful ahead of Alcoyano clash | FC Barcelona
Rafinha Alcántara is doubtful for the League match against Alcoyano due to niggling problems with his right leg. Despite admitting that Rafinha is an important player for the squad, Eusebio said that during this Friday’s press conference that "there are more than enough options within the team to make a suitable team for our upcoming match."

Ronaldo reaches landmark in Madrid stroll - Yahoo! Eurosport
Real Madrid re-established their six-point lead over Barcelona with an easy 5-1 win over Real Sociedad at the Bernabeu as Cristiano Ronaldo passed the 100-goal mark in La Liga. Ronaldo's first and Madrid's second saw him achieve the landmark in only his 92nd game. Gonzalo Higuain opened the scoring before further first-half strikes from Ronaldo and Karim Benzema seemed to put the result beyond doubt.

The perfect assistant | LFP
Mesut Özil crowned his fourteenth assist with a spectacular back heel which allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to put Madrid ahead at El Madrigal. With his latest assist, the white’s number 10 becomes the player with the most assists in La Liga BBVA with one more than his team mate Ángel di María who is in second position with 13.

Pepe gets two-match ban, Ramos cleared - Yahoo! Eurosport
Real Madrid defender Pepe was handed a two-match ban on Friday for insulting the referee after the 1-1 La Liga draw at Villarreal. Sergio Ramos, however, had one of his two yellow cards from Wednesday's match overturned by the Spanish football federation's competition committee and will be free to play when the leaders host Real Sociedad in the league on Saturday.

Valencia stutter to defeat at Getafe - Yahoo! Eurosport
Getafe put a spanner in Valencia's Champions League ambitions with a 3-1 Liga victory at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez. After Roberto Soldado had smashed the visitors in front in only the fifth minute, Getafe quickly hit back through a Pedro Rios header. Miku headed Geta into the lead before a comical Bruno own-goal put them 3-1 up before the break.

Galatasaray to move for Villarreal's Nilmar - report - Goal.com
Galatasaray will reportedly attempt to sign Nilmar from cash-strapped Villarreal at the end of the season. The forward came desperately close to joining Sao Paulo during the winter transfer window but the proposed €8 million transfer collapsed because of the player's inability to agree personal terms with the Brazilian outfit.

Sociedad eye Vela deal | Sky Sports
Real Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay is due to fly to England next week for talks with Arsenal over Carlos Vela. The Mexican is currently on a season-long loan from Arsenal, and is performing well for the Basque side. Now with Sociedad keen to strike a deal, Vela is also believed to be hopeful that Aperribay can agree terms during his trip.