FC Barcelona News: 11 April 2012; Barça Dominate Getafe to Reduce Gap, No Statement Made About Abidal

Barca narrow gap to one point with win - Yahoo! Eurosport
Barcelona are one point adrift of Real Madrid, who will hope to regain a four-point advantage when they visit neighbours Atletico on Wednesday night. Barca trailed Real by 10 points last month, but have been given fresh hope of the title with Jose Mourinho's side dropping points in draws with Malaga, Villarreal and Valencia.

Guardiola: "We dedicate this victory to Abidal" | FC Barcelona
Josep Guardiola wanted to encourage Éric Abidal, who underwent liver transplant surgery today, by dedicating Barça’s victory over Getafe to the Frenchman. "We’re very pleased to be able to dedicate this victory to Abidal and his cousin Gerard. It’s a special day because we knew that he was in surgery."

Abidal initiates recovery from liver transplant - Goal.com
Barcelona defender Eric Abidal has started his recovery from a liver transplant, Mundo Deportivo reports. The France international reportedly left the operating room at the Barna Clinic at midnight after approximately nine hours on the surgery table. It is reportedly that the medical team which operated Abidal will release a statement in the early hours of Wednesday morning to report the outcome of the procedure.

Eric Abidal receives standing ovation from Camp Nou crowd - Goal.com
Barcelona defender Eric Abidal received a standing ovation from the Camp Nou faithful during the club's La Liga match against Getafe on Tuesday. The Catalan fans chanted Abidal's name throughout the 22nd minute of the match in a tribute linked with the defender's shirt number.

Iniesta: "We'll keep fighting for the title until the end" | FC Barcelona
"Madrid are the leaders, they have the advantage. But there’s still quite a bit of Liga to play. What we have to do is win the games we have left," said Andrés Iniesta. The midfielder said that his teammates must have their "batteries charged" in order to take advantage of any slip up that Madrid might have from here until the end of the season.

Messi becomes first player in La Liga history to score 28 goals at home in one season - Goal.com
Barcelona attacker Lionel Messi has entered the record books again after becoming the first player in La Liga history to score 28 goals at home in one season following his strike in Tuesday evening's 4-0 victory over Getafe at Camp Nou. The record was previously held by former Athletic Bilbao striker Telmo Zarra and ex-Atletico Madrid star Baltazar.

Guardiola equals Rijkaard with 112 victories in La Liga | FC Barcelona
Josep Guardiola continues to break records as FC Barcelona’s manager. After today’s victory over Getafe, he’s now the manager with the second most amount of wins in La Liga in the history of FC Barcelona. Guardiola is level with Frank Rijkaard in second place, both with 112 victories. The Catalan manager reached this mark after leading his team in 146 league matches, with a winning rate of 76.8%.

Pele: Lionel Messi is not as good as Neymar - ESPN Soccernet
Brazil legend Pele has raised eyebrows by claiming Lionel Messi is not as good as Neymar."Now everyone is talking about Messi; he is a star. But [to be the best ever] he must first become better than Neymar," Pele said. "At the moment moment Messi is just more experienced."

Former Barcelona coach Rexach: Real Madrid are getting nervous - Goal.com
"Barca have the advantage of playing at home," [ Rexach] told reporters. "If nothing weird happens before, I am convinced that we will win the Liga if we beat Madrid at Camp Nou, because there would not be much left before the end of the season and the pressure on Madrid would be terrible.

Former referee Iturralde Gonzalez hits out at Mourinho - Goal.com
"He has a lengthy history of criticising referees. Just look at how he behaved in England when he was at Chelsea, in Italy during his spell with Inter, or in Portugal with Porto," Gonzalez said to Ona FM. "If you talk to the referees in England and Italy, you know how they all think about Mourinho. Just look at his behaviour there and you'll realise that what he's doing now is nothing new."

Madrid derby could be "decisive" in La Liga title race - ESPN Soccernet
Real assistant manager Aitor Karanka insists his side will remain "calm" ahead of Wednesday's derby with Atletico, but Juanfran says the Rojiblancos have "an overwhelming desire" to claim a first victory over their neighbours since 1999 and derail the title bid.

Jose's greatest challenge: Mourinho risks losing his invincibility as Barcelona close gap to just one point - Goal.com
Some football matches can decide an entire season. Others are much bigger than that. Real Madrid's short trip downtown to face city rivals Atletico on Wednesday is one such fixture. Just ask Jose Mourinho. Journalists in the Spanish capital were denied the opportunity to do just that on Tuesday.

Kanoute to be denied Sevilla send-off by injury - Goal.com
The former Mali international, who is out of contract in the summer, hobbled out of Saturday's 1-0 loss to Athletic Bilbao at San Mames and the club announced on Monday that the striker had suffered a grade two hamstring tear. After further tests, Sevilla have now revealed on their official website that the player requires at least five weeks on the sidelines.

La Liga - Osasuna down nine-man Espanyol - Yahoo! Eurosport
Osasuna kept up their push for a place in Europe next season when Raul Garcia scored a brace in a 2-0 home win over Espanyol, who finished the game with nine men. Osasuna are sixth with 46 points. Ninth-placed Espanyol have 42 points, while Real Sociedad and Real Betis edged further away from the relegation places with a 1-1 draw.

Jimenez leads Zaragoza revival | Andy Mitten - Yahoo! Sport UK
The revival he hoped he'd witnessed at Espanyol had evaporated. Then Zaragoza grabbed two goals in the last five minutes to come from behind to defeat Villarreal at the start of March. A pattern was being set. Zaragoza picked up 13 points from 18 and moved off the bottom.