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On verge of best ever Liga start | FC Barcelona
Tito Vilanova has the led the first team to one of its most spectacular starts ever, with five wins out of five against Real Sociedad (5-1), Osasuna (1-2), Valencia (1-0), Getafe (1-4) and Granada (2-0). On Saturday they are away to Sevilla, and a win there would equal the club’s record start of six wins in a row.
Thiago: "It's a very, very good start" | FC Barcelona
"It’s a very, very good start. It couldn’t be better, between the Liga and Champions League we’ve won our last six games, and in each one of them we were the superior side. It’s strange that people still have their doubts about the team," said Thiago Alcántara on Barça’s 2012/13 season start. He added, "we have to continue in this dynamic."
Messi: "We’ve got a spectacular squad" | FC Barcelona
Messi admitted that there was a long way to go in the season but highlighted the team’s great start: "It’s good not drop points at the beginning, something that always happened in the last few years".
Xavi scores in thirteenth Liga | FC Barcelona
Xavi Hernández opened his goalscoring account in La Liga 2012/13 last Saturday with the only goal of the match against Granada. It was his first of the season, but also means that he has now scored in 13 separate campaigns since making his first team debut in 1998. Not even club legends like César Rodríguez and Carles Rexach have managed to do that.
Barcelona are set to hold talks over a new contract with Xavi | Sky Sports
Barcelona want to agree a new contract with Xavi which could result in the midfielder ending his playing career at Camp Nou. Xavi's existing deal still has two years left to run, but the 32-year-old's agent has confirmed Barca have indicated their intention to hold talks over an extension.
Busquets confident in management team | FC Barcelona
"It is important to trust your coach" [Busquets] said. "And I always have done, both now and before, even though I never feel like an automatic first choice player. That depends on your performances and if you don’t work hard you don’t play".
Bartra relaxed on Barca chances | Football Espana
"I am relaxed, I know where I am, in one of the best teams in the world and that nothing is easy," he told reporters today. "What I have to do is react, train harder and I know then that the minutes will arrive. "Song is a great player who fits in well as a centre-back, at Arsenal he showed this, he can take the ball out from the back and it helps us a lot."
Real Madrid back on track with win over Rayo - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
Benzema opened the scoring with a close-range finish after a slick counter-attack in the 13th minute and Ronaldo doubled his side’s tally from the penalty spot with 20 minutes remaining. Ronaldo missed a sitter late on and Madrid had a goal dubiously disallowed, but neither incident affected the result.
Sevilla see off Depor as Negredo nets - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
Alvaro Negredo turned the ball into the net from close range to give Sevilla a 75th-minute lead at the Riazor and Ivan Rakitic added a second seven minutes from time when he charged down an attempted clearance by goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia.
Gago return to training lifts misfiring Valencia - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
Gago was carried off on a stretcher during Argentina's 1-1 draw in a World Cup qualifier in Peru and the player tipped to be a central figure in new coach Mauricio Pellegrino's plans has missed Valencia's last three games. Another Argentine, the accident-prone Ever Banega, also returned to training with the rest of the squad after recovering from a broken ankle sustained when his car rolled back over his leg after he failed to set the handbrake in a petrol station.