Barcelona

PETE JENSON IN SPAIN: Lewandowski needed just 45 seconds to score on his 34th birthday but it was the magic of 19-year-old Ansu Fati that powered Barcelona ...

Injuries have slowed his young career down but he is up and running once more and he was too much for Real Sociedad. Lewandowski repaid Fati for the fourth. Lewandowski was keen to finish what he started and he scored from close range after a fine close-passing move from Barcelona.

Robert Lewandowski and Barcelona hope to put a frustrating opening weekend behind them as they travel north to meet Real Sociedad in the second match of La ...

Look for a hungry Barcelona front line to feast as they endeavor to get off the mark, and Robert Lewandowski should open his La Liga account. His deflected pass to Isak was deposited into the back of the net from a tight angle. It's a legal intervention as Remiro got a hand to the ball just before the collision, but it looked painful for the young Barcelona midfielder. Real Sociedad have been excellent at home, and had two chances to take the lead, failing to find the back of the net with both. A wonky and awkward free-kick sees the ball bounce over ter Stegen and into the back of the net, but the flag is up for offside to negate the goal. A miserable square throw-in in the La Real defensive third is snatched away by a streaking Gavi, but he's somehow unable to find the back of the net as Real Sociedad players come flying in to throw their bodies in the way. Lewandowski collected the ball at the top of the box, and produces a stunning back-heel assist to Fati for the finish. It comes in from Gavi who slices a cutting vertical ball to Fati, and he pings it to the Pole while falling over. There are deficiencies for Barcelona to sort out, but a glutton of talent won the day on this occasion. Real Sociedad were left to rue a host of missed opportunities in the first half as Takefusa Kubo and David Silva should have scored with big chances. After halftime, however, Real Sociedad misses and the deep Barcelona bench swung the match in favor of Xavi’s side. Barcelona appeared disjointed in a number of areas, displaying key deficiencies that Real Sociedad took advantage of and responded just minutes later via Alexander Isak to level the score.

It's critical Xavi gets it right for Barcelona on the pitch, and let's just say he did it this weekend. PLUS: talking points galore around Europe.

But it looks like Napoli have managed to reload on the fly between Kvaratskhelia, Gio Simeone and [Giacomo Raspadori](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/271679/Giacomo-Raspadori) up front and Leo Ostigaard and Min-Jae Kim at the back, while also cutting the wage bill and bringing in some much needed transfer funds. [Sadio Mane](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/169797/Sadio-Mané) who is, you know, pretty good. From Atletico's point of view, there were some disappointing individual performances (Joao Felix, [Marcos Llorente](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/206474/Marcos-Llorente) and [Nahuel Molina](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/164826/Nahuel-Molina), with his silly red card, above all) and the result obviously stings (Villarreal are a direct opponent in the race for top four), but there were also encouraging signs that the back three can hold up. [Erling Haaland](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/253989/Erling-Haaland) hit the post and forced a tremendous one-on-one save from the excellent [Nick Pope](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/161715/Nick-Pope) before he scored to make it 2-1. [Monza](/soccer/team?id=4007), and you expect Neapolitan schoolchildren to learn both the pronunciation and the spelling of his name. Martin Odegaard, who scored twice, has found his feet and [Oleksandr Zinchenko](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/217482/Oleksandr-Zinchenko), playing fullback the Pep Guardiola way -- coming inside and playmaking -- offers a different dimension entirely. And if Leeds' forwards weren't running north-south at every occasion, [Kalidou Koulibaly](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/150312/Kalidou-Koulibaly) likely wouldn't have gotten two yellow cards for pulling back opponents. Stones didn't have a great game and [Ruben Dias](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/234878/Rúben-Dias) has been inconsistent in recent weeks. [Manchester City](/soccer/team?id=382) were 3-1 down against [Newcastle United](/soccer/team?id=361) at a rocking St James' Park, and it could have been worse, if the referee had given a penalty or [John Stones](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/157974/John-Stones)' collision with [Fabian Schar](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/179233/Fabian-Schär). And yes, [Kyle Walker](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/129358/Kyle-Walker) had a torrid afternoon against [Allan Saint-Maximin](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/193281/Allan-Saint-Maximin), but the good news is he only plays him twice a year. [Ferran Torres](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/265869/Ferran-Torres) started in his place) and especially Ansu Fati, effectively moving to a 3-3-4 formation. At this stage, you assume he's going nowhere because with Nico having joined [Valencia](/soccer/team?id=94) on loan, there's nobody else to provide an alternative to Busquets (and no, [Franck Kessie](http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/194711/Franck-Kessié) would have to reinvent himself to play that role.)

After Barcelona's thrilling 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad on Sunday evening Pete Sharland gets in touch with Jorge Ordas from Eurosport Spain.

“Without a doubt it is one of the plays that decides the game,” Ordas replies. “But, behind it, there is a gesture that did not sit well with the club. The decision looked to pay off pretty much straight away as it was his assist for Lewandowski’s blistering opener. But it was Ansu Fati coming off the bench who really caught our eyes. This performance looked a lot more like what people expected when they saw Barca’s aggressive spending in the window. There was certainly a lot of schadenfreude last weekend when Barca couldn’t get past Rayo despite all the millions they had spent, especially with Jules Kounde still unable to be registered.

Chelsea and Barcelona are in 'very advanced' negotiations for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang over a £22.8 million deal.

We can win with this team in Leeds, everything was going well, and we had goalscoring opportunities. It remains to be seen as to whether Tuchel will add further to his squad, but as of now Aubameyang appears to be the priority as Chelsea push on in the transfer window. Leaving the Gunners in January, Aubameyang has impressed for Barcelona. We were not forced to lose track. The transfer fee will be close to €22 million upfront, with an additional €5 million in add-ons. “Everything was going well.

Discussions between Chelsea and Barcelona are ongoing and there is a willingness from both clubs to get a deal done; the deal under discussion is thought to ...

You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News. Negotiations between Chelsea and Barcelona have been ongoing for the past few days and there is an agreement in place between Chelsea and Aubameyang. Discussions between Chelsea and Barcelona are ongoing and there is a willingness from both clubs to get a deal done; the deal under discussion is thought to be worth between £15m and £25m; one source has told Sky Sports News an agreement is close

It is claimed that Barcelona are demanding €25-30 million for the 33-year-old striker. However, Chelsea are trying to force Marcos Alonso into the operation and ...

So, a move to Chelsea might not be as close as it is being reported. However, the Catalan giants have no interest in such an operation as they want the deals to be two separate transactions. However, the report does add that the transfer is still not a lock-in.

Robert Lewandowski struck twice as Barcelona ran out 4-1 winners at Real Sociedad as the Catalan side picked up their first La Liga win of the season.

After that, a trip to Sevilla awaits the Catalan club. Been on for minutes and already made such a big difference for Barcelona. [August 21, 2022] ALL EYES ON: Frenkie de Jong’s future at Barcelona remains uncertain as Manchester United continue their pursuit of the midfielder. Their attack appeared much more fluid in this one, regaining some of the optimism that dipped last week. The second half belonged to the Blaugrana though as Lewandowski, Dembele and Fati all hit the target in an impressive win.

Barcelona are in a race against time to offload some of the club's fringe players before the summer transfer window shuts in a few days; Samuel Umtiti, ...

[Jules Koundé saga continues to play out](https://sportsbrief.com/football/barcelona/22382-xavi-extremely-disappointed-by-fc-barcelonas-inability-register-signing-jules-kounde/#:~:text=frustrated%20at%20having%20to%20sit%20on%20the%20sidelines%2C%20and%20so%20is%20Barca) as the end of the transfer window draws closer. Barcelona are now desperate to sell Frenkie de Jong and five other first-team squad players as they scramble to raise funds before the end of the transfer window, Barcelona have just 9 days to the end of the summer transfer window to register Jules Kounde and will be desperate to offload all players to be able to raise the funds for the French defender’s registration.

Xavi's Barcelona side are 'desperate to offload players' as they look to raise the '£17 million needed to register new signing Jules Kounde'.

He has trained very well, I see him in good spirits, but we need to sell players to be able to register him.' leaving them to offload Aubameyang, Depay, Umtiti, Dest and Braithwaite before the window shuts Catalans STILL 'need to bring in £17m before they can register Jules Kounde'...

Manchester City's hopes of keeping Bernardo Silva at the club are growing stronger as the end of the transfer window approaches, and Barcelona now feel time ...

Bernardo Silva showed no signs of distraction yesterday, and he scored a goal and contributed to an assist on the way to a 3-3 draw for Manchester City. Barcelona may be able to afford the fee if Frenkie De Jong leaves the club, but that is also looking increasingly unlikely. [ Jose Alvarez](https://twitter.com/10JoseAlvarez), Barcelona feel time is running out in their pursuit of Bernardo Silva.

While Robert Lewandowski scored a brace against Los Txuri Urdin, one player who made a notable impact on the proceedings was Ansu Fati, scoring a goal and ...

They have no intention to replicate the mistake from last year. As things stand, the forward is fit enough to start in the upcoming game against Real Valladolid. [Radio Catalunya](https://twitter.com/totcosta/status/1561767230404173825), the attacker is on the verge of returning to his full fitness and could soon be in contention to start.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has become a hot topic in the transfer market over the past few weeks, especially with Chelsea running a late operation to sign ...

Aubameyang was among the players in contention to leave Camp Nou by the end of the month. With that in mind, the club are actively looking to offload other fringe players in the team. The Dutchman is reportedly closing in on a move to Juventus, with his representatives seeking an agreement over personal terms in Turin.

Barcelona have failed to register summer signing Jules Kounde in time for Sunday's LaLiga game against Real Sociedad.

[Xavi has told him to leave](/football/barcelona-espbarcelona/story/4725368/barcelonas-xavi-pushing-for-sergino-dests-departure-he-knows-what-the-situation-is) and he has been left out of the squad for both of Barca's league games this season. [Pablo Torre](https://www.espn.com.au/football/player/_/id/206110/Pablo-Torre) has a youth registration for now and has been included in the squad to travel to San Sebastian this weekend. [Sergino Dest](https://www.espn.com.au/football/player/_/id/266291/Sergiño-Dest) is another player who could leave the club. [Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang](https://www.espn.com.au/football/player/_/id/122260/Pierre-Emerick-Aubameyang) and [Memphis Depay](https://www.espn.com.au/football/player/_/id/159255/Memphis-Depay) with [Chelsea](/football/team?id=363) and [Juventus](/football/team?id=111) respectively, but both are in the squad to face La Real in San Sebastian. ET on ESPN+ (U.S.)](https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/bad99dd6-4190-4b78-a97f-073ccb5c825c#bucketId=40626) [Barcelona](/football/team?id=83) have failed to register summer signing [Jules Kounde](https://www.espn.com.au/football/player/_/id/231692/Jules-Koundé) in time for Sunday's LaLiga game against [Real Sociedad](/football/team?id=89).