THE HAND OF A SAINT

Xerez 0 – 2 Barça

The starting 11 chosen by Pep in order to give some rest to the usual starters suffered until the cracks went in and settled the match.

Henry opened the scoreline and both Messi and Ibra produced a golazo (great goal) which allows Barça to be “more leader than before” (with a higher points difference from Madrid).

[Non Barça Related]

Alarm in Bernabéu. Kaká will not play against Almeria and is doubtful his participation in the match against Marsella; Cristiano Ronaldo trained apart of his teammates and the club has not told why. Guti and Diarra won’t play neither.

TWO GREAT GOALS, THREE POINTS (earned), AND MADRID IS FIVE POINTS BEHIND US

Henry and Ibrahimovic got ahead one of those matches which are also necessary to win the League*

The leader keeps winning and sees the white team far away through the rearview

Xerez 0 – 2 Barça

In the Picture: Bojan hugs Henry after the last one opened the scoreline, clearing a match which could have been more complicated (without that goal).

[Non Barça Related]

Cristiano Ronaldo’s mistery. The Portuguese trained separated from the group without official explanation.

*It means that, even if Barça didn’t play as good as it usually does, a win is a win and these three points would help to win the League.

In a Deportivo la Coruna’s media conference, Brazilian Filipe Luis, the club’s full-back, once a transfer target of FC Barcelona during the summer, said he has nothing more to prove to the Catalan club when the two teams met this weekend at the Riazor.

“A lot of people still think that I want to show something to Barcelona, but I don’t have to anymore. They have seen me play, and I guess it must have been more than one match, and I don’t have to show them what they have been missing. For me, they are not following me any longer because they already have my friend, Maxwell. He is happy there and I like it here,” the player said.

The blanquiazul admitted that for him, facing the Catalan side would just be “another match”, and that he would have no qualms about celebrating any goal he might have scored.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says Barcelona star Lionel Messi is a worthy Ballon d'Or winner.

Wenger says the result was a "logical" decision and that any one of the top three could have walked away as European Footballer of the Year 2009.

"I would say Messi, Xavi or Ronaldo," Wenger told arsenal.com. "Because Xavi for me was the best passer in Europe.

"He had the best final ball in Europe on the statistics and you want that to be rewarded as well."

Valencia striker David Villa says he'd still welcome a move within Spain if he must leave the Mestalla.

Villa has been linked with Manchester United and Chelsea after declaring he'd consider a switch to England.

However, he said last night: "I do not close the door to either Real Madrid or Barcelona.

"I am 27 years old and I do not know what will happen in my future. I have a contract with Valencia until I'm 32, but nobody knows what the future holds."