The clouds above this corner of Moscow had opened and mercifully eased some of the soul-sapping atmospheric pressure that had pressed down on the place all afternoon.

Irish football fans won’t have had too much trouble coming up with a comparison for 24 hours which saw World Cup challengers Spain come close to total meltdown just two days before their opening Group B game against Portugal in Sochi.

Yaya Toure has accused Pep Guardiola, his former manager at Manchester City and Barcelona, of spoiling his farewell party from the Etihad and claimed the Catalan has “problems with Africans”.

The lead up to tomorrow’s late in the season La Liga Clasico has been quite unique with minds on both sides not quite as focused as usual in the days before the world’s biggest domestic club game.

“A failure without excuses,” shouted the cover of Catalan daily Sport on Wednesday morning, with the words “debacle”, “lamentable” and “elimination” also featuring in bold print.

Luis Suarez scored his first Champions League goal of the season to earn Barcelona a 4-1 victory over Roma in the first leg of their quarter-final.

Willian says Chelsea must play the “perfect” game to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals at the expense of Barcelona this evening.

Lionel Messi confirmed his status as LaLiga’s most influential player as his superb free kick saw Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 yesterday to open up an eight-point gap at the top of the table.

This was an intriguing clash on so many levels, and not just because Chelsea and Barcelona have broken each other’s hearts over the past decade or so.

Chelsea 1 Barcelona 1 

Lionel Messi broke his goal duck against Chelsea to deny Antonio Conte's side a crucial lead over Barcelona in their Champions League showdown.

Barcelona are in pole position to reach a fifth consecutive Copa del Rey final after Luis Suarez's winner saw off Valencia 1-0 at the Nou Camp.

Philippe Coutinho made his first LaLiga start for Barcelona but it was Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi who stole the headlines once again in a 2-1 win against Alaves.

Luis Suarez and Paulinho each scored twice as LaLiga leaders Barcelona tuned up for next week's Clasico with a handsome 4-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna.

In Paris tonight, during a television programme hosted by David Ginola, the famous Ballon d’Or trophy will be presented for the 62nd time.

Andres Iniesta has signed a "lifetime contract" with Barcelona, the club have announced.

Isco scored twice as Spain beat Italy 3-0 at the Bernabeu to move clear at the top of World Cup qualifying Group G.

Lionel Messi shrugged off the frustration of missing a penalty to reach another remarkable career landmark as Barcelona eased to a 2-0 victory at Alaves.

Marco Asensio and Karim Benzema scored brilliant first-half goals as Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-0 on the night to register a resounding 5-1 aggregate Supercopa win.

All the latest transfer rumours from the papers and online.

Barcelona blitzed Osasuna with four goals in 10 second-half minutes to temporarily move three points clear at the top of LaLiga with a 7-1 victory at the Nou Camp.

Barcelona must win tonight’s Clasico at Real Madrid or Luis Enrique’s final season in charge at the Catalan club has the potential to go very sour.

No knee slides, no leaping and punching the air, no elaborately choreographed hand-shake routines. Just a little fist bump here, a fleeting palm slap there or maybe a passing pat on the back. 

Barcelona need another Nou Camp miracle if they are to reach the Champions League semi-finals after a crushing 3-0 loss to Juventus in Turin.

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has revealed plans to take a year-long sabbatical from football at the end of the season.

Barcelona 6 - PSG 1 (6-5 on agg): Neymar was the hero for Barcelona last night as the Catalans made history by becoming the first team ever to overcome a 0-4 first leg deficit — beating Paris Saint Germain 6-1 on the night with the last few minutes of the game seeing the Brazilian score twice and set up a 95th winner for substitute Sergi Roberto.

Lionel Messi struck a late winner for the second straight weekend as Barcelona defeated LaLiga title rivals Atletico Madrid 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon.

Angel Di Maria produced two sublime finishes as Paris St Germain thrashed Barcelona 4-0 at the Parc des Princes, leaving the LaLiga giants facing elimination in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Barcelona and Real Madrid both won over the weekend but received mixed fitness news ahead of their return to Champions League action this week — while Arsenal’s opponents Bayern Munich continued their impressive form.

Zinedine Zidane insisted Real Madrid's last-gasp 1-1 draw at Barcelona did not "taste like a victory" despite the result keeping the capital club six points clear at the top of LaLiga.

A last-gasp Sergio Ramos header secured a 1-1 draw for Real Madrid in the Clasico against Barcelona to maintain their six-point lead at the top of LaLiga.

The hype around the La Liga ‘Clasico’ between Barcelona and Real Madrid continues to burst through all barriers — with millions worldwide due to tune in this afternoon to see Lionel Messi and company take on Cristiano Ronaldo and his colleagues.

Fifa will allow the public to vote in a rebranded version of its player of the year of the award, world soccer’s governing body said yesterday.

Celtic skipper Scott Brown described the second half of their 7-0 thrashing by Barcelona at the Nou Camp as unacceptable.