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21 moments of the 21st league

21 moments of the 21st league

The league title 2010/11 has produced some memorable moments. As it’s the 21st title the club has won, we have picked out 21 of the finest.

1) Saint Valdés. G1. Racing v FCB (0-3). With Barça 2-0 up, Valdés saved a Tchité penalty to stop the opposition getting back in the match

2) Sad debut for Mascherano. G2. FCB v Hercules (0-2). Newly promoted Hercules shocked the Camp Nou by winning thanks to goals from Valdez on Mascherano’s debut.

3) Messi injured. G3. Atletico Madrid v FCB (1-2). A nasty tackle by Ujfalusi in injury time means Messi would miss the next two games.

4) Villa against his old club. G4. FCB V Sporting (1-0). One goal from the Asturian means Barça get an narrow win at the Camp Nou.

5) Comeback against leader. G7. FCB V Valencia (2-1). Goals from Iniesta and Puyol in the second half cancel out Pablo’s effort to defeat the league leaders.

6) First full house. G9. FCB V Sevilla (5-0). Two from Messi, two from Villa and one from Alves mean the fans enjoyed the first of many five-goal sprees.

7) Record away win. G12. Almeria v FCB (0-8). The 8-0 win at Almeria, in which Fontàs made his debut, meant Barça equalled their own record set when they won 8-0 in Las Palmas in the 1959/60 season.

8) Happy 111th birthday! G13. FCB v Madrid (5-0). Xavi, Pedro, Villa (2) and Jeffren scored in a famous drubbing of the old enemy. The game played on a Monday night was the perfect celebration of the club’s 111th birthday.

9) Lightning journey to win. G14. Osasuna v FCB (0-3). Due to the air traffic control strike, Barça improvised a last-minute race to Pamplona by bus and train, and still came back with a win.

10) Ovation for Iniesta. G16. Espanyol v FCB (1-5). The Cornellà-El Prat fans welcomed Iniesta to rapturous applause after the player had dedicated his World Cup winning goal to the late Dani Jarque.

11) Xavi, eternal. G17. FCB v Levante (2-1). Xavi Hernández made it to 549 appearances for Barça to equal the all-time record set by Migueli.

12) Debut for Afellay. G18. Deportivo v FCB (0-4). Afellay made his debut at Riazor and Barça stormed to another big win.

13) Pedro sets record. G21. Hercules v FCB (0-3). Pedro became only the seventh Barça player to score in six consecutive league matches.

14) 16 in a row. G22. FCB v Atletico Madrid (3-0). A Messi hat-trick meant FC Barcelona won their 16th game in a row to set a new league record.

15) Streak comes to an end. G23. Sporting v FCB (1-1). A tough Sporting end Barça’s winning streak, but miss out on the three points when Villa gets another goal against his former club.

16) Pinto in for Valdés. G24. FCB v Athletic Bilbao (2-1). The injured Valdés was replaced by Pinto against Bilbao, Mallorca and Valencia and conceded just one goal.

17) Montoya debut. G25. Mallorca v FCB (0-3). Montoya plays the last few minutes in Mallorca to mark his Barcelona debut.

18) Guardiola injured. G26. Valencia v FCB (0-1). Back trouble caused Guardiola to skip his pre-match press conferences, although he did travel to the game.

19) Puyol returns. G32. Madrid v FCB (1-1). Captain Carles Puyol is back in the first eleven after being sidelined for three months. And he does so at the Bernabéu, on a day that the league title was half won.

20) No record. G34. Real Sociedad v FCB (2-1). Real Sociedad prevent Barça from equalling their own record of going 32 league games without loss, set by the San Sebastian club back in 1979/80).

21) Abidal makes long-awaited return. G35. FCB v Espanyol (2-0). FC Barcelona win another derby on a night when the fully recovered Abidal returned to league action.