However, Emery says he wants to keep hold of the Frenchman for the rest of the season and has been happy with his summer signing.
“I am very happy with him. His commitment in every training session is amazing. He is a very good professional and always ready to play. The last matches he was sick. He was with us in Zrinjski,” he said.
“He was better at Brentford but still a little bit sick. Other players maybe wouldn’t be with the squad if they were feeling like he was.
“Tomorrow, if everything is going well, I think he is going to play. I am wishing to see him and am really very excited about how he will help us tomorrow and in the next matches.
“I want to keep him because we need players for the challenges we are going to face this season.”
Lenglet hadn’t managed a single minute of Premier League action for Villa up until that point, but Emery was as good as his word and started him against Sheffield United on Friday.
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Felix has managed six goals and three assists for Barcelona so far this season but has struggled for consistency and comes with a lofty price tag.
Barca know that doing a deal with Atletico next summer will be difficult, and it seems Felix still has work to do to convince the club he’s worth the effort.
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Josep Maria Bartomeu had left the club on its knees and whomever came in to tidy up his mess was going to find things tough.
Decisions were going to have to be made from time to time that went against the ethos of the club simply for it to survive. Undoubtedly a risky strategy but also a necessary one.
With his swarthy good looks and salesman’s charm, Laporta has, thus far, steered the club through very choppy waters whilst retaining support from the vast majority of culers.
His decision to pocket in the region of €5m for the club for a meaningless friendly in Dallas, coming directly after a Spanish top-flight game and squeezing every last drop of energy out of certain players wasn’t the wisest choice, however.
Just like the mid-season trip to Mamelodi Sundowns which could arguably be used as the excuse as to why the club didn’t complete its first ever unbeaten season under Ernesto Valverde, so the friendly against Club America may end up being looked at as a step too far, despite a number of first-team players being rested.
The air miles and jet lag alone can have a marked effect.
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In any event, the game itself wasn’t much to write home about.
Lamine Yamal and Marc Guiu getting on the scoresheet will have been a minor plus for Xavi, as will the debuts of Astralaga, Kochen, Cubarsi, Gerard Martin and Mbacke, though the inability to hold onto the lead in both instances - even in a meaningless friendly - will still grate.
Henry Martin’s late winner for the Mexican side condemned Barça to defeat though in many respects the final score will be seen as a side issue to this sideshow.
He can’t do any worse than the immobile and out of form Polish international and, as he’s shown on three separate occasions already, he can do a lot better.
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A round-up of the latest Barcelona news and rumors
Barça 2-3 Club América: Defeat in Dallas - FC Barcelona
The blaugranes went down to a 3-2 defeat against Club América in Dallas despite going ahead on two occasions. The Mexicans came back from behind twice and a late header from Henry Martín gave them the win in a damp Cotton Bowl Stadium in Texas. 2023 comes to a close for Barça and they now return to Europe to enjoy a well earned short break before returning to action in the New Year.
Xavi says Club América game 'good spectacle' in Dallas - FC Barcelona
In the end Barça were unable to round of 2023 with a victory after going down to a 3-2 defeat against Mexican side Club América in Dallas. Nevertheless, after the game coach Xavi Hernández was able to take positives from the game in the USA which saw several young players given an opportunity with the first team.
Sergi Roberto: leading by example and grabbing goals - FC Barcelona
Blaugrana captain Sergi Roberto played a key role when FC Barcelona beat Almeria (3-2). Starting the game and playing the full 90 minutes, his brace helped to earn three much-needed points in the final LaLiga game of the year.
Barça 7-0 Rosengård: Big win in Europe to end a wonderful year (7-0) - FC Barcelona
This Barça team has such a hunger and hardly ever fails to live up to expectations, and this game was no exception. After winning 0-6 against Rosengård just over a week ago, Jonatan Giráldez' side put on another show to beat the same side, this time 7-0.
María León, blaugrana until 2026 - FC Barcelona
María León will be a blaugrana until at least 30 June 2026. The Club and 28-year-old central defender have an agreed a contract extension for a further two years. Mapi's contract was set to end on 30 June 2024, and she will have been a blaugrana for nine seasons when the current one comes to an end.
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The Catalans were beaten in Dallas
Barcelona coach Xavi spoke out after the team’s friendly defeat to Club America and admitted some of his players had been tired.
The team flew straight out after beating Almeria in La Liga which saw Xavi field a youthful-looking team for the game.
However, Barcelona went on to lose 3-2 to the Mexican side, with Xavi still insisting there were plenty of positives to take from the friendly.
“Today we played a great game. Both Club América and Barça created great chances. Many young players played with us, that is a positive. Our starters were tired, yesterday they played against Almería and today some players were tired,” he said.
“This type of match is positive for Barcelona. The club is in a situation in which we have to adapt, in the end we offer ourselves to the fans of the United States. They always receive us with affection.
“They are a very good team, intense, technically very good. It’s no coincidence that they have won the championship.
“Club América work the way we work. An attacking team, they press high. I like their coach’s approach. They have great players, like Mexican players throughout history.”
Barcelona will now head home and enjoy a little time off over the festive period. The first game back is against Las Palmas in La Liga on January 4.
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It was another teenager, Lamine Yamal, who opened the scoring after just six minutes. The youngster raced upfield and beat goalkeeper Angel Malagon to make it 1-0.
Club America were quick to respond to going behind. Julian Quiñones levelled it up with a backheel just six minutes later.
Yet Barcelona went ahead again before the half-hour mark. Marc Guiu scored again for the first team, sliding home a finish after good work from Hector Fort.
However, that was about as good as it got for Barca. Quiñones bagged his second of the game just after half-time to make it 2-2.
The second half saw a raft of substitutions as Xavi sent on the likes of Ferran Torres, Oriol Romeu, Joao Cancelo and Robert Lewandowski.
But it was Club America who found a winner late on in the game. Striker Henry Martin headed past Diego Kochen in the Barcelona goal to score to seal a 3-2 victory.
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A win that didn’t feel like a win
Embarrassing end to the year for Barca
Barcelona played their final La Liga game of 2023 against Almeria and while it ended in a 3-2 win for the hosts it felt more like a defeat such was the level of performance by Xavi’s side.
The Barca boss would have been hoping for a comfortable win against La Liga’s only winless side to get his team back on track after defeats to Girona in La Liga and Antwerp in the Champions League and a bore draw with Valencia.
Instead Barcelona served up another incoherent mess of a match with the players looking utterly confused. There was more shambolic defending, some impressive misses but somehow they kept going and ground out the win.
İLKAY GÜNDOĞAN MISSES AN OPEN GOAL TO GIVE BARCELONA THE LEAD AGAINST LAST PLACE ALMERIA
One of the biggest positives of the night was the fact that Barca will now get a break over the festive period and have a chance to reset. Vitor Roque will also arrive between now and Barca’s next game which will hopefully give the team a much-needed boost.
Barca gift Almeria Christmas presents
Almeria had only ever scored two goals away at Barcelona in their entire history before last night but managed to bag a double, thanks largely to the hosts’ defense.
The usually reliable Ronald Araujo made an error for the visitors’ first goal and then jumped into Inaki Pena, which saw the goalkeeper drop the ball, as Almeria grabbed a second.
What’s perhaps more worrying is that Almeria also had plenty of other chances to score.
2 - Since at least 2007/08 season, #Barcelona have made two errors that ended in goals in the same @LaLigaEn game for only the fifth time in the competition, the first since May 2019 v Eibar. Disorder.
Xavi seemed surprised after the game and was not at all happy with his team when he spoke to reporters.
“We suffered much more than I expected,” he said. “We had 30 shots and gifted them two goals. The first half is unacceptable. As a coach you can’t accept that — I told [the players] that at half-time.”
Barcelona have now conceded 21 goals in La Liga this season, that’s more than the whole of the previous campaign when Xavi’s side shipped only 20 on the way to the title.
The two goals Barca conceded against Almeria were self-inflicted, as has been the story so often this season, but there seems little signs of the situation improving right now.
Sergi Roberto is the unlikely hero
In the end Barcelona had none other than Sergi Roberto thank for the three points. The captain, who has barely featured since taking the armband this season, bagged a brace for the first time in his career to secure the win.
The first was a fine flicked header from a Raphinha corner to put Barcelona 2-1 up. Yet Almeria equalised again which left Barca needing their captain to step up once more.
And step up he did. This time Robert Lewandowki, who once again missed a host of chances, was involved by teeing up the captain late on in the game.
Roberto then popped up with a great touch and finish to finally put Almeira away. He nearly bagged a hat-trick shortly afterwards too but his effort hit the woodwork.
It was a vital contribution from the captain and one that rather summed up Barca’s night. Despite all the superstars and big-money signings on show it was the academy graduate, much-maligned these days and tipped to leave in the summer, who showed the spirit needed to get the win.
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