Spanish La Liga football club FC Barcelona move closer to qualifying for the First Knock-out round of the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League after posting a 2-0 victory over Scottish Premier League club Rangers FC at the Nou Camp in Barcelona, Spain just recently.

Barcelona established an early lead in the 6th minute of the match when Barac striker Thierry Henry was able to recover a rebound from a Lionel Messi header that bounced off the post. Thierry Henry slid to put the ball in the back of the net, and give Barcelona 1 -0 advantage.

On the 43rd minute, Barca midfielder Ronaldinho was able to dribble through the defense and make a shot on the Rangers goal. Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor blocked Ronaldinho's shot, but wasn't able to stop the rebound by Barcelona Argentinian forward Lionel Messi, who scored the second goal for the Blaugrana.

The scoreline was kept at 2-0 and FC Barcelona earned 3 points to bring their points standings in Group E of the UEFA Champions League to 10 points. Barcelona are leaders of Group E followed by the Rangers with 7 points. French Ligue 1 club Olympique Lyon have 6 points. Should Barcelona beat Lyon on their next UEFA Champions League match, Lyon could be prevented from qualifying should Rangers defeat German Bundesliga champions VfB Stuttgart, who haven't earned a single point in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. There are 2 matchdays left for the group stages.

VfB Stuttgart wil play host to the Rangers on November 27. Meanwhile, Lyon will be hoping that the home pitch advantage will keep their qualifying hoeps alive when they host FC Barcelona.

To find out more about UEFA Champions League betting tips, or to place bets on Stuttgart vs. Rangers, Lyon vs. Barcelona, and other upcoming UEFA Champions League matches, then click here.

Real Valladolid are in the relegation zone of the Spanish Primera Liga, and sit among the bottom three in the La Liga standings. FC Barcelona, who are among the top teams in the Spanish Primera Liga, were expected to win this match easily despite it being an away game at Valladolid's home pitch.

However, Real Valladolid were keen to play against Spanish La Liga giants FC Barcelona, and it was Valladolid who gained the advantage first. Valladolid were able to score in the 16th minute, when Valladolid's Joseba Llorente received a wonderful pass from Valladolid team mate Jonathan Sesma, and did well to shoot past Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes.

Barcelona were able to find an equaliser in the 43rd minute when Barcelona star midfielder Ronaldinho took a pass from Xavi Hernandez before shooting over Real Valladolid keeper Alberto Lopez for his third goal of the season and first in league play in nearly two months.

The scoreline stayed at 1-1, and Barcelona were content to salvage a point after an inspired performance by Valladolid.

"Valladolid played better as a team ... we didn't sacrifice enough for each other," Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard said. "We played better collectively in the second half but we still need to learn from this in order to imporve."

Barcelona improved their standings in the Spanish La Liga to 21 points - same as Villarreal - to remain in second place behind Spanish La Liga champions Real Madrid, which has 25 points after 10 rounds played.

Barcelona's next Spanish La Liga match will be against Real Betis on the Barcelona home pitch at the Nou Camp this November 4.

On November 7, FC Barcelona will have a UEFA Champions League match against Scottish Premier League clun Rangers FC also at the Nou Camp. The last time Barcelona met Rangers FC was last month for a UEFA Champions League group stage match at Glasgow, Scotland. Barcelona drew with Rangers FC 0-0. Hopefully, the magic and support of the fans at the Nou Camp in Barcelona will be abel to inspire Barca to a win. Barcelona and Rangers are both tied in the UEFA Group E with 7 points. Definitely, the winner of the Barcelona-Rangers UEFA Champions League group stage match will be Group E leaders.

Barca will be relying on stars Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Toure Yaya and Eric Abidal for a win against Rangers. FC Barcelona's Cameronian striker Samuel Eto'o is still recovering from his injury, but will be expected to join Barcelona again by the end of November.

Perhaps, the completion of Barcelona's Fantastic Four - Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'0, Lio Messi and Thierry Henry - will improve Barcelona's chances to lead the Spanish Primera Liga. Definitely, Barca's Fantastic Four will be great to have on the pitch, especially with the El Clasico coming the the Nou Camp in Barcelona on December 23, 2007.

El Clasico is the name given to the football matches between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The rivalry comes about as Madrid and Barcelona are the two largest cities in Spain as well as the two most successful and influential football clubs in the country. In the last El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona on the second half of the 2006-07 Spanish La Liga season, the score was a 3-3 draw. Earlier in that first half of the 2006-07 Spanish La Liga season, Real Madrid won the El Clasico 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu, the home pitch of Spanish La Liga champions Real Madrid.

Find out the football betting odds on Barcelona vs. Real Betis and other Spanish La Liga matches, by visiting the Bodog sportsbook.

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