Andrey Arshavin's goal completes the Arsenal recovery against Barcelona

The Arsenal substitute Andrey Arshavin, left, scores their winner
against Barcelona in the Champions League

Arsenal would not tolerate a remake of the past. They had taken just a draw with Barcelona at home last year before being knocked out of the Champions League. Here, they rallied from 1-0 down to win. Robin van Persie tied the score with a drive that beat the goalkeeper Víctor Valdés at his near post 11 minutes from time. Four minutes later, Cesc Fábregas set Samir Nasri moving on the right and the cut-back was drilled home perfectly by the substitute Andrey Arshavin.

There was a conviction to Arsenal that offered yet another illustration of the maturity being attained. The return is perilous, but Barcelona themselves will suspect that this team will not be brushed aside at Camp Nou as they were a season ago.

Meeting Barcelona is a predicament for virtually all teams, but Arsenal's case is unusual. Rather than being the normal contrast of styles, this encounter saw Pep Guardiola's side taking on opponents who would like nothing better than to emulate their methods. The hosts aimed for that same fluent movement, but a flawed version of Barcelona could not be expected to outdo them.

The initial impression was that Arsenal could withstand the comparison. Even when the visitors took the lead through David Villa in the 26th minute it came in a spell where they might just as easily have fallen behind.

Barcelona smashes Malaga and records in Spain

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Barcelona extended its unbeaten run to a club-record 28 games on Sunday, strolling to a 4-1 win over Malaga to open up a four-point lead in the Spanish league after second-place Real Madrid drew 1-1 at last-place Almeria.

Andres Iniesta, David Villa and Pedro Rodriguez scored in the first half and Villa added another after the break to set the record in the 111-year history of Barcelona, which had previously gone 27 games unbeaten in the 1973-74 season.

Barcelona has 52 points, a league record for halfway through a season, breaking the mark it set two seasons ago by two points.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola downplayed his team's lead over Madrid.

Messi hits 3 goals in Barcelona's 5-0 win

MADRID (AP): Lionel Messi celebrated his second straight Ballon d'Or award by scoring a hat trick Wednesday in Barcelona's 5-0 win over Real Betis in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, the Spanish champions' 27th match unbeaten to equal a club record.

Messi, who took the prize ahead of teammates Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez on Monday, was honored before the first-leg match at the Camp Nou stadium. The Argentina forward then showed why he was voted world player of the year.

Barcelona finally broke through against a composed Betis side in the 44th minute, Iniesta playing Messi through in a one-on-one with goalkeeper Casto Espinosa, who was caught off his line and beaten by a lifted shot.

Pedro scores twice as Barcelona beats Levante 2-1

FC Barcelona's Pedro Rodriguez (right),
duels for the ball against Levante's
Xavi Torres during a Spanish La Liga soccer
match at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona,
Spain, Sunday. - AP

BARCELONA, Spain (AP): Pedro Rodriguez scored twice in the second half to give Barcelona a 2-1 win over Levante on Sunday, its 11th consecutive victory in the Spanish league.

Both goals were set up by Dani Alves, who provided the second-half spark that energized a Barcelona attack missing Lionel Messi, who was watching from the stands.

Levante succeeded in stifling the home side throughout the first half but at the start of the second, Alves slipped the ball to Pedro, who calmly slotted a shot through a wall of Levante defenders to put Barcelona ahead in the 47th.

Twelve minutes later, the Brazil right back centered low for Pedro to volley into the Levante goal.

Christian Stuani, who had just come on to the pitch, halved the deficit with a sharp strike with ten minutes to play.

Uefa.com Team of The Year 2008 - Spain Dominates The Best of 2008

The uefa.com users’ Team of the Year 2008 has been announced, with players from UEFA EURO 2008™ winners Spain dominating the selection.

More than 3.3 million votes were cast by about 256,000 users, whose resulting dream team features six members of the Spain side that conquered Europe last summer.

Goalkeeper : Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)

Right Back : Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

Central Defender : John Terry (Chelsea)

Central Defender : Carlos Puyol (Barcelona)

Left Back : Phillip Lahm (Bayern Munich)

Right Midfield : Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Central Midfield : Xavi (Barcelona)

Attacking Midfield : Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

Left Midfield : Frank Ribery (Bayern Munich)

Forward : Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

Forward : Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Coach : Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)

Preview Uefa.com Team of The Year 2008 here.