Lamine Yamal scored twice but his performance was overshadowed by more comical defending as Barcelona were to a 3-3 draw at home to struggling Granada at the Olympic Stadium.  Sam, Rik and Toni reflect on another crazy game in Montjuic after a weekend which also saw Real Madrid move closer to the title by beating their nearest challengers, Girona, 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu.  Support the showFor bonus content, including additional podcasts, Q&As, special collections and Discord access...

Vitor Roque scored his second goal in a week but was also sent off in a 13-minute cameo as Barcelona beat Alavés 3-1 to make it back-to-back wins since Xavi Hernández announced he will step down at the end of the season.  Are we seeing a reaction from the players? How did Andreas Christensen do in midfield? Was Roque's red payback for the Negreira case? Where can Toni go on holiday? Sam, Rik and Toni discuss all that and more in the latest Siempre Positivo podcast.  Support the showFor bonus...

A couple of days on from the news, Sam, Rik and Toni resume discussion of the hottest topic in town, Xavi's decision to walk away from Barca in June. After our on-the-night reaction on Patreon, this is the free Monday pod. We talk about Laporta's response, a little about the straw that broke the camel's back in the Villarreal game, and more. Support the showFor bonus content, including additional podcasts, Q&As, special collections and Discord access to join the discussion with other...

Sam, Rik and Toni look back on a busy weekend in Spanish football, mainly focusing on Barcelona's exciting 4-2 win at Real Betis, complete with a hat-trick from the shark Ferran Torres. There was also a debut for 16-year-old Pau Cubarsí, with Toni especially positivo about Barça's season in the event they can win in the Copa del Rey at Athletic Club on Wednesday.  Later, they turn their attention to the game at the Santiabo Bernabeu, where three VAR decisions changed the course of the match...

'This box is your blank canvas. Have fun!'  The above is Patreon's message for filling in this box, but it was difficult to have fun after Barcelona's performance in the Spanish Supercopa final on Sunday. Real Madrid won 4-1 in Saudi Arabia and the result was more or less a fair reflection of the game.  So, where did it go wrong? Why do Barça keep making slow starts? Was the return to four midfielders wrong? Who can beat a man? What now for Xavi? Who would win in a fight between Antonio...

Sam, Rik and Toni talk about Barca's 3-2 Copa del Rey win at fourth-tier Barbastro on Sunday and look ahead to the Spanish Super Cup, which takes place in Saudi Arabia this week.  Q&A out on Tuesday on Patreon, and a bonus pod will follow Barca's semi-final against Osasuna later in the week. Support the showFor bonus content, including additional podcasts, Q&As, special collections and Discord access to join the discussion with other Barça fans, join our Patreon: patreon.com/siemprepod

Rik and Toni discuss Barcelona's 1-1 draw at Mestalla, Frenkie de Jong's performance, whether the team's aims and set-up are a contradiction unto themselves, ratings, and more.  Thanks for listening this year! We'll be back with more free episodes in 2024. If you want more content over Xmas, come and join us on Patreon, where we'll talk about the midweek Almeria game, Barca's friendly in the US, any other news and some other special pods over the winter mini-break. Support the showFor bonus...

A compelling Catalan derby ended with the points heading back to Girona as the surprise LaLiga leaders beat Barcelona 4-2 at the Olympic Stadium. Míchel's side are now two points clear of Real Madrid, seven ahead of Barça and playing some of the best football in Europe.  But what about Barça? They had 31 shots against Girona -- is it as simple as taking their chances? And why are they conceding so many goals? It's impossible to avoid the Xavi-Míchel comparisons, too, when you see the latter's...

Sam, Rik and Toni discuss Barcelona's impressive 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at Montjuic. With Kounde at right-back and an 'extra-motivated' Felix up top, Xavi said this was a 'complete' Barca display.  Support the show

Sam, Rik and Toni talk about the 2-1 win over Porto that booked Barca's place in the Champions League last 16 for the first time in three years. The performance, what it means to the club, disagreements over Kounde, and more...  Support the show

Sam, Rik and Toni pick over patatas bravas and Barca's 2-1 win over Alaves in this pod recorded in a bar on Parallel after the game. (Apologises for the background noise). We talk about Barca's dire first-half performance, Jules Kounde, Xavi blaming the media for the team's low confidence and more. Support the show

Sam, Rik and Toni talk about Barca's late 1-0 win at Real Sociedad on Saturday, which had an element of fortune about it to say the least. Or is it just the world balancing out after the Clasico? Talking about the formation, Xavi, the ratings and more. Support the show

Sam, Rik and Toni analyse what happened in El Clasico. Did Barcelona deserve more? Was it bad luck or self-inflicted? We talk about Ilkay Gundogan's criticism, do the ratings, and more. Why did Barca collapse? Support the show

Toni gives Sam and Rik a Catalan lesson on the pronunciation of Marc Guiu after the 17-year-old came off the bench to score the winning goal on his Barcelona debut against Athletic Club on Sunday. It was a remarkable night for the academy graduate. What next for the teenager?  Plus, Iñigo Martiñez impresses, Joao Felix takes responsibility, Oriol Romeu's struggles, Rik's ratings and much more. Som-hi.  Support the show

Barcelona fell 2-0 down against Granada on Sunday night and then produced another comeback to earn a 2-2 draw. They're still unbeaten in the top flight but now third, three points behind Madrid. Sam, Rik and Toni discuss the game, the offside that led to Felix's disallowed goal and more. Support the show

Barcelona remain the only unbeaten side in LaLiga after Sergio Ramos' own goal (welcome back, Sergio) secured them a 1-0 win over Sevilla on Friday. Sam and Toni look back on that narrow victory, with Rik (who does check in with his rating) on his way to Porto for this week's Champions League game.  There is also good news in the form of Lamine Yamal's contract renewal and Fermín López's emergence as the pod analyse how Barça have locked down their spine for the coming years.  Support the show

Sam, Rik and Toni go through what happened on Saturday when Barca came back from two down to win 3-2 in a wild last 10 minutes at Montjuic. Plus, Frenkie de Jong's injury, how strong are Madrid after Atletico beating, and more. Support the show

Sam, Rik and Toni look back on Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo's impressive full debuts as Barça found their feet against Real Betis on Saturday. Xavi's side struck five times, with Ferran Torres, aka The Shark, scoring the club's first goal since Lionel Messi left the club. There was also goals for Felix, Cancelo, Raphinha and Lewandowski.  They also look ahead to the Champions League, with Barça hosting Antwerp on Tuesday. The main goal and is to get out of the group and be competitive for the...

Sam, in Pamplona, Rik and Toni chat about Barca's 2-1 win at El Sadar on Sunday night. Three new signings made their debuts but Barcelona's performance was not particularly good even as they got a decent result as we head into the international break. Did Xavi send a message to Raphinha? Next season's back up right back and more...  Support the show

Barcelona made it seven points from nine on Sunday as they beat Villarreal 4-3. Lamine Yamal took the headlines with another splendid performance, while the goals came from Gavi, Frenkie de Jong, Ferran Torres and Robert Lewandowski.  Sam, Rik and Toni look back on the game on the latest podcast, discussing:  -- Barça better box-to-box? -- Lamine Yamal -- Raphinha as Giuly -- Defensive frailties -- Rik's ratings -- Shark Ferran -- Deadline week! -- Cancelo + 1 -- Lenglet and who else...

Barcelona earned their first win of the season with a 2-0 victory at the Olympic Stadium on the city's Montjuic hill, thanks to late goals from Pedri and Ferran Torres. Sam and Rik discuss the first competitive match in Barca's new temporary home, while Toni is back from Canada and gives his thoughts on the game too. Support the show

LaLiga is back... although not quite with a bang. There were plenty of talking points, though, as Barcelona were held to a goalless draw at Getafe for the third season in a row. Both teams ended a feisty affair with 10 men, while Xavi Hernandez was also dismissed. The Barça coach then let the referees know exactly what he thought after the game.  Sam and Rik take you through the major talking points (Toni's still Instagramming bears and moose in Canada, apologies), including:  -- Raphinha's...

Sam and Toni -- Rik is celebrating his birthday -- discuss Barcelona's 2-1 defeat at Celta Vigo which brought the 2022-23 season to a close, a year that ended with Xavi Hernandez's side lifting the title for the first time since 2019.  There was not much to be gleaned from Balaidos, where Ansu Fati moved on to double figures for the season and Sergi Roberto (right-back) and Eric Garcia (pivote) failed to make strong cases for continuing in the positions they played.  Also discussed: Vigo star...

Sunday's penultimate round of fixtures was an emotional one for Barcelona, who said farewell to Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Camp Nou. Busquets and Alba will leave the club this summer, while Camp Nou will undergo a revamp, forcing Barça to move to Montjuic until November 2024.  Alba's tears and Busquets' smile characterised the two players as they said goodbye, while on the pitch Ansu Fati scored twice and Gavi was on target as LaLiga champions Barça beat 10-man Mallorca 3-0.  Sam, Rik...

Barcelona suffered their first defeat in LaLiga at Spotify Camp Nou this season as they were beaten 2-1 by Champions League-chasing Real Sociedad. Mikel Merino and Alexander Sorloth got the goals for the visitors, with Robert Lewandowski replying late on to remain on track for the Pichichi. After the game, Barça captain Sergio Busquets received the trophy.  However, events in LaLiga this weekend were overclouded by more racist abuse aimed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius, this time in his...