Despite spending the last few days lamenting an injury to Lionel Messi, it turns out Barcelona can survive without their Argentine talisman. Neymar led the way with a brace as they turned over Sporting Gijon 5-0 at El Molinon on Saturday, with Luis Suarez, Rafinha and Arda Turan also on target.

There will be tougher tests, of course, such as Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League on Wednesday, but Barca don't need to panic too much about a missing Messi.

Sporting Gijón

Barcelona

0

5

FT

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Positives

Sergi Roberto's continued...

Barcelona were paid a special visit on Friday, when movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped by the team's Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper training facility.

Fantastic to kick off the @arnoldsports Europe by meeting a true champion, @neymarjr! Great to see you my friend!

A photo posted by Arnold Schwarzenegger (@schwarzenegger) on

Sep 23, 2016 at 7:48am PDT

The Austrian action hero and former California governor got chummy with Neymar, spent time with Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano,...

Here are the latest stories for Friday.

ARSENAL: Jose Mourinho wanted to "break Arsene Wenger's face" according to a new book about the Portuguese boss. The two have clashed plenty of times over their careers, but the revelation came after a spat over Juan Mata's move from Chelsea to Manchester United and Mourinho allegedly told Rob Beasley, author of "Jose Mourinho, Up Close and Personal": "I will find him [Wenger] one day outside a football pitch and I will break his face."

- Arsene...

Here are the latest stories for Thursday.

BARCELONA: Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has said football will "lose" without Lionel Messi, after the club confirmed on Wednesday that the Argentine superstar will miss the next three weeks with a groin injury he sustained in their 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid.

- Luis Suarez has snapped back at Filipe Luis after the defender uploaded a photo on social media revealing a stud mark supposedly left by the Uruguayan forward.

MAN UNITED: Jose...

BARCELONA -- This era of glory at the Camp Nou has been so extraordinary, so long that some will either forget or not know that there was once a horrible trophy drought between 1999 and 2005, which was only eclipsed in embarrassment by the faulty attitudes and lack of playing excellence during that stretch.

Things began to go right under Frank Rijkaard, and although his version of a "new" Barca wasn't as scintillating or remorseless as those of Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique, opponents began to...

Barcelona endured a frustrating night, dropping points and failing to capitalise on Real Madrid's draw with Villarreal, as well as losing Lionel Messi for three weeks because of a groin injury. Atletico Madrid got their tactics spot-on and left Barca no space with which to weave their magic, and a lapse in concentration at the back allowed Angel Correa to cancel out Ivan Rakitic's opener for a 1-1 draw.

Barcelona

Atletico Madrid

1

1

FT

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Although they knew they had the chance to reel that deficit in, at least Barca...