Barcelona successfully defeated their eternal enemy, Real Madrid with a score of 2-1 in a pre-season friendly match entitled Soccer Champions Tour at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, Sunday (4/8/2024) morning WIB.
The match was stopped due to lightning striking the stadium area. After it resumed, Barcelona led by two goals through Pau Victor before Nico Paz reduced the deficit for Real Madrid.
After this, Real Madrid still has one more pre-season friendly match left. Los Blancos will face Premier League giants Chelsea in Charlotte.
Meanwhile, Barca will still play two pre-season friendlies, against AC Milan in Baltimore and versus AS Monaco in the Joan Gamper Trophy.
First Round
The match had only been going on for 13 minutes, the referee asked the players of both teams to enter the locker room. There was a protest from the players, but the referee received a report that the weather was not ideal and still asked the players to enter the locker room.
Heavy rain hit the area around MetLife Stadium. Not only rain, there was lightning that was considered dangerous for players and that factor caused the match to be stopped temporarily.
About 15 minutes later, the match finally resumed. Barca managed to break the deadlock in the 42nd minute through Pau Victor’s action following up Robert Lewandowski’s headed assist.
Second Half
Back from the dressing room, Pau Victor was once again a nightmare for the Real Madrid defense. His shot from Alex Valle’s cross in the 53rd minute was not saved by Thibaut Courtois. Barca won 2-0.
Carlo Ancelotti responded to the situation by making a number of substitutions. As a result, Real Madrid managed to reduce the deficit in the 81st minute through Nico Paz’s header following Arda Guler’s corner kick.
Real Madrid became more enthusiastic in finding an equalizer in the remaining time. Unfortunately, their efforts failed to produce results. The final score of 2-1 for Barca’s victory was the final result of this match.
Lineups
Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois; Lucas Vazquez, Eder Militao (Joan Martinez 56′), Antonio Rudiger (Jacobo Ramon 67′), Fran Garcia (Rafael Obrador 67′); Luka Modric, Mario Martin, Dani Ceballos (Lorenzo 76′); Arda Guler, Endrick (Nico Paz 67′), Brahim Diaz (Vinicius Junior 57′)
Coach: Carlo Ancelotti.
Barcelona: Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Inaki Pena 64′); Alex Valle (Mikayil Faye 65′), Andreas Christensen (Sergi Dominguez 46′), Inigo Martinez (Hector Fort 65′), Alex Balde (Gerard Martin 46′); Unai Hernandez (Quim Junyent 46′), Marc Bernal (Ilkay Gundogan 76′), Marc Casado (Noah Darvich 77′); Pablo Torre (Guille Fernandez 64′), Robert Lewandowski (Vitor Roque 76′), Pau Victor (Raphinha 64′).
Coach: Hansi Flick.