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FULL-TIME, Barcelona 2-1 Arsenal: Tough game as expected against a team that is a week ahead in terms of preparation, but Barça played well and Suárez’s goal was deserving of the winner.
Up next, a trip to the United States and two games against Napoli next week.
90min: GOAL! LUIS SUÁREZ! The Uruguayan scores the winner on a spectacular flying volley to meet a perfect cross from Sergi Roberto. WHAT. A. GOAL.
88min: Luis Suárez appeals for a penalty but he went down way too easily after a challenge by Martinelli. Good no-call.
81min: Counter attack for Arsenal, Saka with the cross and Martinelli fires a volley just wide of the mark. Huge missed chance for the Gunners.
78min: Griezmann is off, Álex Collado is on. Probably the last change of the night from Valverde.
76min: A cross from Suárez is deflected and Leno has to make a tough save.
74min: Lenglet is booked for a bad challenge on Ceballos. He’d probably get a red if this wasn’t a friendly.
73min: Suárez makes a great run against the Arsenal defense but hits the side netting.
70min: Triple substitution for Arsenal: Dani Ceballos for Willock, Martinelli for Özil, Saka for Mkhitaryan.
69min: GOAL! MAITLAND-NILES OWN GOAL! A bad pass from Luis Suárez comes to the Arsenal full-back who doesn’t see Leno out of his goal and passes the ball against his own open net.
66min: Wagué booked for a poor challenge on Mkhitaryan.
63min: Substitutions for Barça: Luis Suárez for Dembélé, Moussa Wagué for Semedo, Juan Miranda for Alba. Only Griezmann remains from the starting XI.
60min: Good strike from distance by Aleñá, saved by Leno for a corner. The corner is taken short and Alba is found all alone inside the box, but his assist to Lenglet is intercepted and then cleared off the line by Willock.
58min: Barça pressing now and they create a good chance on a cross from Aleñá that ended up on a double block by the Arsenal defense on shots from Griezmann and Dembélé.
55min: Almost a super goal from Dembélé as he runs with the ball and fires a rocket from the edge of the box looking for the top corner, but it goes just wide.
54min: Valverde makes a little tweak as Dembélé and Rafinha change sides, with the Brazilian on the right wing and the Frenchman on the left.
53min: First good move by either team in the second half is a nice passing sequence from Barça that ends with a poor pass from Sergi Roberto as he looked for Dembélé in the box.
SECOND HALF KICKOFF! We’re back! Seven changes from Valverde as Ter Stegen, Todibo, Lenglet, Busquets, Roberto, Aleñá and Rafinha replace Neto, Piqué, Umtiti, De Jong, Rakitic, Puig and Pérez. Arsenal make two halftime subs with Kolasinac in place of Monreal and Guendouzi replacing Nelson.
HALFTIME: Barça played well with the ball but struggled defensively against Arsenal’s front four, and the Gunners lead thanks to a sensational goal by Aubameyang.
45min: Good pass from Puig to find Alba on the wing, but Jordi’s wicked cross is well stopped by Leno before Griezmann could get to the ball.
43min: GOAL DISALLOWED! Griezmann scores after a pass from Rakitic inside the box, but the Frenchman’s goal was correctly ruled out for offside.
40min: Another good move by Arsenal and Neto needs to stop a strong shot from Mkhitaryan.
36min: GOAL, Aubameyang. Fantastic through ball from Özil to Aubameyang, who spins away from Alba and fires a beautiful shot into the top corner. 1-0 Arsenal.
32min: Beautiful short passing between Puig, De Jong and Griezmann, who makes a great turn and tries to find Rakitic for a shot but Xhaka intercepts the ball and it’s a corner for Barça.
31min: Another chance for Barça as Dembélé receives the ball on the right wing, cuts to his right foot and fires a rocket of a cross to Griezmann, who has no time to react and can’t redirect the ball home. Goal kick.
30min: Brilliant switch of play by De Jong to find Alba, who fakes a cross, cuts into his right foot and fires a dangerous shot but Leno is in a good position to make the stop.
28min: Another chance for the Gunners as Maitland-Niles receives the ball on the right wing, beats Alba and fires a dangerous cross in front of goal. Thankfully Neto is alert to it and makes an easy save.
27min: Good chance for Arsenal on the counter after a run and shot by Nelson that is blocked by Piqué, which then turns into a cross from Maitland-Niles that just misses Aubameyang’s head. This one’s getting fun.
26min: A good attacking move from Barça ends with a shot from Riqui Puig from outside the box that is comfortably stopped by Leno.
22min: Good pass from Rakitic to pick up an overlapping run from Semedo, and the full-back finds Dembélé who has a shot brilliantly blocked by Willock and away for a corner.
18min: Rakitic finds Griezmann in the box with a ball over the top, but the Frenchman tries to shoot from a tricky angle and the ball goes out for an Arsenal throw-in. The Gunners then go on the counter and Mesut Özil is called for offside.
14min: Counter attack for Arsenal, Reiss Nelson tries a shot but Nélson Semedo blocks it and Barça get the ball back thanks to a foul by Granit Xhaka.
13min: First attempt on goal for Barça after a cross from Jordi Alba finds Griezmann who lays it off to Rakitic, but the Croatian’s shot goes wide.
11min: First good move from Barça with a long spell of possession that ends with a Dembélé pass to Riqui Puig inside the box that was just a little too strong.
4min: Bad pass from Piqué at the back, and Aubameyang has the game’s first shot deflect off Umtiti for a corner.
KICKOFF! Barça in the new home uniforms, Arsenal in Banana Yellow. These kits, man.
LINEUPS
BARCELONA
Starting XI: Neto; Semedo, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba; Rakitic, De Jong, Puig; Dembélé, Griezmann, Pérez (4-3-3)
Bench: Ter Stegen, Todibo, Lenglet, Wagué, Firpo, Miranda, Busquets, Roberto, Vidal, Arthur, Aleñá, Coutinho, Rafinha, Collado, Messi, Suárez, Ruiz
ARSENAL
Starting XI: Leno; Maitland-Niles, Chamber, Sokratis, Monreal; Willock, Xhaka; Mkhitaryan, Özil, Nelson; Aubameyang (4-2-3-1)
Bench: Martínez, Mustafi, Kolasinac, Thompson, Torreira, Ceballos, Guendouzi, Martinelli, Saka, Nketiah
WELCOME BACK TO CAMP NOU!!! The Greatest Stadium on Earth will open its doors for a Barcelona match for the first time this season as the Blaugrana welcome Arsenal for the 2019 Joan Gamper Trophy. The Catalans will present the new first team squad to the fans and then face the Gunners in what will no doubt be a very fun 90 minutes of football. And you can join us to follow and comment all the action. LET’S LIVE BLOG!
(Note: the comments will be open only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)
MATCH INFO
Competition/Round: 2019 Joan Gamper Trophy
Date/Time: Sunday, August 4, 2019, 8pm CET (Barcelona), 7pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 2pm ET, 11am PT (USA), 11.30pm IST (India)
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
HOW TO WATCH, STREAM JOAN GAMPER TROPHY
How to watch on TV: Premier Sports 1 (UK), SuperSport 3 (Nigeria), others
How to stream: Premier Player (UK), fcbarcelona.com (worldwide except for UK), others
Matchday Thread Rules
We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:
Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, be careful with the swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.
Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!