Barcelona claimed pre-season bragging rights over fierce rivals Real Madrid with a 3-0 Clasico win at the home of the Dallas Cowboys overnight.
Drilling in from a tight angle after a clever free-kick routine, Ousmane Dembele found the net early for Xavi’s side, although it wasn’t until near the end that the Catalans ran up the score-line to make sure of the Texas victory.
20-year-old midfielder Fermin Lopez made it 2-0 from the edge of the penalty area with five minutes left on the clock, while Ferran Torres got the third in stoppage time when he was put through by Lopez and lifted the ball over the onrushing Thibaut Courtois.
Oriol Romeu had earlier hit the crossbar for Barcelona at 0-0. But it was Real Madrid who had reason to feel unlucky after striking the woodwork on five occasions.
Vinicius Junior hit the bar with a penalty awarded after Ronald Araujo was adjudged to have handled the ball. The Brazilian later hit the bar again with a shot that then somehow saw Jude Bellingham also turn the ball onto the woodwork with a header from the rebound.
Aurelien Tchouameni rattled the other crossbar with a long-range effort, with Vinicius completing an unfortunate woodwork hat-trick when the bar denied him from a tight angle at 2-0.
On the result & performance
“The result is very favourable, but it doesn’t mean we’ve had a great game. Madrid has a much larger squad than ours. They were bringing out players and they have a range of possibilities. They have a great squad. I’m satisfied with how we competed, but there are many things that need to be improved and, in many moments, we resembled what we want to be.
“I think that we have come close in many moments to what we want to be. Not losing it, attacking spaces. Not having unnecessary turnovers. We are training well. We are on the right track and this has just started. I am happy with the result, but our objective is the 13 August against Getafe [in La Liga].”
On Fermin Lopez
“He is a talented footballer, with the final pass, who can use both feet. He can play on the right, on the left, as a free winger. I see a lot of personality in him. He is hungry and eager. When I see him train, I think I have to give him minutes If I give him minutes it’s because he deserves it.”
On Ousmane Dembele
“I have already said many times that, for me, he has the potential to be the best in the world in his position. I’ll say it again. I give him a lot of confidence and he gives it to me.”
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On the result & performance
“It was a good game with and without the ball and we created a lot of chances, but the negative is the result. It’s quite strange to hit the post five times in one game. I don’t think that’s ever happened to me, but I’d rather it happened in pre-season. It seemed there was a wall in front of their goal. The result isn’t the important thing, but we don’t like to lose.”
On leaving out Toni Kroos & Luka Modric
“I wanted to see the youngsters in a demanding game like this, and I think they did well. I already know what Kroos and Modric can do. In the next game, I’ll give more minutes to others. That’s a normal approach to pre-season.”
On Vinicius Junior missing the penalty
“Vinicius was very dangerous and was centimetres from scoring. He was a positive star of the game, even without scoring. Modric wasn’t on the pitch, and he usually took penalties if [Karim] Benzema wasn’t there. It could be Modric, it could be Vinicius, it could be Rodrygo. We’re looking at that.”
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