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La Liga giants Barcelona took on Serie A outfit Juventus in the third match of their pre-season tour of the United States on Tuesday night (July 26).
Playing in front of a packed stadium at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, the two European heavyweights put on an excellent show.
Thanks to a brace each from Ousmane Dembele and Moise Kean, the game ended 2-2, marking Barca’s first draw of the pre-season this summer. They had previously emerged victorious against Inter Miami (6-0 on July 19) and Real Madrid (1-0 on July 23).
Xavi fielded a strong XI against the Bianconeri on Tuesday night and instructed his team to operate on the front foot from the first minute. Barca pressed high up the field and were regularly winning possession in the opposition half.
The first opportunity of the match fell to Dembele in the fifth minute, but the Frenchman ended up dragging his left-footed drive wide of the target. A couple of minutes later, Robert Lewandowski tried his luck but was unable to keep his effort down.
Juventus’ first attempt of the match came through their new signing Angel Di Maria. His left-footed shot from outside the box was smartly saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Except in patches, Juventus could not keep hold of the ball long enough to frustrate their Spanish rivals.
Having dominated the ball for long periods, Barca’s breakthrough finally came through an individual moment of brilliance by Dembele in the 34th minute. Shell-shocked by the goal, Juventus took a couple of minutes to find their bearings, but eventually bounced back six minutes before the end of the half.
The Italian giants capitalized on some shoddy defending from the Catalan outfit, with Kean applying the finishing touch from close range.
A minute after drawing level, the Juventus defense went to sleep, allowing Dembele to score his second of the match. It was another solo effort, one that made the most of Juventus’ half-hearted attempts to stop the forward in his tracks.
Xavi made a host of chances at the break, which might have taken a toll on the team’s shape. Just six minutes into the second half, Juventus equalized, with Kean once again finding himself in the right place at the right time.
The two teams continued to test each other, but did not show the urgency required to break the deadlock. Given how the two sides performed, 2-2 was indeed a fair result.
Here are three Barcelona players who stepped up for the occasion on Tuesday night and a couple who struggled to find their footing:
Performed: Gavi
Introduced at the half-time break, Gavi immediately infused Barcelona's midfield with more energy and direction.
He regularly found space, brought teammates into the fold, and created quite a few presentable chances.
Four minutes after coming on, Gavi set up Raphinha with a neat layoff outside the box. The Brazilian hit it straight at the keeper and saw it parried behind for a corner.
He then won a couple of free-kicks, had a shot on target and drew one foul before testing the keeper with a cheeky attempt in the 87th minute.
Gavi did not score or assist, but the urgency he brought to Barca’s midfield was indeed commendable.
Underperformed: Memphis Depay
Memphis Depay was introduced in place of Robert Lewandowski in the 62nd minute.
He got himself into some dangerous areas at times, but fumbled his lines when it mattered the most.
The former Manchester United man committed a foul and then won a free-kick within five minutes of being introduced. In the 82nd minute, Miralem Pjanic laid off a nice ball in his path, but he could not get his shot away.
Five minutes later, he had the perfect opportunity to win the game for Barcelona. Unfortunately, the Dutchman, under pressure, could not keep his left-footed shot on target from point-blank range.
Performed: Raphinha
Having started Raphinha in the last two pre-season fixtures, Xavi decided to switch the pattern up and bring the 25-year-old in the second half.
The former Leeds United man took no time to settle in and tried his best to make a tangible impact.
Four minutes after coming on, the Brazilian stung the Juventus keeper’s gloves from outside the box. Eighteen minutes later, he came inches away from scoring a world-class free-kick, hitting the top-left corner of the goal post.
Following the two aforementioned goalscoring attempts and a few neat exchanges, he was taken off for Abdessamad Ezzalzouli in the 77th minute.
Underperformed: Robert Lewandowski
Hoping to net his first goal for Barcelona, Lewandowski started against Juventus on Tuesday night.
The Poland international had a go at goal in the seventh minute but the ball did not dip in time to trouble the goalkeeper.
Right at the start of the second half, he won a free-kick in the attacking half, but it did not amount to anything. In the 54th minute, he made another attempt from outside the box, but it was blocked long before it became a problem for the goalkeeper.
Four minutes later, he had a chance to put Barca ahead with a header, but he could not keep his effort on target.
Failing to make an impact, the 33-year-old was subbed out for Depay in the 62nd minute.
Performed: Ousmane Dembele
Ousmane Dembele was by far the best Barcelona player on Tuesday night. The winger regularly threatened with his daunting runs and scored two sensational goals for the Blaugrana.
In the 34th minute, he picked up the ball on the right flank, cut inside, dummied a move to cut to the right, charged ahead, and dispatched a thunderous drive. Wojciech Szczesny was caught off-guard and saw it nestle into the far post.
Six minutes later, he scored another world-class goal, and in a similar fashion.
He cut in from the right and evaded a weak challenge from Juan Cuadrado before hitting a left-footed curler beyond Szczesny. There was nothing the keeper could do in that instance.
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