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Match
Marcador del partit
- Date: Sunday, 05 Aug
- Competition: ???label.competicio25???
- Stadium: Beijing Fengtai Stadium, Beijing
Resultat:
- Beijing Guoan: 0
- FC Barcelona: 3
Match report
Match Report
Goals
0-1 Giovani (min.8)
0-2 Iniesta (min.57)
0-3 Ronaldinho (min.77)
A comfortable start (0-3)
Jordi Clos
FC Barcelona eased to victory against Beijing Guoan in their first game on tour in the Far East, thanks to goals from Giovani Dos Santos, Andrés Iniesta and Ronaldinho.
Frank Rijkaard's side maintained their 100 per cent start to pre-season as they followed up their
two victories in Scotland with a win in the Chinese capital. Despite the heat and humidity, Barça
were the dominant side in the encounter at the Beijing Fengtai Stadium and took their chances well.
Ronaldinho was doubtful for the match, but he thrilled the supporters with a trademark free-kick to
wrap up the scoring and send the supporters in the ground, along with the estimated 90 million
watching on television, away happy.
Impressive opener
From the start, the Blaugrana took control of proceedings and Iniesta had a chance, but fired
wide, after just two minutes when Thierry Henry put him through. While mindful to keep players
back, Beijing Guoan attempted to mount attacks of their own, but they were unable to break down a
confident looking Barça side in the early stages. The gaps left at the back by the hosts were
exposed in the eighth minute when the breakthrough was made as Xavi threaded a pass to Dos Santos
and the Mexican starlet steered the ball past the keeper and into the far corner of the net.
Relief for Beijing
The opening goal failed to open the floodgates, however, and saw the home team become more
defensive as they looked to prevent themselves from falling further behind. Barça still created
chances, but could not finish any more off before the break. In the 26th minute Zhang Yonghai put
himself under pressure when attempting to prevent Henry from gaining possession and bizarrely
looped a header over his own keeper and into the goal, but was relieved to see the linesman had
already raised the flag for offside. Henry did see two chances go begging moments before the
interval, as his first effort was saved the keeper and his second rolled just wide of the far post.
Early scare
The second half began with Barça's substitutions looking to settle down quickly, but before
that could happen Beijing Guoan almost levelled matters when Walter Martínez found Jorge, only for
his shot to clip the post after beating Oier Olazábal. Ronaldinho, Thiago Motta, Syvlinho and Oier
had been introduced at the break for Henry, Touré Yaya, Éric Abidal and Albert Jorquera
respectively. At the other end Eto'o went close after being picked out by Dos Santos.
The final act
FC Barcelona doubled their lead in the 57th minute when Ronaldinho found Eto'o down the right
side of the penalty, moments after the Cameroonian international had hammered a shot against the
post, and he rolled the ball across the face of goal for Iniesta to clip the ball into the net from
close range.
With the game basically won, the rhythm of the game slowed, but there was still time for one
more piece of magic to entertain the enthusiastic crowd. In the 77th minute Ronaldinho was fouled
25 yards from goal and the Brazilian picked himself up to take the free-kick. The ball looped over
the wall and flew past the keeper to put the Blaugrana three ahead and produce a broad smile from
the Brazilian superstar. Maxi López was given a run-out and the striker could have enjoyed a moment
of glory in the closing moments, but saw his effort parried by the keeper.
Preview
Commemorative moment
The encounter between Barça and Beijing Guoan will take place in the Beijing Fengtai Stadium which has a capacity of 30,000, and is part of the commemoration for the Olympic Games which will be held in the city next year, starting on August 8, 2008.
The first test in Asia
Jordi Clos
FC Barcelona take on Beijing Guoan on Sunday in the first of the Catalan club's three friendly appearances on their tour of the Far East. Rijkaard has seen Deco and Belletti ruled out at the last minute, while Ronaldinho and Sylvinho are doubtful.
After weeks of expectation, Barça will finally kick off their Asian tour when they take on Chinese
giants Beijing Guoan in a game that is set to be watched live on television by around 90 million
people. It will be the Blaugrana's third game in their pre-season preparations, as they have
already played Dundee United (0-1) and Hearts (1-3) in Scotland and the first of the games on a
trip that will also see them play in Japan and Hong Kong.
Absentees and injuries
For this encounter, it is likely that Rijkaard will play two completely different teams in
either half, but neither Deco, who has jetted off to Brazil after his wife gave birth to their
fourth child, not Juliano Belletti, who has torn a muscle, will be available. Also, Ronaldinho and
Sylvinho may not appear after the duo picked up knocks in training on Saturday. Carles Puyol, Eidur
Gudjohnsen and Edmílson were not included in the squad as they continue to recuperate in Barcelona,
while the stars of the Copa América, Leo Messi, Gaby Milito and Rafa Márquez are yet to return from
holiday and Bojan Krkic has been called into the Spain Under-17 squad.
Maintaining confidence
The 22 available players will atttempt to maintain the confident start that the team has made
and to overcome jet lag. The coaching staff are continuing to monitor the squad for signs of
fatigue. Ronaldinho's injury means that Rijkaard may have to re-think his attacking options and
decide who will play along with Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto'o up front.
Chinese powerhouse
Beijing Guoan boast the most supporters of any Chinese side. They finished third in the
league last season, which was their best ever finish in the Chinese Superleague, since its creation
three years ago. The coach is Korean Lee Jang Soo and he has four foreign players to choose from
with Brazilians Aderaldor and Alysson, Honduran Walter Martínez and Serbian Miodrag Pantelic in his
squad.
Next match
Competition: Preseason
Home team:
Hibernian FC
Visiting team:
FC Barcelona
Date: 24-07-08 Time: 20:45
Stadium: Murrayfield