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Match
Marcador del partit
- Date: Monday, 04 Aug
- Competition: ???label.competicio25???
- Stadium: Jalisco, Guadalajara
Resultat:
- Chivas: 2
- FC Barcelona: 5
Match report
Match Report
Goals
0-1 Xavi (min 25)
0-2 Hleb (min 45)
0-3 Eto’o (min 48)
1-3 Padilla (min 58)
1-4 Eto’o (min 72)
2-4 Hernández (min 88)
2-5 Cáceres (min 89)
Goalfest in the USA (2-5)
Jordi Clos
Barça won their first friendly in the USA against Mexican outfit Chivas, and did in style. Xavi, Hleb, Eto’o, twice, and Cáceres provided five goals to delight the Chicago crowd.
Messi may not have been there, but Barça showed Chivas of Guadalajara that then can still win
convincingly without their Argentinian hero. It was never going to be an easy task, the Mexican
side has some class players, have been together longer and were well motivated for the game. But
Barça were clear about their ideas both in attack and defence, and avoided any nasty surprises with
a solid first half performance, with two goals from Xavi and Hleb. The second half was a more open
affair, but with several interruptions, and towards the end of the game the goals really started
flowing, with the game ending 5-2 to the Catalans.
Gaining ground
After Chivas got off to an impetuously strong start, in which they made it clear that they
were in no way overawed by facing the Liga giants, Guardiola’s side started imposing their
superior skills, and Chivas’ early confidence took a knock. Barça once again demonstrated
that the good results of their work on getting the ball out of defence, and played a fast passing
game with some lethal piercing runs that caused the Mexican side all kinds of headaches. Pedro
enjoyed the first opportunity, in the 11th minute, with a fine effort from the edge of the area
that struck the bar and rebounded back into play off the goal line. A tight midfield formed by
Keita, Xavi and Iniesta continued to link well with the forwards, and in the 24th minute Henry saw
a shot sail over the bar by a matter of inches.
Goals from Xavi and Hleb
Barça seemed to be enjoying the medium distance shots, and that was how the first goal came
about. A great play by Iniesta down the left followed by a Xavi strike put the Europeans ahead
after 25 minutes. Barça were well in command by now, and Iniesta and Hleb both had chances before
combining to produce the second goal. Shortly before the break, the Spaniard laid on a delightful
assist to the Belarusian, who rounded the keeper and stoked the ball home unchallenged.
Eto’o on fire
The Barça boss made five half-time changes, and one of the new incorporations, Samuel
Eto’o, only needed three minutes to make it three, the goal coming off an excellent move down
the right by young Jeffren. But this time, Chivas did conjure up a response, first through a Pineda
header off a free kick, and then Padilla took advantage of a rare confusion in the Barça defence to
beat Pinto in the 58th minute.
More goals to end
As the legs tired and the structure of the game was affected by the introduction of further
changes, the final minutes brought about a rush of goals. Barça put the game well out of Mexican
reach in the 72nd minute when an opportunistic Eto’o grabbed his second of the night, but
then Hernández pulled one back for Chivas at the other end. The game had barely restarted before
Martin Cáceres made it 5-2 off a corner, with just seconds left on the clock. Yet another highly
convincing performance from Barça, then, as the preseason continues to raise optimism for what the
season under Guardiola has in store for the fans.
Preview
Previous meeting
FC Barcelona and Chivas met during the Blaugrana's previous tour of the United States. The game in Los Angeles ended 1-1 with Eidur Gudjohnsen putting Barça ahead in the 74th minute before Diego Martínez levelled seven minutes from the end.
First test in the United States
Jordi Clos
FC Barcelona take on Mexican giants Chivas in the middle of Sunday night (1am on Monday morning, live on Barça TV) in the Catalan club's first game of their tour of the United States and they will be hoping to keep their winning run going.
After playing three friendlies in Europe, Barça now participate in two more matches across the
Pond. Pep Guardiola's team began in Scotland with a
6-0
win against Hibernian before going just one less in the
5-1
victory over Dundee United two days later. Last Wednesday, Fiorentina were beaten
3-1
in Italy and now the Blaugrana's confidence and fitness is high.
Double training
Despite being on tour, the squad has not lost any rhythm thanks in the main to the physical
nature of Pep Guardiola's pre-season regime this year. With double training session almost every
day, the players fitness levels are rising rapidly. There are exercise and physical sessions in the
morning and then tactical practices in the afternoon.
Without Messi
The game against Chivas is important because
there are only ten games left before the first leg of the Champions League qualifiers. Like in
Florence, Barça will continue to see their team truly take shape under the new coach and will want
to build on the 14 goals scored and just two conceded. Lionel Messi is not available for this
encounter after being told by FIFA that he must travel to China to begin to prepare for the Olympic
Games with Argentina later this month. Víctor Sánchez or Víctor Vázquez will be able to play either
after incurring ankle injuries in training.
Season has begun
Chivas from Guadalajara are already playing their official season and have played two matches
in the Torneo Clausura as well as being in contention for the Copa Sudamericana. Despite the game
being a friendly, the coach of the Mexican outfit, Efraín Torres, said that the encounter with
Barça has generated a lot of excitement against what he described as "one of the best teams in the
world". Chivas can expect to have the majority of the support in Soldier Field.
Match Links
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Squad list
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FCB coach: pre-match press conference
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FCB coach: Post-match comments
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FCB players: Post-match comments