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Match

Marcador del partit

Date: Thursday, 07 Aug
Competition: ???label.competicio25???
Stadium: Giants, New York

Resultat:

New York Red Bulls: 2
FC Barcelona: 6

Match report

Match Report
Pre-Match

Match Report

More info

The goals

0-1 Xavi (17th min.)
0-2 Eto’o (18th min.)
0-3 Márquez (23rd min.)
1-3 Stammler (30th min.)
1-4 Eto’o (43rd min.)
2-4 Rojas (60th min.)
2-5 Jeffren (80th min.)
2-6 Pedro (84th min.)

Another high score before the preliminary (2-6)

Jordi Clos

Barça has won its fifth and final victory before the first official game of the season. Xavi, Eto’o (2), Marquez, Jeffren and Pedro scored the last goals of the North American Tour against the New York Red Bulls.

The team said goodbye to the United States with another high score against the New York Red Bulls, in the last preparatory game before the preliminary. The intensity of the Barça players in the first half made it difficult for the North American team to play. The 1-4 score line said it all. Or almost, as, apart from goals by Xavi, Eto’o (2) and Márquez, Guardiola’s men could have scored more. The second half was better balanced and in which the home team scored a goal that was then followed by two more from the Barcelona players.

Spectacular start

The long, dry grass of the Giants’ Stadium did not prevent Barça from playing fast, attractive football. They got off to a bright start and before the 23rd minute they already had the game tied up with three goals. The first was the work of Xavi, with his head: the no. 6 sent home a lethal cross from Alves on the right (17th min.). In the next move, the same Xavi sent a masterly pass through to Eto’o, who was unforgiving with the keeper Conway.

Maximum intensity

The game was focused on the Red Bulls area. The three strikers, Hleb, Eto’o and Henry were constantly on the move, and ran rings round the defence. But it was Márquez and not them who got the third goal. The Mexican headed a centre from Iniesta (23rd min.). Just after this they almost scored the fourth, but Henry’s shot hit the post.

Double for Eto’o

The New York Red Bulls got their breath back after half an hour, when Stammler made the most of a ball that got away from Valdés. This was an oasis in a first half dominated by Barça. Just before the break, Alves hit another shot against the woodwork and Eto’o finished off with the 1-4 after a spectacular one-two with Hleb. The score line could be considered short after what we had seen on the pitch.

The Red Bulls break the rhythm

Even though the rhythm of the game dropped considerably in the second half, Barça were still entering the penalti area with ease. Bojan, Henry and Pedrito tried at first, but it was the Red Bulls, through Rojas, who cut back the difference after an hour in play.

Two from the youth squad finish off

The result 2-4 did not come close to summing up what we had seen up until then and Jeffren (80th min.) and Pedro (84th min) stretched Barcelona’s lead with two shots from inside the area. This 2-6 is yet another show of the offensive potential of the team, a guarantee to help face Wisla Krkow in the preliminary of the Champions.

Preview

Commitment to solidarity

In this game B arça will wear a special edition of their shirt with the logo of the Malaria No More organisation on the left sleeve. This is one of the campaign points of “kick it to malaria” set up by FC Barcelona, The FCB Foundation, Malaria No More and A.Y.S.O. (American Youth Soccer Organisation)

The last test

Jordi Clos

Barça their North American tour with a friendly against the New York Red Bulls (1.00AM Barça T.V., TV3 and TVE). The team has won the last four games in a row, whilst their rival, in the last stages of their league, hasn’t won in the last six games.

Barça’s preparatory games come to an end in the early hours of the morning in the United States, where the team take on the New York Red Bulls in the Giants’ stadium. Having overcome well their games against Hibernian, Dundee United, Fiorentina and Chivas, have a chance to finish off an impeccable pre-season just before their first big task of the season: the Champions’ League preliminary, with the Gamper trophy in between.

A very positive outcome

The team arrives in New York counting all their preparatory friendlies as victories and having given an excellent image. The figures speak for themselves: nineteen goals for (4.75 per game) and four against. This direct efficiency is one of the most positive aspects of the pre-season and, as was shown in Chicago, this hasn’t decreased in the absence of Leo Messi.

In New York again

Neither Manhattan nor Central Park- where the team trained on Monday-nor the Giants’ Stadium are strangers to Barça. The team already visited the city of skyscrapers in the summer of 2006. On that tour there was also a duel with the New York Red Bulls, which ended with a 1-4 scoreline. Ronaldinho (2), Messi and Saviola scored for Barcelona, while the Frenchman Djorkaeff scored the home team’s goal.

A very different Red Bulls

Anyway, the Red Bulls have made important changes since then. To begin with, on the bench, where Bruce Arena gave way to the Colombian Juan Carlos Osorio. On the pitch too. If the star of the New York outfit was Youri Djorkaeff, now it is another illustrious European footballer: Juan Pablo Ángel. The 32-year-old striker played six seasons in the Premier League with Aston Villa. Since then he has maintained contact with Thierry Henry.

A team on a low

The New York Red Bulls find themselves in the final tram of their season and at this moment in time the results haven’t been up to much, as they are in seventh and last position in the Eastern Classification. Their last game was on Sunday the 27th of July against the San Jose Earthquakes. The final one-all draw meant the sixth game in a row without the Red Bulls having won a game.