Barcelona-Manchester City | Barça and City sign the tables in a show for a great cause

There are no friendlies between the big teams. Barça y Manchester City they lined up elevens with some important casualties –Lewandowski, Haaland, Ter Stegen, Ederson, Pedri and De Bruyne were substitutes–, but both teams jumped into the green wanting to win the game. On the culé side, the four ‘sacred cows’ returned to eleven, Koundé was compensated for the problems with his registration and Frenkie de Jong and Aubameyang, whose futures are up in the air, were also in the game. City gave minutes to young promises such as Sergio Gómez, Rico Lewis or Cole Palmer, but also presented a competitive cast with Bernardo Silva, Mahrez, Julián Álvarez, Phil Foden and company. The Portuguese, wanted by the Blaugrana club, was applauded when he was announced over the loudspeaker.

The meeting started with a hectic pace, inappropriate for a charity duel between two teams at the start of the competition. ‘Auba’, with a header, Kessie, with a shot that hit the post, and Raphinha, with a dry shot, were about to put Barça ahead at the first opportunity. City, led by a daring Palmer, attacked more timidly but struck first. Álvarez took advantage of a serious error by Iñaki Peña, who slipped from his hands with a timid centered ball from the left of the attack, in the 20th minute. The man from Alicante, at least, had the opportunity to redeem himself shortly after, with a good intervention to prevent Bernardo Silva’s goal. City had another great chance to score, but Palmer’s attempt after Koundé’s loss at the edge of the area found no net.

yes he did, for meet his usual appointment with the goal, a powerful shot from Aubameyang. The Gabonese’s goals fall out of his pockets regardless of the rival and the circumstances. If his departure to Chelsea ends up being signed, Xavi will miss him. He equalized the clash with a bullseye that showed his incredible voracity in the decisive meters as much as Stefan Ortega could have covered the short post better.

Two spectacular interventions by Iñaki Peña to frustrate Julián Álvarez they started a resumption in which Manchester City took a step forward. Jordi Alba congratulated the young goalkeeper, who passed the exam with a good grade – failing on the sidelines. Barça lost control and struggled to gain control of the ball, but they were not subdued by their rival either. Both teams made numerous changes and, as is often the case in these types of engagements, the intensity dropped considerably as the minutes ticked by. At game time, however, Peña again made a magnificent save.

Haaland and Bernardo Silva cheered

When the Blaugrana team was playing worse, Gavi recovered the ball in a dangerous area after a bad service from De Bruyne. Memphis couldn’t get past Ortega, but Frenkie picked up the rebound to score. The joy was short-lived, as Cancelo made a killer pass to Palmer in a great collective action with which City leveled the match. Right after, a Haaland entered, which the Camp Nou received with a deafening ovation. The big stars are always welcome in the culé fiefdom. The Norwegian could not meet again on the pitch with another of the best ‘killers’ in Europe, Robert Lewandowski. Despite the fact that the fans asked Xavi several times, the Pole did not wear shorts. Neither did Ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo, Pedri and Dembélé

The football show played on a very hot night in Barcelona was about to end with a Barcelona victory thanks to the goal of another striker whose continuity is not assured, Memphis Depay. The Dutchman scored with pleasure after a good assist from Sergi Roberto, who was able to celebrate a very special day for him with a good performance, as his mother died in 2019 of ALS. At the time of addition, Haaland He provoked a penalty and Mahrez, from eleven meters, did not forgive. The result, however, was the least important. Barça and City tied. He won life.