Barcelona remain unbeaten in preseason after the second stop in their tour of the United States ended with a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in a very competitive El Clásico in New Jersey on Saturday night.
Hansi Flick picked a slightly more experienced side compared to the friendly against Manchester City but it was a youngster who grabbed the headlines once again, as Pau Víctor scored both goals and led Barça to their fourth straight victory over their biggest rivals in American soil.
Barça made a strong start to the game and could have taken the lead just five minutes in thanks to a header from Pau Víctor that required a brilliant save by Thibaut Courtois, and Hansi Flick’s side began with the same hunger and intensity shown against Manchester City to press high up the pitch and move the ball quickly and with purpose.
Then came a 70-minute-long weather delay that made the pitch very heavy and slowed down Barça’s momentum, and the Blaugrana weren’t quite the same after the game resumed. Madrid had more of the ball and Barça struggled to maintain possession for extended stretches, and Los Blancos won the midfield battle for the next 20 minutes. Arda Güler even found the back of the net for Madrid, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Then Marc Casadó, Marc Bernal and Pablo Torre finally became more involved in the action, and Barça once again grew into the game and started to create more danger. Alejandro Balde and Álex Valle became bigger threats from the full-back positions, and the Catalans had a strong finish to the half.
Thanks to the weather delay the halftime break lasted just over a minute and both teams stayed on the pitch to resume play as quickly as possible, with Hansi Flick making three changes at the break and Barça looking to maintain the momentum from the end of the first period.
That’s exactly what the Blaugrana did, pressing effectively and continuing to create danger with quick passing combinations and excellent movement, with Pau Víctor forcing yet another great save by Courtois with a powerful shot from distance early on.
