Barcelona and AC Milan will both end their summer tours of the United States when they meet in Baltimore Tuesday for a friendly match before their regular season kicks off.
AC Milan beat Barcelona in their last friendly, though Barcelona is rolling with wins over Manchester City and Real Madrid in their other two friendles in the lead-up to the match in Baltimore.
The two clubs have met on 17 previous occasions, and Barcelona has eight wins in those matchups. The last matchup in a competitive setting was in the 2013-14 Champions League group stage.
Paulo Fonseca was hired as AC Milan’s coach on Thursday and charged with forming a more competitive challenge to city rival and Serie A champion Inter Milan.
Fonseca, who signed a three-year contract, replaces Stefano Pioli, who left the club at the end of the recent season after a nearly five-year stint that included the 2022 Serie A title.
Milan finished second in Serie A last season but was a distant 19 points behind Inter. Milan was routed by Inter 5-1 in the derby in September and lost the second meeting 2-1 in April.
Under Pioli, Milan ended a seven-year absence from the Champions League in 2021 and reached the semifinals last year, losing to Inter.
This past season, Pioli’s team failed to advance from a tough group that included Borussia Dortmund, which ended as runner-up, and Paris Saint-Germain. Milan then switched to the second-tier Europa League and was eliminated by Roma in the quarterfinals.
