The colours of the shirt on the green of the pitch are unmistakable. It is a Clásico. The presence of everything else that makes a Clásico a Clásico, however, is debatable. Played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey under relentless rain, which brought with it a thunderstorm that forced the action to be suspended for just over an hour, the most famous club football match in the world was an exhibition marked more by the absence of the big names in each squad, of varying intensity, with many changes and little spark: a pre-season friendly. Barça won it by the narrowest of margins with a double from the 22-year-old youth player Pau Victor, despite Nico Paz’s discount for the whites.
Saturday’s match started on time despite the threat of dangerous lightning from a strong storm that hit the New York area in the afternoon – the heart of Manhattan is just 13 kilometres from the stadium – and which even left the match in the air as a first-leg event. The fears of the 82,500 fans who packed the stadium, which will host the World Cup final in two years, did not come true, but a scare came 11 minutes into the game, when Barcelona had dominated and forced a save from Courtois after a corner kick. The match was stopped due to the risk posed by lightning and it was announced that it had been suspended until further notice. The players went into the locker room, the fans out of the stands and sheltered inside the stadium.
Just over an hour later, both teams took to the field once more. Fans took their places, and while they may have paid anywhere from $240 to, according to some reports, $30,000 in hopes of seeing the big names from both teams — such as Madrid’s star signing Kyllian Mbappé, or Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde, Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Pedri or Ronald Araújo — none of their names were in the starting eleven for either team. Between longer holidays for players who made it to the final stages of the Euro Cup or Copa América, some who are competing in Paris 2024 and the injured Carlo Ancelotti and Hansi Flick, on the bench for their first Clásico, they had a mix of youngsters and some first-team players at their disposal, most of them newly incorporated into training.
Fans leave stadium due to rain and thunderstorm warnings. Angel Colmenares (EFE)
After the restart, the pace of play took a while to pick up. In the 23rd minute, Arda Güler, who started on the right flank but ventured into the centre of the pitch throughout the match, scored a goal that was quickly ruled out for offside, but which sparked the crowd for the first time. Then a nutmeg by Endrick, who was playing his second game for the Merengues, on Íñigo Martínez and a shot by the Brazilian teenager that went just wide and showed that he needs very little space to get a clean shot, sparked Madrid for a moment.
However, the first blow was dealt by the Blaugranas. With 41 minutes on the clock, a sharp cross from right-back Alex Valle, taking advantage of the fact that he was playing with his back turned, found Lewandowski, who had won the position from Militao. The Pole, in the air, made a horizontal pass, leaving the ball for Pau Victor, who had the simple task of finishing with his head and putting it into an empty net.
Half-time arrived, which lasted only five minutes to slightly compensate for the previous delay, and the changes began. Three substitutions for Barça before in the 52nd minute Pau Victor again found himself unmarked at the right time and place. Once again, Alex Valle received the ball on the right flank and this time sent in a low cross with the outside of his left foot, for Victor to stretch under the posts and send the ball home without any difficulty.
Madrid’s changes began shortly after. In the 56th minute Vinicius, the only Madrid superstar present apart from veteran Luka Modric, came on for Brahim Diaz, who had gone unnoticed. The Brazilian immediately injected another rhythm into his team and provided some entertainment for the fans by repeatedly taking on the Barça full-back.
In total, Barcelona made eleven changes and Madrid six. When Endrick came on for Nico Paz, with 68 minutes played, the Turkish player Güler moved into the centre forward role. But it was Paz who reduced the deficit with a powerful header from the far post, from a corner kick in which the Barça defence was completely exposed.
For the final play of the game, a cross into Modric’s area from a free kick, Courtois went up to create some drama, but there was no last-minute goal. Hansi Flick’s Barça thus won their first Clásico, but the match left few clues as to what awaits either team in the season that is about to begin.
In the United States, however, the Catalans are kings. It was the fourth friendly that Real Madrid and Barcelona have played on American soil since 2017 and the third consecutive year that they have faced each other in the summer in the North American country. The Catalans have emerged victorious in all of them. Now, both teams have one warm-up match left before returning home: Madrid will play Chelsea on Tuesday in Charlotte and Barcelona will do the same against Milan in Baltimore.
You can follow EL PAÍS Sports on Facebook y Xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
