BARCELONA, 22 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
FC Barcelona lost this Friday against América from Mexico (2-3) the friendly match played at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas (Texas), in a duel that was beneficial for the club on an economic level but not so much for the team on a financial level. physical and sporting, with a setback that deepens the wound regarding the low level of play of the Blaugrana team.
After beating UD Almería 3-2 last Wednesday, at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on matchday 18 of LaLiga EA Sports, Barça headed to the United States with doubts, with a suffered victory and an “unacceptable” first half and “soulless” according to the coach, Xavi Hernández.
And, in Dallas, in this winter gig to try to help the club's coffers, the image was not good. In a lightning trip, with a team full of new faces, you can't demand too much but, the truth is that Barça let themselves come back from 2-1 against an América team that did have a complete party in Texas.
With Andreas Christensen, Frenkie De Jong and João Félix as the only three members of the first team in the starting eleven, Barça jumped onto the Cotton Bowl field well and Lamine Yamal, a youth player who exploded at the beginning of the year and who was losing prominence , vindicated himself with an early goal.
The winger started from the right wing and made a run towards the opposing goal, diagonally looking for a place towards the center, getting rid of rivals, to find the gap through which to score a high shot with a bounce that surprised Luis Malagón, the goalkeeper of the team. America.
The joy did not last too long for Barça, who would taste a first taste of what awaited them in the second half. In the 12th minute, Julián Andrés Quiñones scored the first goal in his double night, culminating a good collective play by the Mexicans on the edge of the Blaugrana area. And it was to penetrate the area and have the necessary success to equalize the score again.
In a hectic start to the match, before half an hour Barça managed to take the lead again. He did it through Marc Guiu, this young forward 'made in La Masia' who already knows how to score in an official match with the first team and who looks more than good. This time, a play culminated with precision in which right-back Héctor Fort demonstrated the 'Barça DNA' with several walls and first-touch passes before assisting Guiu, who threw himself to the ground, with everything, to score.
But there the Blaugrana gunpowder got wet, under the rain that fell in Dallas. Guiu himself did not manage to finish well a cross-shot from Marc Casadó – a regular reserve midfielder in first team training – and the duel went 2-1 at half-time thanks to a fantastic save from 'culer' goalkeeper Ander Astralaga in a one-on-one with América's Argentine striker Leonardo Suárez.
After the break, Quiñones scored his second goal of the night in the 50th minute, shortly after Ferran Torres, who came on as a refresher and served as captain, tested the Mexican goalkeeper with a too-focused shot. Quiñones, on the other hand, stole the ball from center back Pau Cubarsí and then beat Astralaga with a placed shot.
That Barça was disconnected, unmotivated or tired from the trip was noted in several actions. Among them, a very clear goal-scoring play in which Ferran Torres, who could control and shoot at will, wanted to hit it first and made a 'strike', a 'churro' that did not see the goal. Or in a shot at the Texan clouds by Oriol Romeu, another of the members of the first team who entered the second half, like Cancelo and Lewandowski.
However, it was Henry Martín in the 82nd minute who scored the winning goal for América, finishing off with his head (or rather with his hump) a lateral center from a free kick that caught the Blaugrana defense in a bad position. With almost no reaction time, Ferran Torres came close to what would have been the final tie on two occasions, but his volley shot went a little cross and, shortly after, he tried from afar but the Mexican goalkeeper prevented the scoreboard from moving further. .
“They played a great game and that allowed us to see a good spectacle of football on the pitch. Both teams had opportunities and the balance ended up leaning towards the Mexican club thanks to their efficiency in front of the goal,” said Xavi after the friendly. , with which Barça says goodbye to 2023 with defeat.