Neymar dazzles as Barca down Juventus in friendly
Neymar gave Barcelona fans a dazzling reminder of what they could be about to lose on Saturday, scoring twice as the Spanish giants defeated Juventus 2-1 in a preseason friendly.
The Brazilian broke clear after only four minutes but saw a tame shot from near the edge of the area drift away from the goal.
Barcelona, with Lionel Messi starting, looked by far the more threatening of the two teams with Aleix Vidal and Messi both drawing early blocks from the Juventus defence. At the other end Mario Mandzukic might have given Juve the lead on 14 minutes but his header from a Stefano Sturaro cross went wide.
The Italians were made to rue Mandzukic’s profligacy a minute later when Neymar fired the Catalans into the lead, playing a clever one-two with Paco Alcacer and drilling his finish past Gianluigi Buffon.
Nine minutes later and Neymar grabbed his second, picking his way through a static Juventus defence before burying a low shot beyond Buffon once more.
Neymar might have had a hattrick three minutes from halftime, when Messi floated a delightful pass in behind the Juve defence for the Brazilian.
Buffon on this occasion was equal to the challenge however and blocked safely.
Chelsea playmaker Pedro will leave the club’s preseason tour and return to England after suffering a concussion during their 3-0 win over Premier League rivals Arsenal in China on Saturday. The Spain international needed medical attention after colliding with Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina in the first half and was replaced by midfielder Jeremie Boga. The 29-year-old was taken to a hospital in Beijing.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has confirmed Danilo has left the team’s training camp in Los Angeles ahead of his proposed move to Manchester City.
The Brazil defender is poised to become City’s fifth signing of the transfer window, following Bernardo Silva, Ederson, Douglas Luiz and Kyle Walker.