Neymar scores, Barca pip Man U
City rout Real as Juve hand PSG 2nd straight loss
WASHINGTON, July 27, (AFP): Neymar, serene amid a frenzy of transfer speculation, scored the first-half goal that gave Barcelona a 1-0 victory over Manchester United on Wednesday in an International Champions Cup friendly.
The Brazilian striker, reportedly pondering a 222-million euro ($256.8 million) move to Paris Saint-Germain, showed why the French club would be willing to pay a world-record price to get him.
He delivered his third goal in two matches in the exhibition tournament as Barcelona handed the English Premiership club their first defeat of the preseason.
After a bright start Manchester United struggled to contain Barcelona’s star duo of Neymar and Lionel Messi.
Neymar broke through in the 31st, stripping the ball from Antonio Valencia in the penalty area, turning and finding the net.
The goal proved enough to give a second straight victory to new Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde.
Valverde made sweeping changes to the team that beat Juventus 2-1. Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, Samuel Umtiti, Nelson Semedo, Sergio Busquets and 19-yearold midfielder Carles Arena were included in the lineup headed by Messi and Neymar.
There were eight changes to the Manchester United team that defeated Real Madrid on penalties on Sunday, with captain Michael Carrick, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard the only players to retain their starting spots.
It was Manchester United who threatened first, when Rashford’s cross found Romelu Lukaku in the area, but the Belgian couldn’t find the net.
Barcelona inexorably took control, and United goalkeeper David de Gea was given plenty of work by Neymar, Messi and Suarez.
Messi came close in the 12th minute, his low effort sliding wide.
But from there Barcelona dominated. De Gea denied Neymar from close range in the 28th, but had no answer for the Brazilian three minutes later.
Valencia had got control of a pass from Messi, but Neymar was there to regain the ball, turning in close quarters and firing past de Gea to the delight of the Barcelona fans among the 82,000-strong crowd at FedExField – home of the NFL’s Washington Redskins.
Three minutes before the break de Gea parried Suarez’s scissor-kick to keep it 1-0 to Barcelona at halftime.
Both coaches rang the changes at halftime, with Valverde replacing 10 players – only leaving Cillessen in goal.
Anthony Martial, Andreas Pereira and Pogba all threatened, but Manchester United were unable to find an equalizer.
The match was the last of Manchester United’s US tour – which included wins over Real Madrid, Manchester City and Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles Galaxy.
Barcelona, meanwhile will take on Spanish rivals Real Madrid in a preseason “Clasico” in Miami on Saturday – apparently still uncertain just how long they will have Neymar to rely on.
Neymar
City 4, Real 1 In Los Angeles, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City has spent big to bolster their defence this summer, but showed they will be a force to reckon with at the other end this season in a 4-1 friendly win over Real Madrid on Wednesday.
A second-half blitz in front of 93,000 fans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum saw City secure their first pre-season victory in style.
Real were unable to contain Guardiola’s side once they got their noses in front early in the second half.
The £28.5 million (32 million euros, $37 million) spent by City on Nicolas Otamendi two years ago now almost seems like small change after City have splashed out around £50 million each on Kyle Walker, John Stones and Benjamin Mendy over the last 12 months.
But after Otamendi pounced from a couple of yards out to smash the ball into the net, the entire complexion of the International Champions Cup encounter changed.
Until that point, Real had been the more dangerous side in an end-to-end encounter, with Isco, in particular, causing City’s back five problems with his range of passing.
Substitute Raheem Sterling calmly tucked away a lovely through-ball from the impressive Kevin De Bruyne just moments after firing a shot inches wide.
The advantage was then extended to three after Stones scuffed a shot into the far corner from a De Bruyne corner.
City were twice denied a third by the woodwork, with Francisco Casilla producing a stunning finger-tip save to push De Bruyne’s free-kick onto the post and then Leroy Sane smashing the ball against the near post within seconds of entering the field.
But the icing on the cake arrived for Guardiola’s side in the final 10 minutes, when 17-year-old Spaniard Brahim Diaz cut inside off the right and curled a beauty into the top corner from the edge of the area.
Real grabbed a late consolation when Oscar Rodriguez produced a stunning effort from 30 yards which soared into the top corner.
Juve 3, PSG 2 In Miami, Claudio Marchisio’s second-half double was enough for Juventus to see off Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 on Wednesday and send the French champions home from the United States on the back of two consecutive defeats.
The Italian international scored the goal of the game, a fiercely struck effort in the 62nd to restore Juve’s lead after PSG’s equaliser on 53 minutes.
Although Unai Emery’s team battled hard, as the clock ticked down Moise Kean was brought down in the box allowing Marchisio to win it from the penalty spot.
It was a tough call on PSG defender Layvin Kurzawa, who appeared to become entangled with Kean, but Juventus were not complaining about a decision which capped a decent night’s work for the Italian giants.
Any of the 44,444 who came to the Hard Rock Stadium would have been acutely aware that Miami is preparing itself for the arrivals of European titans Barcelona and Real Madrid on Saturday in what’s being billed as the glittering showpiece of this summer’s International Champions Cup friendly tournament.
Yet while La Liga’s finest wait in the wings, this was a chance for two other stellar clubs to whet the appetite of the voraciously soccer mad inhabitants of South Florida.
It was PSG’s last match in the United States before leaving to meet Monaco in Morocco on Saturday, prior to returning home to fine tune preparations for the start of the domestic season.
Emery’s side have endured a difficult time Stateside, both on and off the pitch. The results - a penalty win over Roma following a 1-1 draw before being roundly beaten by Tottenham Hotspur in Orlando last Saturday - have been compounded by a very public – and so far unresolved – attempt to prise the Brazilian forward Neymar from Barcelona.
Emery, who admitted PSG are still working on transfer targets but refused to be drawn on specific names, said: “We are looking at how the players are performing rather than the results and I have been pleased.”
Nevertheless, the PSG manager’s mood wouldn’t have been lifted by a chastening first 45 minutes.
Their tormentor in chief was the excellent Argentina international midfielder Paulo Dybala, 23, who went close to opening the scoring on 28 minutes when his free-kick was tipped over by Areola just three minutes after compatriot Angel Di Maria forced Italian veteran Gianluigi Buffon into an excellent save.
Juan Cuadrado, the Colombian former Chelsea winger, was also in the mood to shine and went close soon after but it was left to Dybala and another Argentinian to open the scoring.
Gonzalo Higuain , who scored 24 goals in his first season in Turin following his record breaking 90 million euros move from Napoli last summer, sent the ball inside to Dybala who instantly returned it straight into the path of the 29 year-old – who advanced on goal before calmly beating Alphonse Areola in the 45th minute.