Barca fend off Madrid in fiesty Dallas Clasico
Ousmane Dembéle, youngster Fermin Lopez and Ferran Torres scored as Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3-0 in El Clásico at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday.
Dembéle, 26 — who ESPN has reported is close to a move to Paris Saint-Germain — put Barca ahead in the 15th minute, collecting Pedri‘s pass and shooting past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
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Madrid hit the woodwork five times, three through Vinicius Junior, as they pushed for an equaliser before substitute López, 20, scored a stunner from distance and Torres added a third.
The two Spanish giants end their U.S. tours this week, with Barcelona playing AC Milan in Las Vegas on Tuesday, and Madrid facing Juventus in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday.
Both Barca coach Xavi Hernandez and Madrid counterpart Carlo Ancelotti picked strong teams, with summer signings Ilkay Gündogan and Oriol Romeu starting for Barca, and new arrival Jude Bellingham in the Madrid XI.
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“It was a good game that we played, with and without the ball, we pressed them, we had chances, a lot of mobility,” Ancelotti said. “The bad thing is the result. At the end we were too attacking, with not enough balance. The result hurts, but I’ll focus on the good things we did. Overall the team played well, we had a lot of opportunities.
“It’s strange to hit the woodwork five times in a match, but it can happen.”
Romeu was close to putting Barca ahead in the fourth minute, firing a first-time volley against the crossbar. Dembélé then opened the scoring after a clever training ground routine saw Gündogan find Pedri, who released the France international inside the box.
Five minutes later, Madrid were awarded a penalty after Ronald Araujo’s handball, but Vinicius was denied by the crossbar, before hitting the bar again with a shot which came close to crossing the line.
“We’re trying [penalties] out,” Ancelotti said after the match. “Today [Luka] Modric wasn’t [on the field], he usually takes penalties. It can be Vinicius, Rodrygo. We’re testing.”
A rough challenge from Frenkie de Jong on Eder Militao saw the Netherlands international booked before half-time, while Andreas Christensen, Gündogan and Ferland Mendy all went off with discomfort before the break.
Both teams made a series of changes in the second half, with Ancelotti introducing veterans Toni Kroos and Luka Modric after an hour. Madrid hit the woodwork again when Aurelien Tchouameni’s long-range shot rebounded off the bar and onto Ter Stegen.
López made sure of the win not long after being introduced as a substitute, picking up the ball and beating Courtois from outside the box in the 85th minute before some nifty work in the box saw Torres get on the scoresheet.
This is the third time that Madrid and Barcelona have played an exhibition Clasico in the U.S., with the Catalans winning all three.
