Barcelona 2-2 (5-3 on pens) Tottenham Hotspur
A second-half collapse won’t overshadow the impressive display that Barcelona showed in the first 45 minutes of their ICC 2018 clash with Premier League powerhouse Tottenham Hotspur.
Despite missing their big-name stars such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic, Ernesto Valverde’s men produced a spectacular first half to go ahead 2-0 by halftime. However, just like in any other pre-season friendly, a slew of changes at halftime destroyed Barca’s rhythm— allowing Tottenham to stage a comeback and force a shoot-out.
In the end, though, Barca proved their brilliance from the spot to come out on top and hand the Spurs their first defeat in the tournament.
Highlights of the game
After two months without football, Barca returned to action in style and scored two goals within 30 minutes, their first since their 1-0 win over Real Sociedad in the final game of the 2017/18 La Liga campaign.
It didn’t take long for the Catalans to break the deadlock, with Munir El Haddadi firing a header home on 15 minutes off a Rafinha assist.
Sergi Roberto sparked the offence as he sent a nice cross to Rafina who, in turn, nodded across the unmarked Munir. The Spain international then converted an easy header to give Barcelona the lead.
Barcelona continued to threaten and almost hit their second, six minutes after their first, through Nelson Semedo. Nonetheless, a brilliant defence from Spurs’ Cameron Carter-Vicker stopped what could have been a costly counter-attack.
The ICC 2018 betting odds seemed to be drifting away from Barca’s favour after two players prematurely left the game. Denis Suarez limped off the field and was replaced by 20-year-old Carles Perez while Andre Gomes picked up a knock and was substituted by Ricard Puig.
Despite the back-to-back substitutions, however, Valverde’s side remained lively and aggressive, eventually scoring a deserved second goal. And it’s no other than new signing Arthur Melo who made his mark, as the former Gremio midfielder slammed the ball from 25 yards.
Rafinha picked up his second assist, setting up Arthur nicely for the stunner. The 21-year-old received the ball from the edge of the box and curled it pass Paulo Gazzaniga who was left helpless in front of the Spurs’ net.
Save for a couple of Christian Eriksen run, it was all Barca in the first half. The Catalans could have added a third as well, but Tottenham did well in limiting the damage heading to halftime.
As expected, with his team ahead, Valverde introduced a new set of players in the second half. That series of changes affected the team’s momentum greatly, and Tottenham rightfully took advantage to draw level.
Barca’s defence was suspect, allowing Tottenham to manhandle them for the most part of the second. Son Heung-min put the Spurs within one in the 73rd minute after rebounding an Eriksen attempt and firing into an open net.
Less than two minutes later, Mauricio Pochettino’s men equalised with another hard-earned strike. Barca’s Sergi Palencia produced an incredible goal-line block to save Anthony Georgiou’s close-range shot, but the Spurs wouldn’t be denied as Georges-Kevin Nkoudou quickly pounced on the ball to draw level.
Tottenham fought mightily in search of all three points, but they failed to convert despite having eight attempts from the corner.
In the penalty shoot-out, Barca went 5-of-5 and subsequently took two points after Jasper Cillessen saved Georgiou’s spot kick to give the 2017/18 La Liga champions the advantage.
Key statistics
It was a tale of two halves for Barcelona as their youngsters’ inexperience showed in the second half.
Barcelona made eight substitutions at the break, with Valverde fielding a total of nine Barca B players to start the second. It’s worth noting though that ex-Bourdeux winger and €41million summer signing Malcom made his debut and scored the team’s winning penalty kick.
On the other hand, Tottenham fought with more purpose in the second and showed their desire to level the game. Pochettino made only two substitutions at the start of the second half, opting to keep Son throughout the game.
Lucas Moura, who bagged a brace in their 4-1 drubbing of AS Roma in the first game, also stayed until the 62nd minute.
What’s next?
Barcelona face Roma next in what should be an interesting ICC affair. For those who didn’t know, Barca hijacked a deal for Malcom who was reportedly set to sign with Roma.
With that said, there’s certainly some bad blood between the two, something which should grab ICC 2018 news ahead of their meeting.
Meanwhile, Tottenham are scheduled to play AC Milan—a game that the English side is likely to win, at least according to the latest SBOBET odds.
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