New Barcelona manager Hansi Flick made a triumphant start to his tenure on Tuesday as the Spanish giants beat Manchester City on penalties after their pre-season friendly in Orlando finished 2-2 at full-time.
Toni Fernandez, who signed with Barca earlier this month after turning 16, flicked in a left-footed shot past reserve City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega to secure the German manager’s side a 4-1 win on penalties.
Barcelona kicked off their US tour against the four-time reigning Premier League champions, led by former Barcelona player and coach Pep Guardiola. A sellout crowd of 63,237 spectators endured an 80-minute delay due to a storm but were treated to an exciting match with both teams giving reserve players significant time on the pitch.
Barcelona jumped ahead 3-0 on penalty kicks thanks to a left-footed shot by Alejandro Balde. Amar Ahmed kept City in contention by beating reserve Barca goalkeeper Ander Astralaga, setting the stage for Fernandez’s heroics.
In open play, Pau Victor opened the scoring for Barcelona in the 24th minute, taking a quick through ball pass from Marc Casado and firing a right-footed shot into the goal. Nico O’Riley equalized for Manchester City in the 39th minute with a left-footed shot from a pass by Josko Gvardiol.
Pablo Torre’s goal in the second minute of first-half stoppage time gave Barcelona a 2-1 halftime lead. The 21-year-old Spanish midfielder took a centering pass from Gerard Martin, nudged the ball to his right, and blasted a right-footed shot past Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson.
Jack Grealish equalized for City in the 60th minute off an impressive fast break. Croatian international Mateo Kovacic, making his first start on City’s US tour, split two defenders and passed to Grealish, who finished with a left-footed shot from a steep angle high into the goal.
Barcelona will continue their US tour with pre-season matches against Real Madrid and AC Milan. City, who lost earlier US matches to Celtic and AC Milan, will close their US tour by facing Chelsea on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.
