Barcelona completed their preparations for the brand new season with a 2-1 win in opposition to Egyptian giants Al Ahly at Camp Nou within the 2026 version of the annual Joan Gamper Trophy, as first half objectives from Hamza Abdelkarim and Raphinha have been sufficient to safe a win within the preseason finale.
Barça performed a strong first half, transferring the ball properly from again to entrance however struggling to create within the ultimate third due to a few unhealthy touches and misplaced passes by Lamine Yamal, who appeared very a lot nonetheless in early preseason kind.
The midfield trio of Marc Bernal, Xavi Espart and Fermín López appeared glorious and Bernal was particularly spectacular as a single pivot. Hansi Flick performed a 4-3-3 as soon as once more, as he continues to arrange his midfield for brand spanking new signing Rodri.
Hamza Abdelkarim began up entrance and was spectacular as soon as once more along with his actions within the field and link-up play within the ultimate third, and he scored in opposition to his former membership due to a fantastic cross from Raphinha at first of the transfer and an help from Alejandro Balde.
Raphinha had a gradual begin however finally grew into the sport, and he received and scored a penalty simply earlier than halftime to offer Barça a deserved 2-0 lead on the break.
Flick made loads of adjustments to start out the second half and a staff stuffed with kids and reserves struggled to seek out their rhythm early, and Zizo scored for the guests on the counter to halve the deficit and make issues extra fascinating simply 5 minutes into second half.
Barça remained dominant and Karim Adeyemi was very direct and aggressive in his substitute minutes, however the Catalans struggled to create massive alternatives to discover a third aim. Flick continued to usher in contemporary our bodies off the bench, together with Gavi and Pedri who made their first appearances of preseason.
Anthony Gordon completed the sport as a false 9, and he received a late penalty to revive Barça’s two-goal lead however his spot kick was saved by the keeper.
The ultimate whistle got here to finish a strong preseason for the Catalans, who didn’t have lots of their starters for many of it however had nice contributions from thrilling La Masia prospects and a younger striker in Hamza Abdelkarim who’s making a severe case for actual minutes within the new season.
The Gamper win wasn’t precisely wonderful to look at, however many massive names are nonetheless discovering their rhythm and nobody needs to get injured so near the league opener in opposition to Elche on the weekend.
