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Barcelona made an impressive start to their pre-season tour of the USA holding their own against Manchester City in Orlando, with the game ending in a 2-2 draw before the Blaugrana prevailed in the penalty shootout.
Two young talents, Pau Victor and Pablo Torre, were on the scoresheet for the Catalan giants while others like Marc Casado, Inaki Pena, and Ander Astralaga all made an impression during the contest.
Guardiola impressed
So much so that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was left impressed by what he saw from this new Barcelona side under Hansi Flick.
“I really liked them. The season is long, but I liked them. The positional play is extraordinary, the wingers play as wingers, the inside players get forward, the full-backs attack in space…,’ said Guardiola, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.
Admitting that Barcelona caused his Manchester City a lot of problems each time they ventured forward, Guardiola added:
“We had problems, of course. Every time they came forward they scored against us. It’s normal, we’re very young.”
Barcelona prevailed over Man City in penalty shootout. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
Flick happy with what he saw
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick spoke to the media after the game and admitted that he was happy with what he saw from the team against Manchester City, saying:
“We were really good against a great team. We defended together and attacked together, as a team, and that’s what we want. We fought for each other.
“Maybe in the first half we were too deep, our idea is to be a bit more forward, we need more possession, but we play against Manchester City….”
Up next for Barcelona is another huge test in the form of arch-rivals Real Madrid in a pre-season El Clasico.
Source link : https://barcauniversal.com/pep-guardiola-praises-hansi-flicks-barcelona-i-really-liked-them/
Author : Michel Durant
Publish date : 2024-07-31 07:12:24
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