FC Barcelona took on Major League Soccer side New York Red Bulls in the fourth match of their pre-season campaign in the United States of America. The match that was played at New York’s Red Bull Arena, saw the Catalunyan side registering a solid 2-0 win. 

Although it is a positive result for Barca, the result could have been much different if their forwards could convert the 16 attempted shots. FC Barcelona was anything but critical in this match. They created a lot of chances but almost all of them went in vain due to poor shots. Their new top signing Robert Lewandowski alone missed as many as 7 chances to score his debut goal for FC Barcelona. Ansu Fati missed 2 chances as well. The two goals were scored by Ousmane Dembele and Memphis Depay respectively. 

It is true that one must not judge a team based on their pre-season matches as they find their right balance in them but still Xavi has to do something about these missed attempts - some of their top forwards are missing sitters out there! 

However, the positive things from today’s match and from the pre-season campaign overall were the performance of Ousmane Dembele and Raphinha. Those two have proven to be a vital cog in the FC Barcelona setup and they are by far the best performers of their pre-season campaign. The duo has also managed to build a great combination between themselves and this will only grow with time. The chemistry that every player of this squad has with each other is commendable and it is totally Xavi at work. 

With this match, the Catalunyans have ended their pre-season campaign on a high. They will now take on Pumas UNAM at Camp Nou in the 2022 Joan Gamper Trophy final, following which they will kickoff La Liga with the match against Rayo Vallecano right off. 

Image Credits: NewYorkRedBulls