Barcelona lose to Liga MX champions in $5.5m Dallas friendly - just 30 hours after Almeria win
Barcelona suffered a 3-2 friendly defeat to Liga MX champions Club America just 30 hours after playing their final La Liga fixture of 2023, with manager Xavi admitting the club needed the money earned from playing the game.
The Catalan giants managed to squeeze past Almeria 3-2 on Wednesday thanks to a brace from Sergi Roberto after Raphinha's opener, but there was little respite for Xavi's players as they quickly jetted over to Dallas in the United States to face Mexican opposition at the Cotton Bowl Stadium.
While plenty of La Masia products were in action during the friendly, there were starts for senior figures Joao Felix, Frenkie de Jong and Andreas Christensen.
Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in the sixth minute before Julian Quinones scored the first of his two goals. 17-year-old Marc Guiu put Barca back in front, but Quinones got his second shortly after half-time and, despite the likes of Ferran Torres, Oriol Romeu, Joao Cancelo and Robert Lewandowski all appearing from the bench, it was Club America who would snatch the winner.
Henry Martin headed in from a corner to settle the contest in the 82nd minute.
Barca reportedly received a fee of $5.5m to play in Dallas, with manager Xavi admitting the club's financial state played a part in the fixture going ahead at a time when his players could have used more rest.
He said post-match: «We saw a great game. Both America and Barcelona have offered spectacle, chances, goals. For our part, opportunities for very young people. The older ones played a game yesterday and we were tired.
»These matches add up. The economic situation is what it is and we have to adapt. In the US they have a lot of esteem for us."
Barca have work to do if they are to reclaim their La Liga title this
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