Friendly match, Barcelona-Manchester City 3-3 – La Gazzetta dello Sport

It was supposed to be a party, and so it was, beyond a result of marginal importance. Barcelona and Manchester City drew 3-3, in the friendly played at the Camp Nou to raise funds against SLA. This is why the symbolic man of the evening is not among those on the pitch: it is Juan Carlos Unzué, 55, who was diagnosed with the disease in 2020. Unzué was a goalkeeper, he was Zubizarreta’s second in the first Barça led from Cruijff, then he prepared them in the Catalan club with both Rijkaard and Guardiola and was the deputy of Luis Enrique. After moving to Manchester, Pep pushed for him to coach Girona, a club belonging to the City Football Group. So Unzué was on the bench for a time alongside Guardiola and in the second half next to Xavi.

the sides

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The atmosphere at the Camp Nou is incredible, the stadium is full in every order of seats for a total of 91 thousand spectators. Lewandowski and Haaland chat for a long time during the warm-up, while the home crowd lets go to an ovation while reading the line-ups, when the speaker announces the name of Bernardo Silva, who has long been associated with the Spaniards. Accompanied by the voice of Miki Nuñez, local idol, the teams make their entry into the field. Despite the light climate, no one is keen to disfigure. Especially Xavi, a pupil of Guardiola. The rhythms are not tight but the intensity is not lacking, on the contrary. On the other hand, a framework of this magnitude deserves to be honored in the best possible way. Barcelona begins with the senators: Piqué, Jordi Alba, Busquets, Sergi Roberto are on the pitch together with De Jong and Aubameyang. The City immediately fielded Bernardo Silva, Mahrez and Foden.

the match

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After forty-five seconds there is already a tough game battle between Lewis and Jordi Alba, with the Barça winger remaining on the ground after the impact. It was the Catalans who pushed immediately: Aubameyang’s undersized header engages Ortega and at 5 ‘Kessié hits the post with a great shot from outside. Peña’s outgoing duck offers Alvarez the easiest of goals (21 ‘) but after eight minutes the former Arsenal puts the result in a draw, kicking on the fly on the developments of a free-kick, with the other goalkeeper leading in the negative. Peña’s redemption comes first in the 31st minute, with Bernardo Silva’s left footing, then in the 47th minute when he closes the mirror twice to Alvarez from a few steps away. Then comes the moment of Depay, long associated with Juventus, who in the 67th minute propitiates the doubling of Barcelona after a reckless back pass by De Bruyne; De Jong ends the action by scoring 2-1. Two minutes and Palmer equalized, pushing Cancelo’s kiss assist on goal. Haaland also enters for the final twenty minutes, Xavi instead keeps Lewandowski, Pedri and Dembélé at rest. Depay has the ball of the new overtaking, inspired by Gavi’s filter, but Ortega extends his foot and thwarts the danger. On the other hand, he can do nothing in the 79th minute: the Dutchman receives from Sergi Roberto at the height of the spot and strikes the goalkeeper. In the final apprehension for Mbete, who remains stunned on the ground for about eleven minutes after Christensen’s fortuitous head before being taken away on a stretcher. In the moments that remain, Christensen crosses Haaland’s running trajectory in the area: for the referee it is a foul and Mahrez kicks the penalty, fixing the score at 3-3. After all at the Camp Nou – it should be said – for one evening only charity wins.