ORLANDO, United States, July 31 – Manchester City drew 2-2 with Barcelona before losing a penalty shootout 4-1 in a friendly after a storm delayed the start in Orlando, USA, by 80 minutes.
Fans in the sell-out crowd of 63,237 were forced to take shelter under the stands at the Camping World Stadium before the game eventually started.
Both sides were missing key players although City’s line-up included Erling Haaland, leading Premier League scorer in 2023-24 with 27 goals, and Jack Grealish, with the latter, who failed to make England’s Euro 2024 squad, scoring for Pep Guardiola’s City.
Pau Victor put Barcelona ahead before England youth midfielder Nico O’Reilly, 19, equalised. Grealish found the top corner after Pablo Torre had restored Barcelona’s lead.
The match went to penalties, with Barcelona triumphing 4-1 after Kalvin Phillips and Jacob Wright saw their attempts from the spot saved.
City have yet to win in pre-season but Guardiola opted to focus on the positives and said he was pleased with the “aggressive” performance of Grealish.
“I know in controlling the ball he is good, but he made four or five shots,” said the City boss.
“He has to prove himself but I am really pleased with the game he played.”
City’s final game of their USA tour is against Chelsea in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday (22:30 BST). They face Manchester United in the Community Shield at Wembley on 10 August (15:00).
