Thursday, March 28

Barcelona vs. A-Leagues All Stars: Highlights as Barca survive scare in Australia to win five-goal thriller


Barcelona have officially ended their 2021-22 season with a 3-2 friendly win over the A-Leagues All Stars in Sydney on Wednesday.

The Spanish giants made their first ever trip to Australia just hours after their La Liga campaign concluded on Sunday and were rewarded with a 70,000-strong crowd.

After a slow start, Ousmane Dembele opened the scoring in the 34th minute for Barca but the All Stars bagged a quick brace after half-time to turn the game on its head.

Xavi turned to his substitutes to restore order with youngster Ansu Fati ultimately netting the winner after Adama Traore had equalized just minutes before.

It was far from a vintage Barcelona performance but a memorable game nonetheless for fans in Australia who got a long-awaited glimpse of the famous club in the flesh.

Barcelona vs. A-Leagues All Stars final score and goalscorers

Team first half second half final score
Barcelona one two 3
A-League All Stars 0 two two

Goals: Dembele (34′), Piscopo (47′), Traore (52′), Traore (72′), Fati (77′)

Barcelona vs A-Leagues All Stars live blog, goals and highlights

Full-time: Barcelona come from behind in the second-half to claim an entertaining 3-2 win. Substitute Ansu Fati the match winner after he came on to score the decisive goal.

90+3min: Barca counter as Aubameyang gets a shot away which is well saved.

88th minute: Kuol almost pulls the All Stars level but his strong strike can only find the woodwork. Barca then just manage to clear his follow-up attempt.

86th minute: Barca almost make it four with Fati again proving dangerous as his shot goes just wide.

77th minute: Goal! Barca take the lead again after Fati finishes off a great move from Aranda.

75th minute: Substitute Fati fires just wide only minutes after coming on.

72nd min: Goal! Barcelona equalize through their own Adama Traore. He unleashes a vicious shot that is saved but the ball still finds its way into the back of the net.

70th minute: Araujo gets a powerful header away but it’s straight at Redmayne who palms it away.

67th minute: All Stars teenager Kuol gets past numerous Barca players but his final shot inches just wide of goal. What a moment that would have been for the youngster.

66th minute: Aubameyang is found at the back post but his effort is smashed high and wide.

64th minute: A special moment for 16-year-old Nestory Irankunda who is subbed on for the All Stars.

62nd min: Gavi with some neat work in the box as the All Stars just managed to clear their lines for a corner. Alba and Aubameyang come on for Barcelona.

Also Read  High-end fashion clothing popular in 2022

60th minute: Barca’s Adama Traore just had a one-on-one with the All Stars Adama Traore…

58th minute: Barca have gone looking for an immediate response but have fired successive shots wide as the All Stars make three substitutions.

52nd min: Goal! The All Stars take a surprise lead after a quick break sees Piscopo find Traore free in the box with the defender finishing calmly past Tenas.

49th minute: A confirmed 70,174 fans at Accor Stadium tonight watching Barcelona’s first game in Australia.

47th minute: Goal! The All Stars are level as Piscopo turns an initially saved effort home.

46th minute: We are back underway in Sydney. Will Barcelona add to their lead or can the A-Leagues All Stars hit back? Both teams have changed keepers at the break with Tenas and Redmayne introduced.

Half time: Barcelona take a 1-0 lead into the break courtesy of a goal from Dembele. The Spaniards are edging play but the All Stars have held their own and gone close to a goal themselves.

45th minute: Dembele with some silky dribbling in the final third but his ultimate pass is far too heavy.

40th minute: Gavi staying down after copping a hit to the knee. Doesn’t appear to be anything too serious.

34th minute: Goal! Gavi lays it on a platter for Dembele, who finds the bottom right corner with precision and power to give Barca the opener.

30th minute: All Stars forced into an early save as Jason Davidson is replaced by Adama Traore, who will now be marking Barca’s Adama Traore…

26th minute: Dembele with an electric run from halfway but his resulting shot is saved easily enough by All Stars keeper Kurto.

25th minute: Dani Alves proving to be an effective attacking outlet down the right flank for Barca with his latest cross volleyed high by Traore.

22nd minute: Adama Traore lets loose with a powerful shot from the top of the box that flies wide of goal.

20th minute: Eighteen-year-old Balde catching the eye early for Barcelona. Quick and incisive on the ball. One to keep an eye on.

Also Read  Jury Orders Alex Jones to Pay $45.2 Million in Sandy Hook Case

19th minute: Araujo found at the back post by Alves with the centre-back forced to stretch and unable to get much purchase behind his shot.

17th minute: O’Shea finds some space in the box after beating his man but his shot goes just wide after a save from Ter Stegen.

13th minute: Gavi flicks on a brilliant pass to Dembele in the final third but the Frenchman is unable to get his curling effort on the target.

11th minute: A free-flowing game so far with Barca dictating terms as chants of ‘Gavi’ can be heard from fans – not bad for a 17-year-old to already have fans singing his name.

9th minute: Cummings nearly pounces up the other end for the All Stars but Ter Stegen manages to just intercept.

8th minute: Barca nearly make the most of a corner as Gavi finds the head of Araujo whose attempt lacks conviction and goes wide.

7th minute: Balde at it again down the left as he forces a fine save at the near post with a vicious strike.

3rd minute: Balde whips in a dangerous cross for Barca but the All Stars defuse it and launch a counter-attack of their own that’s let down by a poor pass in the final third.

2nd minute: Penha tries his luck from range for the All Stars but his effort is wide and doesn’t trouble Ter Stegen. Barca were looking to start the game on the front foot.

kick-off: We are underground in Sydney! Better late than never.

Pre game: As expected players are yet to return to the field. Game likely looking to start about 10 minutes late.

5 minutes to kick off: This match was supposed to begin at 8.05pm (local time) but players are only just heading back up the tunnel after their warm-ups. This game might not start on time.

15 mins to kick off: “I think we can keep them sort of quiet. We have one or two exceptional young talents that I believe can surprise Barcelona tonight,” All Stars coach Dwight Yorke has told Channel 10 pre-game. Barca have failed to score across their past two matches, while the All Stars led Juventus back in 2014 before two late goals saw them lose 3-2.

25 mins to kick off: Both teams now out on the pitch training and Barcelona are clearly the fan favourites. A crowd of around 60,000 is expected in Sydney tonight.

35 mins to kick off: Barcelona only arrived in Sydney on Tuesday morning after flying directly to Australia just hours after their La Liga season finished with a 2-0 loss to Villarreal. That means there’s less than 72 hours between these two games and a few Barca players could be excused for feeling more than a bit jet-lagged tonight.

Also Read  Trump leaves social media company during a federal investigation

45 mins to kick off: Starting lineups have been confirmed. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Frenkie de Jong both left out of Barca’s XI as a few youngsters get their chance instead. The All Stars have favored more experienced players with the side’s two teenagers left on the bench.

65 mins to kick off: Line-ups should be announced any minute but Barcelona have confirmed they’ll be wearing their traditional home strip for this clash which is being played some 17,000 kilometers away from Camp Nou. The All Stars are expected to wear a white and gold kit.

75 mins to kick off: Both sides participated in an open training session at Accor Stadium last night with thousands of fans turning up to get an early glimpse of the players. While only a friendly, this game means a lot to both fans and players.

90 mins to kick-off: Barcelona are set to play their first ever match in Australia tonight against the best players from the local top-flight competition. The A-Leagues All Stars boast two former Premier League stars in the form of captain Jack Rodwell and coach Dwight Yorke. The team have assembled for the first time since 2014 when they lost 3-2 against Juventus.

Barcelona vs A-Leagues All Stars line-ups

Barcelona starting line-up (4-3-3): Ter Stegen – Alves, Araujo, Umtiti, Balde – Gavi, Busquets, Sanz – Traore, Luuk de Jong, Dembele.

A-Leagues All Stars starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Kurto – Davidson, Mariappa, Rowles, Grant – Caceres, Rodwell – Piscopo, Penha, O’Shea – Cummings

Barcelona vs A-Leagues All Stars predicted lineups

Barcelona starting line-up (4-3-3): Ter Stegen – Alves, Araujo, Umtiti, Alba – De Jong, Busquets, Gavi – Traore, Aubameyang, Depay.

A-Leagues All Stars starting lineup (5-4-1): Kurto-Davidson, Neville, Mariappa, Rowles, Grant-Penha, Rodwell, O’Shea, Ninkovic-Cummings

How to watch Barcelona vs A-Leagues All Stars

This match will be broadcast live and free on television in Australia via 10Bold. It will also be streamed via 10Play and Paramount+.

For viewers outside of Australia, the game will be shown on Barca TV+.

The game is expected to kick-off at 8.05pm (local time).




www.sportingnews.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *