Barcelona have finally kicked off their preseason with a two-goal defeat to Arsenal in an eight-goal thriller. Barcelona started off well, taking an early lead through Robert Lewandowski, but succumbed to a 5-3 defeat.
Lewandowski opened the scoring from a rebound, following excellent work by Ez Abde down the left, and a saved effort. Arsenal would then equalise through Bukayo Saka, who capitalised on an Andreas Christensen error, but failed to take advantage from the penalty spot not long after. The Blaugrana were in the lead again before half-time, with Raphinha’s deflected free-kick finding the back of the net. Arsenal would not lie down though, and Kai Havertz tapped in a set-piece just two minutes before the break.
After half time, Arsenal pressed home an advantage, scoring a brace through Leandro Trossard. The Blaugrana did strike the woodwork a ccouple of times, via Ousmane Dembele first, and then Alejandro Balde. Ferran Torres did cut the gap to one late on, finishing well across goal, but Fabio Vieira released a brilliant effort into the top corner with just a minute to go.
While the result was not ideal for Xavi Hernandez and company, they are unlikely to be overly concerned. The Blaugrana were able to revert to a 4-3-3 formation, and will back themselves to tighten up at the back before the season starts.
