Barcelona defeated by Chelsea in pre-season

Barcelona suffered defeat in their first pre-season friendly as they went down 2-1 against Chelsea in Japan on Tuesday.

Goals from Tammy Abraham and Ross Barkley were enough for the Europa League holders, with a late scorching strike from Ivan Rakitic not enough to save Barca from defeat.

There were Barca debuts forAntoine Griezmann, Neto and Frenkie de Jong – the latter two came off the bench – while Riqui Puig impressed in midfield.

It was an experimental line-up from Ernesto Valverde’s side but which started established stars such as Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Jordi Alba, Samuel Umtiti and Sergi Busquets.

Next up for Barca is a clash with Japanese club Vissel Kobe, for whom their former captain Andres Iniesta plays.

La Liga - Club News