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Thursday, August 15, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS

F.C. Barcelona cruises to a 4-0 victory against S.S.C Napoli

It took 47 minutes for the 
floodgates to open Saturday 
evening.
Over the course of 15 minutes 
early in the second half, F.C. 
Barcelona 
rattled 
off 
four 
straight goals to power its way to 
a 4-0 victory over S.S.C. Napoli.
The 
two 
European 
clubs 
squared off in front of a heavily 
pro-Barcelona crowd of 60,043. 
It 
was 
small 
by 
Michigan 
Stadium standards, especially in 
light of its soccer history.
In 2014, The Big House set 
the record for the biggest crowd 
ever at an international soccer 
match in the United States, 
attracting 109,318 fans when 
Manchester United took on Real 
Madrid. Saturday was the fourth 
international soccer game that 
has been played at Michigan 
Stadium since 2014, drawing the 
lowest attendance of the four. 
“In the first half we were 

very dominant,” said Barcelona 
coach Ernesto Valverde through 
a translator. “We were unable 
to score, but the game was 
ours from our point of view. 
Overall, we had a good game. 
In the second half we were also 
dominant, but the game opened 
up a little more and we were able 
to pressure and score.”
Barcelona is known for is 
possessive style of play, and 
it was on full display against 
Napoli. The Spanish side held 
possession for 58 percent of 
the match, completing over 91 
percent of its pass attempts. 
When it didn’t have possession, 
Barcelona’s defensive pressure 
often prevented Napoli from 
working into its attacking third.
Barcelona 
forward 
Luis 
Suarez opened up scoring in 
the 48th minute off a rebound 
after Napoli goalkeeper Alex 
Meret saved Barcelona forward 
Antoine Griezmann’s one-on-
one 
opportunity. 
He 
added 
another goal 10 minutes later 

which put his side up 3-0.
Newly signed forward Antoine 
Griezmann also notched his first 
goal for Barcelona in the 56th 
minute after making his club 
debut in late July. He finished 
on a cross from defender Jordi 
Alba inside the six-yard box for 
an easy tap-in score.
Forward Ousmane Dembélé 
added the fourth and final goal 
in the 63rd minute. Midfielder 
Frenkie De Jong, Barcelona’s 
other high-profile signing this 
summer, found Dembélé with 
space on the right wing. He cut 
inside towards the top of the 
18-yard box and finished past an 
outstretched Meret.
What started off looking like 
a stalemate through 47 minutes 
quickly 
became 
a 
decisive 
victory for Barcelona.
“I think we played well in the 
first half,” De Jong said. “We 
didn’t score as many goals, but 
most of the time in the first half 
you build it up and in the second 
half you finish it.”

JORGE CAZARES
Summer Managing Sports Editor

New talent put on display in final tune-up match for F.C Barcelona

Two out of four potential 
trophies made their way home to 
Catalonia last season. That did 
not stop a wave of disappointment 
and criticism from engulfing FC 
Barcelona this summer.
The reality is that winning 
only two out of four trophies last 
season is a letdown for a club 
that has won 74 domestic and 
20 international trophies in its 
storied history. Despite winning 
La Liga and the Supercopa de 
España, the team still entered 
the offseason with a bitter taste 
in its mouth.
Barcelona 
blew 
a 
3-0 
aggregate lead to Liverpool in 
the Champions League semifinal 
— allowing four goals in the 
second leg at Anfield— and lost 
2-1 to Valencia in the Copa Del 
Rey final. Both trophies were 
seemingly in their grasp but 
slipped away.
This summer, the Spanish side 
made two big splashes on the 
transfer market, acquiring a pair 
of superstars in French forward 
Antione Griezmann and Dutch 
midfielder Frenkie De Jong. 

Now, more than ever, Barcelona 
fans expect results.
“It’s the last game of the 
pre-league and we’re going to 
have to show what we’re doing 
this year and hopefully show 
how things will end up in the 
league,” Valverde 
said 
through 
a 
translator.
“We’re 
not 
going to deceive 
ourselves; 
the 
manager 
of 
Barcelona 
is 
always 
the 
one 
who 
is 
asked 
these 
questions 
and people always 
have 
to 
think 
about when we 
lose more than when we win. So, 
we have to be ready to answer 
those questions. And I’m always 
the person who needs to be open 
to speaking about our defeats. 
We are in the situation where 
we have to win as many games 
as possible, and if there are 
criticisms now for a certain game 
or something that happened in 
the past, those are going to be 
criticisms, but my job is to make 
sure that we’re winning going 

forward.”
In 
Saturday’s 
match, 
the 
two new additions started and 
received ample playing time. 
Griezmann netted his first goal 
for Barcelona in the second 
half after missing a quality 
opportunity 
to 
score from inside 
the six-yard box in 
the early minutes 
of the game. De 
Jong 
dominated 
the 
midfield 
— 
facilitating play in 
the middle of the 
pitch and rarely 
making a mistake.
The 
club 
fared well, even 
without forward 
Lionel Messi, winning easily 
against last season’s Serie A 
runner-up. And both De Jong and 
Griezmann figure to be featured 
regularly in the starting 11.
Though Saturday’s exhibition 
match was exactly that — an 
exhibition — it marked the 
last tune up for the Spanish 
champions and the final chance 
for the newcomers to integrate 
into the lineup before league 
play begins.

JORGE CAZARES
Summer Managing Sports Editor

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Forward Antoine Griezmann scored his first goal for F.C. Barcelona for a 3-0 lead.

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Forwards Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez scored a combine three goals in win.

It’s the last 
game of the 
pre-leauge.

