Fc Barcelona are still unbeaten in the 2022 preseason but were held to a 2-2 draw by Juventus on Tuesday night at the Cotton Bowl.
The two teams struggled to play at a high level for the majority of the evening due to the extreme heat, but we still had some good moments and four goals in what turned out to be a fun night in Texas.
In the first half, Barca appeared more intense and quicker in possession. Dembélé dribbled past Old Lady’s back-line and scored an outrageous goal. Following Moise Kean’s tap-in for Juventus, Dembélé needed less than a minute to make it 2-1 with another incredible dribbling sequence and a perfect finish. Franck Kessie then missed a huge chance to put the Catalans up 3-1, and boring halftime suddenly became a lot of fun. Is the second half going to be more entertaining?
And, much to everyone’s surprise, Juventus made a robust second-half start, pressing high up the pitch and forcing errors in Barca’s buildup. This resulted in a goal when Frenkie De Jong, who was back in the center of the defense, lost a ball on the edge of the box, giving Moise Kean another big chance in front of goal, which he did not waste.
The score was 2-2 when Barca finally woke up in the 60th minute, and despite numerous substitutions, the team managed to play some good attacking stuff. They came close on multiple occasions, including a double chance when Raphinha hit the crossbar from a free-kick & Ansu Fati hit the same spot seconds later with a spectacular curling effort.
The game ended with no other goals, and the final whistle signaled the end of Barca’s perfect preseason run. But the results don’t matter at this point, and given the insane conditions at times, it’s difficult to judge the team. So many players had to come in, to avoid injuries due to the heat.
The team continues to shape ahead of what could be an exciting season, with the final match of the US tour against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night.
