Chelsea beat Barcelona 4-2 by penalty shootout, in a highly competitive friendly match-up for the International Champions Cup Tuesday evening at FedEx Field in Landover, MD. The two powerhouse clubs had come to a 2-2 draw following the 90 minutes of regulation before the Blues left the nation’s capital victorious.
“It was not a tactical game. It was two teams looking for the best intensity, for the best form,” Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. “It was 2-2; it could’ve been 4-4. The penalties, they mean nothing for us and I think they mean nothing for Barcelona. But for the people, it means a lot because it’s the end of a nice game.”
Few teams in Europe are so evenly matched as the Blues and the Blaugrana, with Chelsea having won the Premier League in dominating fashion from the start last season, and Barça winning the treble. Prior to Chelsea’s win Tuesday, the two had been tied in all previous matches.
American football fans were treated to an entertaining flurry of football with each squad looking to capitalize before a crowd of over 78,000 at FedEx Field. Both sides displayed intensity, attacking each opportunity to gain the upper hand.
Goalkeepers for each side, Ter Stegen and Thibaut Courtois, were on form, denying numerous attempts on goal. Ter Stegen dodged a dangerous header by the Brazilian, Kurt Zouma early on in the first half. Soon after however, the Belgian star Eden Hazard, zipped through the Catalan defense to open the scoreboard for Chelsea.
Barcelona’s Luis Suárez once again played close to 60 minutes, equalizing for Barça following the half with a technical chip of the ball over the Chelsea defense for goal, despite Zouma’s best attempt to deflect it. Sergi Roberto would score soon after with a nice cross just out of reach of Courtois putting the Catalan’s up 2-1.
It looked to be a win for Barça until with only minutes to play, Chelsea’s Gary Cahill header once again equalized the match, sending it to penalties. The tournament opted to skip the typical 30-minute overtime.
“I think its interested to throw the game straight to penalty shootouts,” Chelsea captain Branislav Ivanovic added. “This is friendly games, but it’s good psychological moments to win even in the penalties.”
In the final friendlies of their U.S. tour, the European squads were looking to fine tune their form before heading into early champion matches before their season kick-offs. Chelsea returned straight away to London to prepare for their match against Arsenal at Wembley Stadium Sunday, to compete for the Community Shield – match between the reigning league champions and FA Cup winners.
“Today was difficult, they have very good players,” Chelsea defender Nemanja Matic said. “We showed that tactically we are ready to play against them.
It’s games like this that you can see if you prepared very well. We showed today that we are almost ready for the season and we show our qualities against very good teams, and again because of that we are ready.”
Barça meanwhile will face Sevilla on August 11 for the UEFA Super Cup, pitting the Champions League victors against the Europa League champions. La Liga competition will commence for the Catalans on August 23rd.
“We’re trying to prepare the best way possible through training and these games, and beyond the results I think that we have to be positive,” Andres Iniesta said.
Douglas, defensive player for Barça, had been subbed during the game due to an injury to his knee, with details forthcoming from the squad.
“The worst news for us obviously is that injury for Douglas,” Iniesta added. “He was playing in these games, and to get injured again is complicated, we hope that he can be back soon and well.
“That’s the only negative thing of this tour, everything else is positive. Generally, we have to improve many things going from that [dangerous set pieces] to everything else, we have 20 days on our backs of training and we have to get ready because competition is coming now.”
