Barcelona kicked off their pre-season campaign with a 5-3 loss to Arsenal in California this morning. The Gunners were competing in their 4th game and Barca their first, and the lack of sharpness was evident from the start. We’ve got your player ratings from the game, with Barca fielding different sides in each half.
The first half was a feisty affair with 24 fouls and 4 yellow cards, three of them for the English team, with Araujo picking up a yellow for a good tackle on Kei Havertz. His reaction afterwards could have led to a red card in a normal match, with the Uruguayan booting the ball away in frustration.
The second half was much calmer but Barcelona failed to find their momentum throughout and I’m sure they’ll be disappointed to concede 5 goals, despite it being just the first pre-season game.
Goalkeepers
Marc André ter Stegen (45 mins) – 6
Conceded two goals but he couldn’t do a lot with either. His ball distribution was as good as it normally is and he showed good composure on the ball. Went the wrong way with the missed penalty, but a largely uneventful game.
Iñaki Peña (45 mins) – 5
Didn’t really do anything wrong with any of the three goals he allowed, but when you concede three times you’re only ever getting a 5.