Everything Barca
Fansided

Three takeaways from Barcelona’s 1-0 win over AC Milan

By David Wyatt-Hupton

Milan's Belgian midfielder Alexis Saelemaekers (L) fights for the ball with Barcelona's Spanish forward Ansu Fati during a pre-season friendly football match between AC Milan and FC Barcelona, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 1, 2023. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
Milan's Belgian midfielder Alexis Saelemaekers (L) fights for the ball with Barcelona's Spanish forward Ansu Fati during a pre-season friendly football match between AC Milan and FC Barcelona, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 1, 2023. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next

Barcelona completed their US tour with a controlled 1-0 win against Italian giants AC Milan at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. We published our player’s ratings straight after the game, and now we’ve had time to digest the result, here are three takeaways from the game.

Barcelona Desperately need a natural right-back

Ronald Araujo got the start at right-back and while he did a fine job, it’s clear to everyone that his natural position is at centre-back where he can use his height and strength.

One thing that’s become clear is that Sergino Dest is not the answer. He came on in the second half and a mistake by the USMNT almost led to a Milan equaliser.

Xavi confirmed after the game that Barca needs to bring in a natural right-back and I’m sure he’ll be hoping to have him sooner rather than later so he can embed him into the team ahead of the La Liga opener against Getafe.

The coach’s preference is for Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo, but financially that will take a lot of wrangling. An easier solution is Valladolid fullback Ivan Fresneda, with the Barca side already having made an offer for the 18-year-old.

Players like Araujo are good enough to fill in, but if Barcelona really wants to challenge for trophies like the Champions League, they’ll need a natural defender to face talents like Marcus Rashford and Vini Jr.