New signing Raphinha scored a stunning goal from outside the box to help Barcelona secure a 1-0 victory against fierce rivals and European Champions Real Madrid in a heated preseason friendly in Las Vegas.
Barcelona and Real Madrid are touring the United States this summer as part of their preparations for the start of the new season. They faced each other at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for what was supposed to be a friendly match.
The pace of the game was so high, though, with neither of the two treating the game as inconsequential, and both teams fielding solid lineups.
The major highlight was Lewandowski and Rudiger making their first appearances for Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively.
Minutes after Raphinha’s thumping long-range effort beat Courtois in the first half, Christensen found himself in the referee’s books already due to a lunging tackle aimed at Vinicius Junior. A melee would ensue after the referee stopped play, with Araujo, Rudiger, Vinicius and Gavi getting heavily involved.
Both teams ran wholesale changes in the second half, with Ousmane Dembele testing Courtois twice and Sergino Dest also putting the Real goalkeeper to work in the closing stages.
Franck Kessie missed the best game chance while Real Madrid failed to register a shot on target.
