Manchester City travelled to Spain this evening to play in an unusual mid-season friendly, taking on Barcelona in front of a sell-out crowd at the Camp Nou.
The fixture was to raise awareness and funds for the degenerative nervous illness ALS.
On the pitch, the match didn’t disappoint for the neutral, as six goals were shared evenly between the sides in a 3-3 draw. Despite starting the slower of the two teams, City actually took the lead, with Julián Álvarez capitalising on a terrible error from opposing goalkeeper Iñaki Peña to snaffle it into the net.
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Barça then equalised after a set piece scenario, with the ball eventually falling to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who managed to squeeze the ball past Stefan Ortega at his near post.
The Catalans then took the lead in the second period, as Kevin De Bruyne surprisingly conceded possession on the edge of his own area to allow Frenkie de Jong an opportunity which he took.
City bounced back though, and mere minutes later were level again, as a flowing move led to Riyad Mahrez playing in João Cancelo, who squared for Cole Palmer to tap it home.
It was again Barcelona that took the lead soon later, as Sergi Roberto crossed for Memphis Depay to score.
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The game then took a sour turn as Luke Mbete had to be stretched off with a head injury, although on the whole it was a positive night with lots of money raised for charity.
After the resumption of the game, there was one more goal for the fans to see, with Erling Haaland freed to run in behind and being accidently tripped by Andreas Christensen.
Riyad Mahrez put the ball on the spot and rifled it into the top corner, earning a draw for City.
Here's how we rated the players in Manchester City’s friendly draw with Barcelona:
Stefan Ortega – 7
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Although he will take the blame for Barcelona’s opening goal, the German had a solid game in goal, making a number of other saves despite conceding three times.
Rico Lewis – 6.5
Again impressive in his 45 minutes of action, taking the ball under pressure several times and being mostly solid when he had it. Withdrawn at half time.
Kyle Walker – 6.5
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Recovered from a disappointing showing at the weekend to look more solid at centre-back tonight. Used his pace well before his half time substitution.
Rúben Dias – 7
Marshalled the back line well, coming out when necessary to break up the play.
Sergio Gómez – 6.5
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Looked composed on the ball in his first outing as a City player, as well as making a few good challenges at the back. He was also substituted at the break.
Kalvin Phillips – 6.5
Was asked to take the ball in a lot of high-pressure areas, but dealt with it well for the most part, although he struggled a little to cope with Barcelona’s breaks from the back. Unfortunate to have to come off with an arm injury midway through the second-half.
Bernardo Silva – 7.5
The man who many fans inside the stadium would have been hoping to see wearing a different shirt tonight, Bernardo Silva showed just why Barcelona have been so desperate to buy him this summer. His passing and pitch coverage were top class.
Cole Palmer – 7.5 (MOTM)
Not phased by playing in such a magisterial stadium. Showed his quick feet, match intelligence and goalscoring instincts to bag the second City goal.
Riyad Mahrez – 7
Wasn’t involved for long periods, but made telling contributions in his involvement for the second goal and scoring the penalty for the third.
Julián Álvarez – 7
A livewire all night, the Argentine will be disappointed to only come away with one goal, as he saw several other chances narrowly miss out.
Phil Foden – 6.5
Not a night of great involvement for Foden, although his pressing was as impressive as ever.
Subs:
João Cancelo – 6.5
Never afraid to show his talent on the ball, Cancelo was once again full of tricks and wriggled out of tight areas as well.
John Stones – 5.5
Just looking a little uncomfortable at the minute, as he was unable to keep up with a couple of the Barcelona breakaways.
Josh Wilson-Esbrand – 7
Showcased his ability to drive with the ball from very early into his substitute appearance.
Rodri – 6
Sometimes bypassed in the middle, whilst still being strong in possession.
Luke Mbete – 6.5
Had looked fairly solid at the back until his very unfortunate collision forced him off. Get well soon, Luke!
İlkay Gündoğan – 6
Floated into a few dangerous areas, although nothing came off for him.
Kevin De Bruyne – 6
Was very surprising to see him culpable for Barcelona’s second goal, but he made amends with his pass to help City level straight away.
Erling Haaland – 6.5
Didn’t see a lot of action but still had time to win the penalty from which City equalised.
Oscar Bobb – N/A
Topics: Manchester City, Barcelona
Hamish MacRae