The gloom brought about in the early hours by Lionel Messi’s parting press conference in Barcelona was lifted by the thrashing of Juventus later that day. Elsewhere, Arsenal lost their second consecutive match to Tottenham in The Mind Series.
Barca proved that there might be life without Lionel Messi, as they beat Juventus 3-0 in the Joan Gamper Trophy. While it was initially built as a clash between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the events earlier in the week ensured half of that iconic pair would not take to the pitch.
Messi had left the building by the time Ronaldo lined up with his teammates at the Camp Nou pitch. Barcelona, however, proved that they might not need him after all.
Messi’s apparent replacement, Memphis Depay, gave the Catalans the lead after just three minutes. A mistake by Juve defender Daniele Rugani allowed Yusuf Demir to collect the ball in a dangerous position. Demir played Depay through on goal, and the Dutchman converted the chance emphatically.
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Martin Braithwaite doubled Barcelona’s lead in the 57th minute, as he slammed his header past substitute goalkeeper Mattia Perin following a corner.
La Masia graduate Riqui Puig sealed the win in the second minute of stoppage time. The 21-year-old collected the ball on the edge of the box from Nicolas Gonzalez, turned around, and unleashed a fierce, curling shot into the top left corner.
Elsewhere, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal lost their second consecutive friendly game against a London rival as part of The Mind Series. The Gunners were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea last week and were at the end of a 1-0 reverse against Tottenham this time around.
Son Heung-min continued as Spurs’ ever-present danger man in the absence of Harry Kane. The South Korean hit a volley narrowly wide of the post in the early minutes of the match before deriving a good save from Bernd Leno from close range. Son also set up Dele Alli with some great hold-up play, but the Englishman hit the post from the centre of the box.
Nonetheless, Spurs’ talisman did eventually grab what would be the winning goal in the 79th minute. Japhet Tanganga held off Pablo Mari inside the box before playing a pass square to Son, who finished calmly from close range.
