Five things we learned as Barcelona beat Spurs on penalties

In an exciting night in Pasadena, Barcelona beat Tottenham Hotspur 5-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

It was a game of two halves, with the Blaugrana dominating the first and winning it 2-0, and Spurs dominating the second to win it 0-2. It was fair to go to a shootout, and there Barça got the big win.

What did we learn?

1. The Future King Arthur

Hoo boy, Barcelona may have got a gem here. In 2016 the Blaugrana signed Samuel Umtiti for a paltry €25m and two years on he’s one of the best centre-backs in the world (the kind of player who would now cost €60m+) and they look to have done something similar now with Arthur.

The 21-year-old Brazilian looked absurdly comfortable considering he was playing his first-ever game for Barcelona. Spurs pressed Arthur, trying to harry him into a mistake as Mauricio Pochettino would have wanted; but it didn’t. Arthur would spin or turn away, suddenly finding himself in space, and then he’d release the ball quickly.

Short or medium-range, the ball was never glued to Arthur’s feet for too long. He has clearly understood Xavi’s maxim that you have to make the ball do the running, and boy did Arthur make that ball move. The ball had run a half-marathon by the time he was done with it.

He also scored a stunning goal, rolling his foot over the ball Deco-style before lashing a beautiful curling dipper of a shot in (also Deco-style) from 25 yards. But honestly that was just garnish, the meat of Arthur’s performance that will get Culés everywhere excited is how intelligently he played with the ball in just his first game. If he keeps playing with that level of confidence and competence it won’t be long before he is crowned King Arthur, leader of the Barcelona midfield.

2. The ICC asks too much

The idea of International Champions Cup, bringing epic Champions League clashes to fans (mostly) outside of Europe in key markets like North America and East Asia, makes so much sense. It’s a generous gesture and makes the clubs a pretty penny in terms of great PR, well-attended games and, because the tournament is full of teams fans love to watch: a nice fat TV rights deal to generate some cash.

But for the players, it is far from a good idea. Rather than selecting a handful of games for a pre-season tour, top clubs arrange a tour so blatantly designed to milk money out of fans that it can feel soulless. Worse than that, it demands tremendous physical output at a time when players can’t give that.

In the first 30 minutes of the match, three players left the field with muscle injuries. Two (André Gomes and Moussa Sissoko) were seen clutching their hamstrings, injuries that could set their seasons back to an almost irretrievable degree. This is unacceptable in a pre-season tournament that should be about preparation for the new season.

3. Cameron Carter-Vickers is ready

Spurs were better in the second half than in the first, helped in part by Barcelona making several changes and basically sending out a youth side, but in the first half when both teams were at relative strength it was a bloodbath. The main thing that stopped Barcelona running away with it was Cameron Carter-Vickers.

The 20 year-old USA international is yet to play a Premier League minute for Spurs, but on the evidence of this game that may soon change. Carter-Vickers was colossal in the first-half, pulling out several blocks and interventions, notably a heroic chase-down tackle to stop Rafinha getting a clean shot at goal right at the death in the first half.

He played well in the second half too, but had less to do as Spurs actually played well. His performance in that first period will fill Mauricio Pochettino with hope (and confidence that the club can call Toby Alderweireld’s bluff and not feel the pain of that too much).

4. Barça Boys in the shop window

Barcelona have several players they are looking to sell this summer, thinning out their subpar squad members, and these men had contrasting fortunes. First there was Rafinha, and the Brazilian was brilliant in the first half. He ran up and down the touchline as a winger, always linking with team-mates and creating both goals with wonderfully weighted assists.

Denis Suárez and André Gomes weren’t quite as lucky, however. Both men started but had to leave the field early through injury (injury also meant that Paco Alcacer played no part in the game).

The final player in the shop window (well, sort of) was Jasper Cillessen, who was actually quite brilliant. In particular he pulled off some impressive saves to take things to a penalty shootout and then made a decisive save in said shootout. It remains to be seen if any Premier League club who still needs a really good goalkeeper will have the sense to splurge on Barcelona’s dominant Dutchman.

5. Spurs show some spine

Spurs were nowhere near Barcelona in the first-half. The Blaugrana had their reserve side out but still passed circles around Mauricio Pochettino’s men. It was 2-0 at the half but could have been more. At half-time, Pochettino made a couple of changes but most importantly he changed his formation to 3-4-2-1.

This change allowed Spurs to dominate the second half, slowly but surely pushing the much-changed Barcelona side further and further back down the field. Spurs clawed their way back into the match, scoring twice to pull level at 2-2.

Obviously Spurs were helped by Barcelona’s kids being nowhere near their level, but all in all it was an impressive display of guts, the kind of guts they aren’t supposed to have against the big sides – even in friendlies. There was precious little sign of Spurs bottling it after the break and only Cillessen’s great saves kept it to 2-2 and took it to a shootout.

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