4 things we learned as Barcelona claim Clasico bragging rights over Real Madrid in pre-season win

Barcelona claims that the Clasico has the right to brag about Real Madrid as Pau Victor’s two goals helped them win 2-1 at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey.

Both sides were without their biggest stars but the exciting encounter continued with the likes of Luka Modric, Robert Lewandowski and Endrick all present.

The two Spanish giants are dreaming of La Liga glory in the upcoming 2024/25 season, but what have we learned from this ‘friendly’ encounter in the United States?

Barca’s young Victor takes his chances where Vitor Roque has so far failed.

The 22-year-old came up with two goals to seal the Clasico in his side’s favour, first nodding in from close range after Robert Lewandowski’s touch from a cross before scoring a second. Both strikes were unfortunate but manager Hansi Flick will not be able to ignore him after his impressive performances in the summer friendlies, as he struck again against Manchester City.

Speaking after the game, Flick said: “We’ll see what happens at Pau Victor. Two games, three goals…not bad. The door to the first team is always open.”

Real Madrid’s starting line-up in the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta should look a little different to the XI that slipped to defeat at the MetLife Stadium.

It was still a squad full of familiar faces including Thibaut Courtois, Antonio Rudiger and Luka Modric, while Vinicius Junior showed his class in his first appearance of the summer off the bench, but the likes of Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Federico Valverde and Dani Carvajal are all still absent after their international tours.

It was a fair game with the ball being shared in the middle and 11 shots per side, but Nico Paz’s strike proved to be little more than a consolation of late.

While Mbappe still has to wait for his first taste El ClasicoBrazilian player Endrick met the enmity of the game when he started attacking alongside Arda Guler and Brahim Diaz.

The youngster has been given a tough treatment by defender Antonio Rudiger in training recently but the tough love is yet to reap its rewards on the pitch. He completed just 11 of 12 passes and was unable to score on either of his two shots before being subbed off in the 68th minute.

Endrick will likely be a bench player in his first full season in Madrid and will be able to learn from the experienced attackers in the squad, but he looked a little out of depth in his first Clasico.

Barca are known to be willing to sell most of their players this summer to make money for new arrivals.

Brazil midfielder Raphinha has been linked with a move away during the transfer window, while Ilkay Gundogan was also reported to be wanted by the Middle East.

Neither is thought to be keen on a move away from Catalonia this year and each made their first pre-season appearance at the weekend, coming on as substitutes to improve the options available to manager Flick.

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