Barcelona’s pre-season preparations ahead of the competitive campaign didn’t go as planned, as the Spanish giants lost to Birmingham in their first match of the UK tour.
Birmingham beat Barcelona 3-2 on penalties at their home ground, Knighthead Stadium, on Friday night, after the match ended 2-2 following normal time.
Most of Barcelona’s first-team players are absent from the current pre-season tour due to Spain’s participation in the FIFA World Cup final. Brazilian forward Raphinha joined the squad but did not play due to injury.
Hansi Flick selected only Wojciech Szczęsny from the regular first team, with the rest of the eleven made up of academy and Barcelona B players — among them 18-year-old Egyptian forward Hamza Abdelkarim, who shone throughout the match.
The rising star, who played four matches for Egypt at the FIFA World Cup, scored twice across both halves, giving Barcelona a chance of winning at one stage. In the end, however, that did not happen.
England star Jude Bellingham was in the stands to watch the match. The 23-year-old Real Madrid attacking midfielder played more than 40 games for Birmingham at the start of his professional career in the 2019-20 season.
The hosts surprised Barcelona in the 30th minute of a match that had started slowly. Auguste-Priske Flieger rose above everyone to head the ball into the net from a cross delivered from the left.
Barcelona did not have to wait long to respond. Just nine minutes after falling behind, Christoph Klarer fouled Hamza Abdelkarim inside the box, and Barcelona were awarded a penalty. Abdelkarim stepped up and equalized.
Flick made four changes at once at halftime. Barcelona took the lead early in the second half, playing organized football.
In the 60th minute, Rūnē Bardhi attempted a long-range shot that the Birmingham goalkeeper failed to save properly. Abdelkarim pounced on the rebound and finished superbly to put his team ahead.
With the score at 2-1, Flick withdrew four more players, including Szczęsny and Abdelkarim, with the German coach’s aim being to test other potential first-team players.
After changing almost the entire starting eleven, Barcelona conceded again within eight minutes. Klarer headed in a free kick delivered from the right flank, with John Solis easily finding the net after finding space unmarked.
Then, in the 73rd minute, Cochrane Yeboah struck a shot that looked destined for goal, but it was denied by the crossbar, keeping the hosts from taking the lead.
Shortly after, Birmingham made nine substitutions at once. Neither side was able to find the net for the remainder of the match, and the game ended 2-2 after the scheduled 90 minutes.
In a departure from a typical friendly, the match then went to a penalty shootout, with 22-year-old goalkeeper James Beadle saving three Barcelona spot-kicks in style to secure Birmingham a memorable victory.
