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FT: Barcelona 3-3 City
3-3 is how the match ends!
As friendlies go that was a pretty entertaining one. City took the lead through a rather fortuatous Julian Alvarez goal, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang drew Barcelona level.
Memphis Depay strikes either side of a Cole Palmer tap-in looked to have sealed the win for Barca, but an emphatic late penalty from Riyad Mahrez ensured that the game finished all-square.
City’s players got the run out that Guardiola wanted, but there will be an anxious wait to find out the severity of Luke Mbete’s head injury.
91,062 at Camp Nou
91,062 fans have crammed into the Camp Nou tonight.
All square after 45 minutes
It’s time for a break at the Nou Camp as the referee calls the players in.
Goals from Julian Alvarez and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang means we are all square.
Both moments were owing to goalkeeping errors.
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After making a formidable start to their Premier League title defence, Manchester City will travel to Spain for a friendly with Barcelona between their next two league matches.
Now, three days before a league meeting with Crystal Palace, Pep Guardiola will return to the Nou Camp, a place where he enjoyed considerable success both as a player and manager.
City’s opponents Barcelona started their La Liga campaign with a draw at home against Rayo Vallecano, with Sergio Busquets also sent off in stoppage time.
When do Manchester City play Barcelona?
Xavi’s Barcelona will host the Premier League champions on Wednesday 24 August at the Nou Camp. Originally, the game was scheduled to take place at 8pm, however, Uefa have requested that it is pushed back half an hour to 8.30pm.
Visiting Manchester City will fly to Spain directly after their fixture with Newcastle, which starts at 4.30pm on Sunday 21 August.
Over 51,500 tickets have been sold ahead of the meeting.
The charity fund-raiser against the Catalan side has been organised to showcase a cause promoted by former Barcelona keeper and coach, Juan Carlos Unzué, who was diagnosed with ALS over two years ago.
Fundacion Luzon – a charity set up to help find a cure for ALS – will receive the proceeds from the game.
The independent not-for-profit organisation works to invest in research and improve the quality of life of people with ALS and their families.
What does Pep Guardiola think?
“We will be together for a few days, our chairman (Khaldoon Al Mubarak) will be there with us for three days,” he said.
Will Manchester City take a full-strength squad?
This season, the Champions League group stage will be played across just seven game weeks, although Manchester City will take a strong side to Spain, despite an already-congested fixture schedule fast approaching as a consequence of the winter World Cup.
“We’re going to bring all the big guns, don’t worry,” Guardiola said in a press conference back in June.
Guardiola has hinted that he will use players that need more game minutes this season when he returns to Catalonia to face the team he guided to two Champions League trophies as a manager, while also winning one as a player.
And it seems he has stuck to that promise. Against Barcelona, Guardiola is expected to give playing time to the likes of John Stones, new signing Sergio Gomez, Kalvin Phillips, Cole Palmer and Bernardo Silva, who has been linked with a move to the La Liga club.
When did Manchester City last play Barcelona?
Barcelona and Manchester City have met six times in the Champions League, although the English side have won just one of these meetings – the last back in 2016, where an Ilkay Gundogan double helped City to a 3-1 victory.
They have not played a competitive fixture since then.
Pep Guardiola has managed against Barcelona on four occasions – winning half of those meetings.