Barcelona and Juventus continued their pre-season preparations in the United States, and fans were not disappointed by the spectacle on display in Texas. Ousmane Dembele’s brace was cancelled out by Moise Kean’s double as Barcelona and Juventus drew 2-2 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
Due to the absurdly high temperatures, the first 30 minutes were played at a very slow pace, and neither team was able to get into a good rhythm, with the exception of a few moments when Juve was on the counter. As was to be expected, Barcelona dominated possession, but they lacked the fluid passing and movement from their previous matches. As a result, their best attacking opportunities came from a few attempts from outside the penalty area by Robert Lewandowski and Pierre-Emrick Aubameyang.
The final 15 minutes of the game, following a brief water break, saw the game come to life as Barcelona looked more focused and quicker in possession and Ousmane Dembélé began to work his magic. After Moise Kean tied the game for Juventus with a tap-in goal, the Frenchman scored an amazing goal to give his team the lead. Dembele then needed less than a minute to make it 2-1 with another incredible dribbling sequence and a flawless finish.
However, Moise Kean would later complete his brace seven minutes into the second half after the Italian forward finished off a neat passing move past Inaki Pena. Raphinha’s free-kick and Ansu Fati’s curling attempt both missed the goal frame. Late in the game, Perin made two outstanding saves to deny Gavi and Memphis Depay as the game ended in a draw.
Thus, in typical July friendly fashion, there were some positives and some negatives. As we wait for Juventus to play next, we can only hope that things will get a little bit better as the team prepares for the second weekend of August.