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Pre-season Friendlies
Aug 10, 2019 at 10pm UK
 
NL

4-0

Suarez (48', 58'), Griezmann (56'), Dembele (63')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Luis Suarez scores twice in impressive Barcelona win

:Headline: Result: Luis Suarez scores twice in impressive Barcelona win: ID:367767: from db_amp
Luis Suarez scores twice as Barcelona record a 4-0 victory over Napoli in Saturday's pre-season friendly at the Michigan Stadium.

Luis Suarez scored twice as Barcelona recorded a 4-0 victory over Napoli in Saturday's pre-season clash at the Michigan Stadium.

The contest was the second time that the two teams had locked horns in the space of three days, with Barca also running out 2-1 winners over the Italian side in Florida on Wednesday night.

Luis Suarez netted a brace for the Spanish champions in Michigan, while Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele were also on the scoresheet in what was the team's final pre-season match ahead of competitive action.

Napoli had the first half-chance of the match in the seventh minute when Faouzi Ghoulam broke into a dangerous position before striking towards goal, but the defender's effort was always rising over the Barca crossbar.

Much like Wednesday's game, there was plenty of intent from both teams in the early stages, with Dembele threatening for Barca and Dries Mertens causing plenty of problems down the other end.

The Spanish side had a golden chance to make the breakthrough in the 14th minute when Luis Suarez found Griezmann free inside the Napoli box, only for the Frenchman to somehow miss the far post.

Both sides had their moments in the first 30 minutes of action. That said, it would be fair to say that a number of players were guilty of losing possession in forward positions, which meant that clear opportunities were few and far between.

Indeed, the fact that a Mexican wave went around the stadium in the middle part of the first half is an indication of the lack of on-field entertainment during that stage of the contest.

Alex Meret had to keep out a low Dembele strike five minutes before the end of the first period, though, before the Napoli goalkeeper saved from Luis Suarez moments later as Barca looked for a goal before the break.

Fabian Ruiz then missed a good chance for Napoli down the other end as the midfielder fired a Simone Verdi cross wide of the post to leave the two teams level at the interval.

Barca made the breakthrough early in the second half, though, with Luis Suarez converting from close range after Meret had palmed an effort from Griezmann into the middle of the goal. The Napoli goalkeeper did excellently to keep out the first strike but could do nothing from the rebound.

Ernesto Valverde's side then doubled their lead in the 56th minute when an excellent team move ended with Jordi Alba sliding a low cross into Griezmann, who simply could not miss from close range.

Barca's third arrived just two minutes later when Luis Suarez curled a wonderful effort into the corner of the net to make it an incredibly unhappy start to the second period for Napoli.

The La Liga champions were not finished, though, and made it 4-0 in in the 63rd minute when Dembele danced into a shooting position before picking out the far corner with a fine finish.

Philippe Coutinho was amongst those to come off the Barca bench in the period that followed, while another of those to enter - Rafinha - brought a smart save from Meret 15 minutes from time.

Barca will open their 2019-20 La Liga campaign away to Athletic Bilbao on August 16, while Napoli's Serie A season starts on the road to Fiorentina on August 24.

NAPOLI: Meret; Hysaj (Di Lorenzo 61'), Manolas, Chiriches (Luperto 46'), Ghoulam (Rui 61'); Allan (Insigne 46'), Elmas (Zielinski 46'), Verdi (Gaetano 67'), Fabian; Mertens, Callejon

BARCELONA: Ter Stegen; Semedo (Arthur 67'), Pique (Umtiti 67'), Lenglet, Alba; Alena (Vidal 67'), Roberto, De Jong; Dembele (Ruiz 75'), Suarez (Coutinho 67'), Griezmann (Rafinha 67')

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last updated article - 2019-08-15 06:40:47:
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