Despite Messi Not Available Barcelona Picked their Rhythm in the 1ST f Friendly match in Tito Vilanova's Debut. The Catalan giants were always in control and, despite offering the hosts a few too many chances, cruised to victory with goals from the Brazilian and the 18-year-old forwardDani Alves got the Catalans off to a cracking start as he rifled an effort into the roof of the net after just five minutes but Tolgay Arslan drew the hosts level midway through the first half. Barca regained the lead before half time with a goal from Gerard Deulofeu and they saw out the win by retaining possession through the second period.Lionel Messi was ruled out of the game beforehand having suffered muscular bruising to his right calf in training, reportedly saving the hosts €400,000 in appearance fees for the match that was set to celebrate their 125th anniversary.Barcelona were positive from the off with Alexis proving to be a popular outlet on the right. In the fifth minute Dennis Aogo failed to clear a corner and the Chilean picked up the ball at the back post. He then rolled it back to Alves who steamed in and belted an unstoppable shot past Rene Adler.However, the visitors soon became complacent and allowed the Bundesliga side a route back into the game. Son Heung-Min saw an effort saved by Jose Pinto in the 21st minute but Hamburg restored parity moments later. Arslan won the ball back in the Barcelona half before breaking forward and sliding it across the box to Marcus Berg. His stabbed attempt rattled the bar but the rebound fell kindly for Tolgay, who squeezed the ball into the back of the net.Alexis continued to be a thorn in HSV's side and was thwarted soon after by another terrific save from Rene Adler but the former Germany international was eventually beaten seven minutes before the break. After parrying Afellay's powerful shot away from goal, getting across to save Deulofeu's follow-up proved too big of an ask for Adler as the 18-year-old's shot crept over the line.Vilanova made nine substitutions at half time with Marc Muniesa and Rafinha coming on while Thorsten Fink replaced seven of his players. The wholesale changes stifled the game somewhat but Artjoms Rudnevs looked lively in the early stages of the second half and should really have hit the target from Muhamed Besic's cross in the 59th minute.Muniesa had been taken off the field after picking up an injury moments before and with him unable to continue, Marc Bartra returned to the field after being substituted at half time so that the Catalan club did not have to continue with 10 men.Hamburg could get nowhere near the ball and in the 73rd minute they almost fell two goals behind. A long ball up to the top from the Blaugrana was not dealt with by Adler but Cristian Lobato failed to tuck the ball away, lofting his volley well over the bar of an open goal.Barcelona will face Raja Club Athletic in their next friendly fixture on Saturday July 28TH.
Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid Thrashed Away The 3RD Division Spanish Side Real Oviedo By 5-1.Mourinho started just three members of his regular first-team squad: Alvaro Morata, Esteban Granero and 'keeper Antonio Adan.But Real Madrid came out guns blazing as Lucas Vazquez scored in the ninth minute, Denis Tcheryshev 30 minutes later and Esteban Granero two minutes after that.Matar Diop Martins gave Oviedo a spark of hope when he scored six minutes after the break, but Argentine Angel Di Maria promptly doused it with goals in the 56th and 74th minutes.'Los blancos' take on Benfica in a second friendly Friday before heading to the United States to continue their pre-season.
A Fantastic Match Came To end In A Favour Of Gunners Despite a fabulous effort from Mohamad Azmi Muslim in first-half injury time For Malaysian's.Arsenal had rarely threatened in the second half until sub Thomas Eisfeld struck in the 87th minute before Chuks Aneke grabbed an unlikely winner two minutes later.Wenger played two different teams in each half with only keeper Vito Mannone remaining.England star Theo Walcott was given a 35-minute second-half run-out before being replaced by German teenager Eisfeld who delivered a decent finish.Midfielder Aneke was rewarded for his persistence by grabbing the winner, although it was a shade fortunate.Striker Marouane Chamakh, hoping to prove himself to Wenger with most of the other strikers left at home, forced a couple of decent saves from the home keeper while defender Thomas Vermaelen delivered a bicycle kick when it would have been easier to head the ball.Malaysia’s most dangerous player was their captain, Safiq Bin Rahim, and he gave keeper Mannone problems with a free-kick which the Italian fumbled for a corner.Likely to be sent out on loan again, Mannone needed to be more alert to keep out decent shots from from Azamuddin Mohd Akil and the impressive Mohd Sali.Andre Santos was playing on the left-hand side of midfield rather than at full-back and when you consider some of his defending, this position is probably more suitable.Santos later then forced a decent save from the home keeper yet screwed up his face in discomfort as he had appeared to tweak his hamstring.In fairness to the Malaysians, they had started to stretch the home defence although their superb goal still came out of nothing.There seemed little danger in first half stoppage time when Muslim picked up the ball about 25 yards out but he unleashed a stunning effort into the top right-hand corner which Mannone could only admire.There were roughly 25,000 fans inside the national stadium which holds 87,000, but due to the noise they made, it seemed like 100,000.Unsurprisingly, Wenger made 10 changes at half-time with only keeper Mannone returning.But continuing to play with confidence, Malaysia looked dangerous with Gary Robbat going close with a long-range effort.Lively striker Sali looked set to score the second when he twisted and turned his way through the visiting defence but shot straight at a grateful Mannone. Wenger’s second-half team certainly caused Malaysia few problems, even though it included Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.Arsenal striker Benik Afobe, who spent the end of last season on loan at Reading, was starved of service although when he did find himself clear on a couple of occasions, failed to make the most of the chances.Arsenal looked set to begin their Far East tour with a defeat but Oxlade-Chamberlain did well to rob a home defender of the ball and found Eisfeld who delivered a measured finish in the 87th minute.If this was a surprise, their winner two minutes later came as a total shock. Aneke burst through the home defender and with the help of a heavy deflection, saw his ball end up in the net.Ultimately, the performance or result did not really matter, but Wenger will be reasonably satisfied.Manchester City in Beijing this Friday will certainly provide a tougher test.
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