The victory of FC Barcelona at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey against Real Madrid (1-2) confirmed the Barça supremacy on American territory against its greatest rival. Pau Víctor's goals allowed Hansi Flick's team to add their fourth victory in a row (the third in consecutive years) against the 'merengues', in addition to remaining undefeated in the first preseason under the leadership of the German coach.
The culés had just defeated Manchester City on Tuesday (early morning on Wednesday in Spain) on penalties (2-2, 4-1 p.) in a match where the 'sky blue' team had more of the ball, but the effectiveness was Barça. On Saturday (early morning on Sunday in Catalonia), the duel was much more even, with a first half of Barça superiority and a complement with better chances for the 'White House'. Previously, Barça had defeated Madrid in three Clásicos, which we review below.
2017: Barça's superiority in Neymar's 'last dance' as a culé
The Hard Rock Stadium in Miami was the venue chosen for the first Clásico in history to be played on American soil, on July 29, 2017. Barça began Ernesto Valverde's cycle and, led by an inspired Neymar, won a frenetic match from start to finish (2-3). Leo Messi opened the scoring in the 3rd minute and Iván Rakitic increased the difference in the 7th minute thanks to a great assist from the '11'. Zinedine Zidane's men reacted with goals from Mateo Kovacic and Marco Asensio before the break, but Gerard Piqué made it 2-3 in the 50th minute thanks to another assist from 'Ney'. After that meeting, the Brazilian closed his transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in exchange for his termination clause (222 million euros).
2022: Raphinha made his debut as a hero in a great game in Las Vegas
After two consecutive summers without a preseason tour due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Barça and Madrid reissued the Clásico five years later, on July 22, 2022 at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. As in 2017, both teams took to the field with their gala elevens and a great goal by Raphinha from outside the area in the 27th minute was enough to give Xavi Hernández's team the victory over Carlo Ancelotti's team (1-0) . The culés were slightly superior in a very intense match.
2023: Barça's victory in Dembélé's farewell based on a punch
After the great success of the Classic in Las Vegas, Barça and Madrid returned to the United States, this time to the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. On July 29, 2023, the Blaugrana team beat the whites (3-0) in what was Ousmane Dembélé's last game with the club, before signing for PSG. The Frenchman opened the scoring with a tight shot in the 15th minute. Ter Stegen saved a penalty from Vinicius Jr. five minutes later and, towards the end, Fermín López and Ferran Torres sealed the win with goals in the 85th minute and the 90th+1 minute. The 'merengues' wasted many opportunities and Barça took advantage to eliminate the counterattack.
2024: Pau Víctor led 'baby Barça' in a flooded Clásico
The last Clásico, unlike the previous three, did not feature all the figures from Barça and Madrid at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The culés took the field with six youth players in their XI and managed to win thanks to a double from Pau Víctor, the great figure of the reserve team last season. The 22-year-old forward scored in the 42nd and 54th minutes to give Hansi Flick's team the victory. Nico Paz scored for the 'merengues' in the 82nd minute, in a match that was stopped for more than an hour due to a strong storm when barely 11 minutes of the first half had been played.