Barcelona vs Chelsea result: Ross Barkley and Tammy Abraham score as Blues win Rakuten Cup 2019 friendly

The two met in a pre-season friendly match in Japan

Frank Lampard: Chelsea job is the biggest challenge of my career

Chelsea beat Barcelona in the Rakuten Cup in Saitama on Tuesday evening.

Tammy Abraham gave Frank Lampard's Blues the lead in the first-half before Ross Barkley doubled the advantage after the break. Ivan Rakitic pulled one back late on but the Premier League side held on to claim a morale-boosting victory.

The outing was Barca's first of pre-season and saw £107m summer signing Antoine Griezmann make his debut.

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Key Points

• Antoine Griezmann to make debut for Barca following £107m move
• Summer arrival Christian Pulisic makes first start
• Tammy Abraham gives Chelsea the lead with well-taken finish
• Ross Barkley doubles Blues' advantage

[23 July 2019 10:16 · Jack Watson]

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of Barcelona vs Chelsea.

Give the spectacle we were treated to when Tottenham beat Juventus 3-2 at the weekend, there is no doubt that this match will also excite.

Pre-season games are picking up in their competitiveness and this game promises to continue that trend.

Chelsea have not made the best start to their pre-season campaign and produced a lackluster display against reigning J1 League champions Kawasaki Frontale last time out.

Barcelona represent a very different test and the Catalan side will give Chelsea absolutely nothing here. 

[23 July 2019 10:23 · Jack Watson]

Team news

Griezmann starts!

Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba, Busquets, O.Busquets, Riqui Puig, Collado, Griezmann, Dembelé.

[23 July 2019 10:36 · Jack Watson]

Team news

Christian Pulisic makes his first start as a Chelsea player.

It looks like a 4-2-3-1 formation. 

Cheslea: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Christensen, David Luiz, Emerson, Jorginho, Kovacic, Pedro, Mount, Pulisic, Abraham

Subs: Caballero, Cumming, Alonso, Drinkwater, Tomori, Barkley, Bakayoko, Zouma, Kenedy, Zappacosta, Palmer, Giroud, Batshuayi

[23 July 2019 11:00 · digitalsport]

The signing of Barcelona debutante, Antoine Griezmann, may have scuppered any potential deal for Neymar this summer as he has stretched their finances. 

Meeting PSG’s reported €300 million asking price for Neymar seems impossible. That would explain why Barca have apparently offered both Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele in part-exchange, plus €40 million on top, only to see that rejected by PSG.

Barca's most recent big money arrivals Coutinho and Dembele must be sold to have any realistic possibility of signing Neymar now, according to former Barcelona chief marketing & commercial officer Esteve Calzada.

Full story here.

[23 July 2019 11:27 · digitalsport]

Players are in the tunnel. Chelsea are once again in their white away strip.

[23 July 2019 11:36 · digitalsport]

Barcelona 0 - 0 Chelsea

And we're underway! Chelsea with the kick-off.

[23 July 2019 11:37 · digitalsport]

Barcelona 0 - 0 Chelsea

2 mins: Immediate corner for Barcelona. Whipped in, Oriol Busquets has a free header from 10 yards. Wastefully heads it onto the roof of the net.

[23 July 2019 11:39 · digitalsport]

Barcelona 0 - 0 Chelsea

4 mins: Better from Chelsea after a couple of scares early on. Bit of aggressive pressure allows Kovacic to whip a ball into the box which César Azpilicueta heads behind goal.

[23 July 2019 11:41 · digitalsport]

Barcelona 0 - 0 Chelsea

6 mins: Chelsea clearly have instructions to press high up the pitch. Almost catch the Barcelona defense sleeping, just manage to clear.

[23 July 2019 11:43 · digitalsport]

Barcelona 0 - 0 Chelsea

8 mins: Christian Pulisic fouled. Chelsea take the free kick quickly. Emerson whips one across the box but it is put behind for a corner. Corner unfortunately comes to nothing.