Barça beat Red Bulls, 2-0

HARRISON, New Jersey — Ousmane Dembélé and Memphis Depay scored on each side of halftime to lead FC Barcelona to a 2-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls. 

The win, which came in Barça’s final game on US soil during their 2022 summer tour, gave the Catalans their third triumph since arriving in Miami two weeks ago. Barça began the tour with a 6-0 victory over Inter Miami, then beat arch rivals Real Madrid, 1-0, in Las Vegas before drawing 2-2 with Juventus in Dallas. 

Before the game at Red Bull Arena, manager Xavi Hernández had already deemed the US tour a success. 

“I think it has been a very positive tour,” Xavi said before facing the Red Bulls. “Everyone has participated at a very high level."

The team’s good run of form continued on Saturday night, as FC Barcelona dominated from start to finish. Xavi’s men won the battle for possession, reaching 70% for the game. The blaugranes had over 600 passes, almost tripling the passing output of the hosts, and managed 14 shots, seven of which were on target. The Red Bulls, meanwhile, managed seven total shots, none of which were on target.

Barça had a bevy of excellent chances in the opening half hour, but the scoreboard didn’t  budge until the 40th, when Dembéle got things started. Raphinha left a perfect pass for the Frenchman, who fired a bullet past Red Bull keeper Carlos Coronel.

It was a one-goal game all the way until the 87th, when Memphis took advantage of a defensive miscue to seal the deal and send Barça back to the Catalan capital with a 2-0 victory. 

Next up for Barça is the Trofeu Joan Gamper against Pumas, set for next Sunday night at Spotify Camp Nou.