Pau Víctor shines in New York as Barça beat Real Madrid

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey — Lightning only strikes once. Pau Víctor strikes twice.

In a thrilling encounter at MetLife Stadium, FC Barcelona extended their unbeaten streak in U.S. El Clásicos, defeating Real Madrid 2-1. Pau Víctor was the star of the night, scoring twice to lead Barça to victory in front of 82,154 fans, in what was also Hansi Flick’s first El Clásico as Barça manager.

This latest edition of the world's greatest sports rivalry marked the fourth El Clásico in the United States in recent years, with previous matches in Miami (2017), Las Vegas (2022), and Dallas (2023). Barça's victory continued their dominance on American soil, having won the first three matchups as well.

For the second times in as many games on this summer's US tour, Barça had to deal with a lightning delay. Earlier in the week, Barça's win over Manchester City started over an hour late. Tonight the delay was of a similar duration, although the match had already been underway before being halted in the 12th minute.

After the interruption, the players returned to the field for a brief warm-up session, with halftime adjusted to only five minutes to compensate for the delay.

Barça came out like gangbusters in the early going. Before the delay, in the 7th minute, Pau Víctor almost opened the scoring with a powerful header from a corner, only to be denied by Thibaut Courtois' quick reflexes right on the goal line.

The Catalans continued to press, and by the 21st minute, Pau Víctor and Unai Hernández combined to make a menacing run, but Real Madrid's defense managed to thwart the attack. Los Blancos thought they had taken the lead in the 24th when Brahim Díaz set up Arda Güler, who beat Marc ter Stegen, but Güler was ruled offside. At the other end, Pau Víctor kept up the pressure, firing a long-range shot just wide of Courtois' right post in the 26th minute.

The breakthrough came in the 42nd. Pau Víctor, who had been knocking on the door all game, nodded in from close range. The play was set up by Álex Valle's precise cross, with Robert Lewandowski providing the assist from the far post, inside the six-yard box. Barça went into halftime with a 1-0 lead, although the intermission itself was a just five minutes, with players remaining on the field.

The second half saw Pau Víctor continue to shine. In the 52nd, he forced Courtois to make a spectacular diving save. Just two minutes later, Víctor struck again after Lewandowski linked up with Valle, who delivered another precision cross, allowing the 22-year-old to finish in stride and double Barça's lead. This goal marked Pau Víctor's third in two games.

Real Madrid fought back, and Vinícius Júnior came close to scoring on several occasions, only to be denied by ter Stegen's heroics. In the 63rd minute, ter Stegen made a crucial save at the far post from a corner, and another in the 69th minute at the near post after a determined run by the Brazilian.

Hansi Flick made several substitutions, with Raphinha coming on for Víctor, and Ter Stegen being replaced by Iñaki Peña, with the German goalkeeper passing the captain's armband to Lewandowski. The fresh legs helped Barça maintain their control, especially with Ilkay Gündoğan coming on to help with ball possession in the midfield.

Real Madrid managed to pull one back in the 82nd when Nico Paz headed in a corner kick delivered by Arda Güler, making the final moments tense. Despite the late push from Real Madrid, Barça held firm to secure a 2-1 victory, continuing the Catalans' supremacy in these American showdowns.