Amagnificent Pau Victor, with a brace, was the star this Saturday in Barcelona’s 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in a friendly played in the New York metropolitan area and marked by a thunderstorm that forced the match to be suspended for more than an hour. In the hours leading up to the match, stormy weather and rain were the protagonists at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford (New Jersey), located about 13 kilometers northwest of Times Square, home of the New York Giants and the New York Jets of the NFL, which will also host the final of the 2026 World Cup. As planned, the Clasico began at 7:00 p.m., but a storm abruptly halted the match after just 11:12 minutes.
Both players and fans took shelter, and the match did not resume until 8.30 p.m. The rain came and went, but the match was not interrupted. To make up for the delay, the break only lasted five minutes. Weather anecdotes aside, Barça had their fourth win in four friendlies in the USA against Madrid, following the 3-2 in Miami in 2017, the 1-0 in Las Vegas in 2022, and the 3-0 in Dallas in 2023. In addition, Hansi Flick took the victory in his first Clásico on the Blaugrana bench, and Pau Víctor, unstoppable throughout the evening and the amazing protagonist of Barcelona’s pre-season so far, already has three goals on this tour after the one he scored against Manchester City (in both games he was voted best player).
Both teams went into this match with little ammunition and a long list of absentees, including those who played in the Euro Cup and the Copa America, those who are playing in the Olympics, and those who are injured. Among the most notable absences, Kylian Mbappé stood out for the Merengues and Lamine Yamal for the Culés. Despite the youth of their eleven and a crowd with a notable majority of Madrid fans, Barcelona started with personality, weaving well between the lines and going deep, especially down the left flank.
The first chance came early, in the 7th minute, and it was a clear one: a fabulous header from Pau Víctor from a corner that Thibaut Courtois deflected with excellent reflexes. The interruption due to the storm did not disturb the Blaugranas, who continued to dominate the game after the restart, with Marc Bernal, Marc Casadó, and Pablo Torre making themselves strong in the middle. Tremendously active, Víctor once again tested Courtois, while Madrid left little news in attack: a goal disallowed by Arda Güler for offside and a deflected shot by Endrick.
Victor’s reward came in the 42nd minute. Alex Valle put in a cross with his wrong foot from the right; Robert Lewandowski found it at the far post and laid it off for the youngster to just push in. The man from Sant Cugat del Vallès was not satisfied. Right at the start of the second half, he came close to scoring again with a solid shot that Courtois saved, but the Belgian goalkeeper could do nothing about the second goal. It was another triangle with the same names but a different order. Lewandowski opened up wonderfully on the right for Valle; the full-back excelled with a cross with his outside foot, and Victor sealed his double in the heart of the area in the 54th minute.
Vincius Jr., who made his debut in the white pre-season, breathed life into Carlo Ancelotti’s men’s dull attack. His forays revived Madrid, and he even came close to scoring from a corner, but the goal of honor for Madrid was scored in the 82nd by Nico Paz with a header and completely alone from a corner kick.
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