3 Barcelona players who performed and 2 who underperformed against Manchester City | Charity Friendly
La Liga giants Barcelona welcomed Premier League holders Manchester City to Camp Nou for a special one-off charity game on Wednesday night (August 24). The charity friendly, which was organized to raise funds for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) research after former Barcelona goalkeeper Juan Carlos Unzue was diagnosed, didn’t seem like a friendly.
The two teams went at each other from the first minute to the last, playing out an enthralling 3-3 draw in the Catalonian capital. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Frenkie de Jong, and Memphis Depay were on the scoresheet for Barca. Julian Alvarez, Cole Palmer, and Riyad Mahrez found the back of the net for City.
Barcelona, who bagged an encouraging 4-1 win over Real Sociedad on Sunday (August 21), started the game on the front foot, creating two goalscoring opportunities in the opening five minutes. First, Aubameyang planted a header at Stefan Ortega’s goal, which the keeper blocked, and then Franck Kessie hit the post from the edge of the box.
City struggled to find their rhythm in front of an effervescent Barca, but a mistake from goalkeeper Inaki Pena allowed Alvarez to put his team ahead. The hosts kept their cool after falling behind and came up with a reply just eight minutes after conceding, in the 29th minute.
The English champions failed to clear Jordi Alba’s teasing free-kick delivery, which eventually led to Aubameyang's impressive finish from a tight angle. Barca and City continued to trade punches for the remainder of the first half but neither managed to score the go-ahead goal.
Barcelona vs. Manchester City is underway in a friendly to promote ALS awareness. 👏 https://t.co/sQdiu3KPsY
Xavi's side put their noses in front in the 66th minute, with Frenkie de Jong finding the back of the net after intercepting Ortega’s poor attempt to collect the ball. Four minutes later, City were back on level terms. Joao Cancelo delivered an inch-perfect low cross and Palmer clinically tapped it home from point-blank range.
In the 79th minute, Barca once again put themselves in the lead, with Sergi Roberto putting it on a plate for Depay to finish from close range. The Dutchman made no mistake turning it in from the center of the box. The hosts looked destined for a closely-contested win, but Andreas Christensen’s foul on Erling Haaland robbed them of that.
Christensen's knee brushed against Haaland's, which was enough to bring the Norwegian down inside the Barca penalty box. The referee promptly pointed to the spot, and Mahrez took the resulting penalty to level the score at 3-3.
Here are three Barcelona players who impressed and two who had a tough outing on Wednesday night against Manchester City:
Performed: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
With Robert Lewandowski around, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is not the most lethal striker at Barcelona anymore. He has been linked with a move to Chelsea (via football.london) and it could very well be finalized before the end of the summer transfer window. If it does, Xavi’s men would miss the exuberance the Gabonese forward brings to the table.
Aubameyang did not do anything extraordinary against City, but the eagerness to chase every ball and take every chance was always there. The goal he scored in the 29th minute was a testament to his confidence and sharpness.
Barcelona have asked Chelsea to pay €25m + €3m bonus for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. 
🚨 Barcelona have asked Chelsea to pay €25m + €3m bonus for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. 🔵🇬🇦
Aubameyang will leave today if Chelsea agree.
(Source: @gerardromero)
Sergio Busquets’ arguably unintentional looping header found him in a tough spot, awkwardly away from goal. He still went for a volley from a tight angle and managed to squeeze it past Ortega.
Underperformed: Inaki Pena
Barca’s substitute keeper Inaki Pena got a massive opportunity to prove his mettle in the highly-anticipated friendly against Manchester City on Wednesday. The keeper had his best moment in the 48th minute when he blocked consecutive efforts from Alvarez. However, it still could not eclipse the 21st-minute blunder he made to gift City the lead.
Look inaki Pena has this bit rustiness in him always , guy is always bit nervous if he is not used to it. If he is used to it or is being immensely challenged with nothing to lose - he'll be upto it.
Kounde has this silly mispass always in him, it happens when he takes too easy.
Manchester City left-back Sergio Gomez seemingly fluffed his cross into the Barca box, with Pena confidently coming off his line to collect it. The decision to collect was indeed correct, but the execution was rather poor, as he let the ball slip through his gloves and allowed Alvarez to poke it home.
Performed: Gavi
Coming off the bench in the 57th minute, Gavi neither scored nor provided an assist against Manchester City. However, the dynamism he brought to Barca’s midfield was no less important. He passed the ball around well, helped his team regain control against City’s dominant midfielders, and was instrumental to the home side’s second goal of the match.
In the 66th minute, Kevin De Bruyne uncharacteristically underhit his pass to Rodri just outside the Manchester City box. Gavi pounced on the loose ball and played Depay through. The Dutchman was tripped by Ortega, but the ball fell kindly to De Jong, who slammed it home to put the Catalans 2-1 up.
Gavi #BarçaManCity https://t.co/JTz0XmVX8L
10 minutes later, he put Depay one-on-one with the keeper with a sumptuous through ball. City goalkeeper Ortega made himself big to deny the Dutch forward's attempt.
Underperformed: Jules Kounde
Yet to be registered as a Barcelona player, Jules Kounde started in Wednesday's friendly fixture against Manchester City. The Frenchman got 81 valuable minutes under his belt, but his performance was far from convincing.
| Jules Koundé will play FC Barcelona's next match, Aubameyang's departure will be completed this week.🚨🚨✅| Jules Koundé will play FC Barcelona's next match, Aubameyang's departure will be completed this week.
@gerardromero [🎖️]
In the first half, he gave the ball away straight to Palmer in the 27th minute. The City midfielder forced the player to commit himself before having a go at goal from range. Luckily for Kounde and Barca, his chipped effort was wayward and flew well over the goal.
Again in the 48th minute, Kounde failed to get on top off Busquets' headed back pass, allowing Alavarez to intercept it and lodge a shot on goal. Pena came to his team’s aid to deny the forward.
Performed: Memphis Depay
Memphis Depay, who has been heavily linked with a move to Juventus (via Barca Universal), was arguably the best player on the Camp Nou pitch on Wednesday. Coming on in the 57th minute, Depay tormented the opposition with his passing and movement and ended up walking away with a goal and an assist.
In the 66th minute, Depay was played through on goal by Gavi. The Dutch forward held up the ball well, forcing Ortega to come off his line to intercept it. The Manchester City keeper ended up bringing the former Manchester United forward down, but the ball escaped his grasp and fell in De Jong’s path. The midfielder expertly finished from close range.
Aubameyang
⚽ Aubameyang
⚽ Frenkie de Jong
⚽ Memphis Depay
Barcelona's goal-scorers are all players that Barcelona want to offload in the transfer window 👀 https://t.co/5AOmDRsoQ2
13 minutes later, Depay got on the scoresheet, applying the finishing touch to Roberto’s excellent cross from the right to put Barca 3-2 up.