Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez said he was pleased with how well the club's pre-season has gone after completing their tour of the United States with a 2-0 victory over New York Red Bulls on Saturday night.
Ousmane Dembele and Memphis Depay scored the goals in front of a sellout crowd of 25,252 at Red Bull Arena as Barca finished their four-match tour unbeaten, which included a 1-0 win over rivals Real Madrid.
"It didn't seem like a friendly game; the intensity, the rhythm, the passion they played with," Xavi said. "It was a very good test for us. We are in a good moment, lots of good feelings from this tour in the USA, so a good start for us ahead of the new competitions."
French winger Dembele opened the scoring with his third goal in two matches. After collecting a pass from Raphinha, he unleashed a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner of Carlos Coronel's net.
Dutch forward Depay then struck in the 87th minute, capitalising on a Red Bulls defensive mixup to slot the ball into an empty net.
It was another satisfying evening for Barcelona but Robert Lewandowski, signed from Bayern Munich for around €50 million, remains in search of his first goal.
The Polish striker was clearly pushing to open his Barca account in the first half, but failed to connect on several attempts. That included a header over the bar in the 17th minute and a 20th-minute effort in which he escaped a trio of defenders to unleash a shot that went over the bar.
Barcelona will conclude their pre-season with a match against Mexico's Pumas UNAM at Camp Nou next Sunday, before opening their La Liga campaign at home against Rayo Vallecano on August 13.
Check out the best photos from Barcelona's win over New York Red Bulls in the gallery above. To move on to the next photo, either click on the arrows or swipe.
