Chelsea vs Barcelona match report: Blues end US tour on a high with penalty shootout victory over Champions League holders
Chelsea 2 Barcelona 2 (Chelsea win 4-2 on penalties): Alen Halilovic saw his penalty effort hit the bar before Thibaut Courtois saved from Gerard Pique
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea finished their pre-season tour of North America by defeating European champions Barcelona 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw over 90 minutes in Washington DC.
The Blues converted all four of their spot-kicks in the in the International Champions Cup match but the Spanish giants were left to rue Alen Halilovic's chip which came back off the bar and Thibaut Courtois saving from Gerard Pique.
It was an excellent end to the tour for Jose Mourinho's men, who went ahead through Eden Hazard's early strike only for Barca to turn the tide through second-half goals from Luis Suarez and Sandro Ramirez although Gary Cahill headed home four minutes from time to send the game straight to penalties.
Hazard gave the near 80,000 fans in attendance reason for cheer at the FedEx Field, Washington's NFL stadium, when he put Chelsea ahead after 10 minutes.
The Belgian collected the ball in Barca's half before shrugging off several challenges and poking past goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Ivan Rakitic nearly drew Barca level almost immediately but saw a strike palmed over the bar by Courtois, while at the other end Oscar's strike came back off the woodwork.
Chelsea took their narrow lead into the interval but were pegged back six minutes into the resumption, Suarez scooping over Courtois, with Kurt Zouma clearing after the ball had already crossed the line.
A spate of substitutions appeared to suck the momentum from the game but Barca took the lead in the 62nd minute after Sandro cut inside and fired past Courtois.
However, Cahill bravely levelled in the 86th minute, leaping highest to head home from Willian's floated free-kick, with the England defender receiving a bloody nose from Barca substitute custodian Jordi Masip for his troubles.
That took the game to spot-kicks, where Radamel Falcao, Victor Moses, Ramires and Loic Remy were all on-target to give the Blues a confidence boosting win ahead of Sunday's Community Shield meeting with Arsenal at Wembley.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments