Man City vs Barcelona: 3-3 draw but charity wins the day for ALS

Manchester City clashed with their La Liga counterpart Barcelona at Camp Nou on Thursday for a charity game. The game, which was played to raise funds for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), was played like a usual friendly as both teams experimented with new faces. The game, however, was an engrossing one as both teams managed to put up a high-scoring clash and the tie ended in a 3-3 draw.

Xavi Hernandez’s Barcelona had an optimistic start as the team conjured up many chances, dominating the attack and haunting Manchester City’s defence in the first 10 minutes. The unpredictable game, however, escalated further and inspired Manchester City to draw first blood with the help of their Argentinian young player Julian Alvarez in the 21st minute due to the Goalkeeper’s blunder.

Barcelona answered with a stunner as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang smashed a volley into the first post and redeemed his earlier miss in the initial stage. The Catalan giants added to their tally with the help of Dutch midfielder De Jong in the 66th minute as Manchester City flustered in their defence.

With Barca leading 2-1 against Pep’s Manchester City, The highlight of the match turned out to be Joao Cancelo’s long-ranger in the second half as the Portuguese international tested the keeper, failing to score. However, Kevin De Bruyne and company fought back with another goal scored with the help of Cancelo’s cross, tapped in by Cole Palmer in the 70th minute.

The game’s competitive energy kept up with Dutch striker Memphis Depay, who failed to convert a one on one, redeemed himself by scoring in the 79th minute. Manchester City subbed in Erling Haaland and he was the spur needed and proved it right by winning a penalty in the closing minutes of the game; the penalty was converted by Mahrez in extra time.

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The friendly concluded as a 3-3 draw.

The friendly was a little more personal for Pep Guardiola and Barcelona as they played to raise funds to help with the research for the cure for ALS disease. Barcelona’s former assistant manager, Juan Carlos Unzue, who is also a good friend of Pep, was diagnosed with the disease earlier in 2020. Unzue appeared at the beginning of the match to kick off the game and to show how he still has a little football left in him. He sat alongside Pep in City’s stands throughout the game.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a degenerative-neuro disease that has no cure at present and has a life expectancy of four to five years.

The fans also saw both the teams in their 3rd kits as Manchester City wore green with black stripes whereas Barca wore an unconventional combination of blue, white, and red.

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