FRENKIE DE JONG and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang put on an el of a show at the Nou Camp by scoring against the Prem champs.
Ex-Arsenal man Auba cracked in a sweet strike to cancel out Julian Alvarez’s opener and get Chelsea licking their lips ahead of a mooted £25million move.
Blues boss Thomas Tuchel coached Auba at Dortmund and will have been impressed as he continues his hunt for a striker.
A number of other superstars also dazzled in the match, which was a friendly to raise money for an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis charity.
De Jong was on target, which will no doubt seduce Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag further as he eyes a £56.2million transfer.
The Dutchman was spotted swapping notes with Bernardo Silva, with his move potentially paving the way for the Portuguese winger’s arrival at the Catalan Giants.
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Cole Palmer coolly equalised for the visitors after De Jong had put Barca in the driving seat and Memphis Depay looked to have wrapped things up with a late strike.
It may have been a parting gift given talk of a shock late swoop from United for Depay – five years after selling him.
Barca really lived up to their motto ‘Mes Que Un Club’ (more than a club) with all proceeds of the match going to the ALS research charity Fundacion Luzon.
The club’s former goalkeeper and coach Unzue was diagnosed with the disease two years ago and played with Pep Guardiola at Barcelona under Johan Cruyff.
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City newbie Alvarez, who arrived from River Plate in July, will have done his hero and Argentina compatriot Sergio Aguero proud by breaking the deadlock after 21 minutes.
It was, however, a comical goal as a routine Sergio Gomez cross spilled out of Inaki Pena’s clutches, leaving Alvarez the simple task of slotting home from close range.
But Aubameyang raised the tiny roof above the 91,062 fans just nine minutes later with a fierce drive at the back post after latching o nto a Sergio Busquets header.
The 1,500 travelling City supporters were mixed in with the Barca mob, but both sets of fans put their differences aside to celebrate the cause.
The biggest racket actually came from kids when Erling Haaland strutted on to the sidelines for his warm-up.
De Jong then nudged Barca ahead after pouncing on sloppy City defending after being teed up by Depay on 66 minutes.
But it was quickly cancelled out by Palmer, who tapped in a peach of a pass from Joao Cancelo.
Depay put Xavi’s side back in the driving seat with an expert finish thanks to Sergio Robert’s inch-perfect cross.
Eyebrows had been raised over the friendly being held three weeks after the Prem season had already started, and you can see why when Luke Mbete was precautionarily stretchered off after a clash of heads with Andreas Christensen.
A cacophony of boos rang around the Nou Camp as Haaland dived and won a penalty in the dying seconds.
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Even the Norwegian icon couldn’t hide the snigger on his face before Riyad Mahrez fired in the equaliser from the spot.
After four days of soaking up the Catalan sunshine, Pep’s bronzed stars will hope to sizzle against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
