For all their issues, both on and off the field, Barcelona can always rely on their youth products. Real Madrid may have the most talented squad in world football, but they have had to spend big to put it together. Barca, by contrast, head into the new campaign with a team that is reliant on academy graduates who are only getting better.
On Saturday, the two great rivals of Spanish football met in New Jersey, and it was Hansi Flick's side who ran out 2-1 winners in this pre-season Clasico, led by homegrown striker Pau Victor.
This wasn’t vintage Barcelona in tiki-taka pomp. Rather, Flick’s side pieced together a composed performance, attacking at the right times while taking their chances as they came and doing enough defensively to keep Madrid’s stars at bay.
Barca came closest early on as Thibaut Courtois made a smart stop to keep out Pau. The forward made no mistake shortly before half-time, however, as he corralled Robert Lewandowski's knockdown and headed into an empty net. The 22-year-old then added a second after the break, as his tidy tap-in rounded off a fluid counter-attack.
Madrid always carried a threat, though, and they got their deserved goal with 10 minutes remaining as their own academy graduate Nico Paz dove acrobatically to nod home at the far post, adding jeopardy to a game that badly needed it.
Despite that, Barca were comfortable in the end, seeing out some late pressure - brought about by the introduction of Vinicius Jr - to seal a win. Results don’t matter here, but a new version of Barca seems to be developing under Flick, and it might be a lot of fun to watch.
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