Manchester City lost to Barcelona on penalties in a pre-season friendly after a storm delayed the start in Orlando, USA, by 80 minutes.
Fans in the sell-out crowd of 63,237 had to take shelter under the stands at Camping World Stadium before the game eventually began.
Both teams were missing key players, although City’s line-up featured Erling Haaland, the leading Premier League scorer in 2023-24 with 27 goals, and Jack Grealish, who, despite not making England’s Euro 2024 squad, scored for Pep Guardiola’s team.
Pau Victor put Barcelona ahead before England youth midfielder Nico O’Reilly, 19, equalized. Grealish then found the top corner after Pablo Torre had restored Barcelona’s lead.
The match went to penalties, with Barcelona triumphing 4-1 after Kalvin Phillips and Jacob Wright had their spot-kicks saved.
City have yet to win in pre-season, but Guardiola focused on the positives, expressing his satisfaction with Grealish’s “aggressive” performance.
“I know in controlling the ball he is good, but he made four or five shots,” said the City boss.
“He has to prove himself but I am really pleased with the game he played.”
City’s final game of their USA tour is against Chelsea in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday (22:30 BST). They face Manchester United in the Community Shield at Wembley on 10 August (15:00).
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