FC Barcelona won the Paris Trophy after beating PSG on penalties. Messi and Rafinha were the goalscorers for Tito Vilanova outfit.
Tito Villanova used the game to give his Euro 2012 winners their first game, with Valdes and Busquets playing the first half and Piqué, Cesc, Iniesta, Xavi and Pedro coming on for the last half hour, whilst the Olympians Montoya and Tello also made their pre-season debuts.
Of the five Barça B players, Rafinha and Sergio Roberto played in the middle while Planas was at left back, with Bartra on for Puyol in the second half and Tello also replacing Alves.
The penalty shootout saw Messi, Xavi, Cesc and Piqué on target, whilst Pinto stopped PSG’s first two attempts which meant that the fifth penalty wasn’t needed, and Abidal handed Xavi the trophy.
Barça’s next game is on Wednesday against Manchester United in Gothenburg.
Few words from Barca coach, Tito Vilanova:
“I prefer a tough pre-season, so that we quickly get up to the level we need to be at”.
“What we wanted from this game was that the players get get back up to match fitness and I gave them time on the pitch according to how much time they’d got in in training. Messi played the whole game because he felt good – our aim had been to give him as long as possible and he felt good and wanted to finish the game”.
“Puyol looked good and was up to the pace”
“Abidal presence was very important for us. It’s great for the players to see he is improving. It really comforted us”.
Tito Villanova used the game to give his Euro 2012 winners their first game, with Valdes and Busquets playing the first half and Piqué, Cesc, Iniesta, Xavi and Pedro coming on for the last half hour, whilst the Olympians Montoya and Tello also made their pre-season debuts.
Of the five Barça B players, Rafinha and Sergio Roberto played in the middle while Planas was at left back, with Bartra on for Puyol in the second half and Tello also replacing Alves.
The penalty shootout saw Messi, Xavi, Cesc and Piqué on target, whilst Pinto stopped PSG’s first two attempts which meant that the fifth penalty wasn’t needed, and Abidal handed Xavi the trophy.
Barça’s next game is on Wednesday against Manchester United in Gothenburg.
Few words from Barca coach, Tito Vilanova:
“I prefer a tough pre-season, so that we quickly get up to the level we need to be at”.
“What we wanted from this game was that the players get get back up to match fitness and I gave them time on the pitch according to how much time they’d got in in training. Messi played the whole game because he felt good – our aim had been to give him as long as possible and he felt good and wanted to finish the game”.
“Puyol looked good and was up to the pace”
“Abidal presence was very important for us. It’s great for the players to see he is improving. It really comforted us”.