Barcelona cruise past Basel 5-2 in impressive pre-season display

Barcelona marked their preparations for the new season with a convincing 5-2 victory over Swiss side Basel on Sunday, with Karim Adeyemi, Hamza Abdelkarim and Lamine Yamal among the scorers.

Besio added two more goals as Barcelona underlined their attacking strength in a match in which they gradually took control after Basel had threatened to make a contest of it.

Barcelona immediately looked to impose themselves, using their wide players to create openings during the first 10 minutes. Gordon and Adeyemi were involved in several dangerous attacks, while Espart also went close with an effort from the edge of the penalty area that cleared the crossbar.

Basel then succeeded in reducing the threat posed by the visitors and began to create opportunities of their own. Aaron Malouda came close to giving the Swiss side the lead as Barcelona were forced to withstand their strongest spell of the opening period.

However, just as Basel appeared to be gaining momentum, Barcelona broke the deadlock. Raphinha delivered a cross towards the far post and Adeyemi reacted decisively, sending a left-footed finish into the net.

Barcelona had chances to extend their advantage before half-time. Raphinha and Fermin Lopez were both presented with opportunities, but neither was able to convert them.

The missed chances proved costly almost immediately. Doukoure took advantage of a poor clearance by Barcelona’s defence and fired into the net to restore parity, prompting loud celebrations among the Basel supporters.

Yamal makes an impact

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick made a series of changes after the interval to distribute playing time across his squad. Wojciech Szczesny, Jules Kounde, Alejandro Balde and Gordon were introduced from the bench, replacing the players who had started in those positions, while Hamza Abdelkarim also came on. Raphinha was moved to the left wing.

The changes had an instant effect. Barcelona scored with their first attack of the second half, as Abdelkarim put them back in front.

That goal gave Barcelona greater composure and shifted the focus of the crowd towards the anticipated arrival of Yamal. The youngster had received a strong ovation from supporters during the warm-up before being welcomed onto the pitch in the 65th minute alongside Dani Olmo.

Pau Cubarsi, Brian Farinhas, Besio and Ebrima Tunkara also entered the game as Barcelona continued to rotate their team.

With 10 minutes remaining, Kounde was brought down inside the Basel penalty area and Barcelona were awarded a penalty. Yamal took responsibility from the spot and converted successfully, sending the supporters into another celebration.

Basel were not finished, though, and reduced the deficit once again from a penalty of their own. The spot-kick was awarded after an intervention by Farinhas, with Olayigbe making no mistake to score Basel’s second goal.

Barcelona responded decisively in the closing stages. Besio scored twice in quick succession to complete the 5-2 victory and ensure Flick’s side finished the evening with a comfortable scoreline.

The result provides Barcelona with an encouraging foundation as they continue their preparations for the new season, while Basel were left to reflect on a performance in which they competed for long periods before Barcelona’s depth and attacking quality made the difference.