English Premier League
Barcelona edge past Al Ahly as Hamza Abdelkarim and Raphinha impress Spanish press
Barcelona began their campaign at Spotify Camp Nou with a narrow 2-1 victory over Al Ahly in the Joan Gamper Trophy, but Spanish newspapers judged the performance to be well below the level usually associated with the Catalan club.
Egyptian forward Hamza Abdelkarim and Brazil international Raphinha were viewed as the key figures in the friendly, scoring the goals that secured victory for Barcelona in Wednesday evening’s meeting.
Mundo Deportivo was particularly critical of Barcelona’s display, despite the result. The Catalan newspaper described the team as “Barcelona, far from their usual level, begin their home campaign”, arguing that the side lacked the rhythm that had characterised their football under German manager Hansi Flick.
The publication singled out several players for criticism. Spain winger Lamine Yamal was described as offering little of consequence during the first half, while France defender Jules Kounde was also considered to have struggled to produce his best performance.
Mundo Deportivo did, however, place considerable emphasis on the significance of Barcelona returning to Spotify Camp Nou. The match marked the club’s first appearance at the stadium for around two and a half months, following the conclusion of their La Liga campaign in May.
The newspaper’s most positive assessment was reserved for Hamza Abdelkarim. It regarded the Egyptian as the most effective player on the pitch for either side after he scored with one of his three attempts on target.
That view was shared by Marca, which reported that Abdelkarim had continued his impressive pre-season form. His goal against Al Ahly was his fourth for Barcelona during the build-up to the new campaign, keeping him at the top of the club’s scoring charts before the season begins.
Marca also highlighted the forward’s decision not to celebrate after scoring against the club where he developed as a youth player. Abdelkarim came through Al Ahly’s academy before moving to Barcelona in January.
The Spanish newspaper was also encouraged by the early performances of Barcelona’s summer signings, most notably England forward Anthony Gordon and Germany international Karim Adeyemi.
Gordon received particular praise despite missing a late penalty that he had won himself. Marca said his introduction as a central striker brought greater pace and movement to Barcelona’s attack.
Adeyemi, meanwhile, was seen as demonstrating immediately why Flick wanted to sign him. His speed created danger on the right side of the pitch after he came on.
Catalan newspaper Sport focused on a different milestone: Raphinha’s first match as Barcelona captain. Flick has decided to hand the Brazil forward the armband for the new season.
The newspaper highlighted two aspects of Raphinha’s leadership. Before kick-off, he spoke publicly in support of team-mate Roony Bardghji, who suffered a cruciate ligament tear before the start of the campaign.
Sport considered that message the most important part of Raphinha’s first day as captain. By putting the focus on his team-mates rather than on trophies and competitions, he showed why he deserved to wear the armband.
The publication also felt it was important for Raphinha to take the penalty he had won and score from the spot. That allowed him to follow up his words away from the pitch with a decisive action on it, even though he subsequently left penalty-taking duties to Spain team-mate Lamine Yamal.
