- Eden Hazard took out Barcelona's defence with a fine run in the 10th minute to score the opener
- Oscar almost doubled Chelsea's lead with a first-half free-kick but the crossbar saved Barcelona
- Luis Suarez equalised with a close-range chip over Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois
- Kurt Zouma tried to clear but the referee deemed it crossed the line despite Chelsea's protests
- Barcelona then took the lead through their 20-year-old Spanish forward Sandro in the 66th minute
- Gary Cahill produced a brave header to score Chelsea's late equaliser leaving him with a bloody nose
- Radamel Falcao took Chelsea's first penalty and scored as they beat Barcelona 4-2 from the spot
Chelsea
saved their best for last on their tour of the USA, beating Barcelona
4-2 on penalties at the end of a spirited 2-2 draw at FedEx Field, home
of the Washington Redskins, in front of more than 78,000 fans.
Loic
Remy scored the winning penalty after Alen Halilovic had missed for
Barca and Thibaut Courtois, the official man of the match, saved from
Gerard Pique. Radamel Falcao, who had another 20-minute spell, scored
his penalty confidently as did Victor Moses and Ramires.
The
penalty shoot-out victory though was less important than the improved
performance. Though Barcelona started with a considerably weaker side
than Chelsea - who had close to a full-strength line-up – their
increased sharpness and cohesion was noticeable in an impressive
first-half performance.
Chelsea's Eden Hazard pictured finishing his excellent run with a low shot to put his team ahead against Barcelona
Hazard produced a magical run and cut open Barcelona's defence to open the scoring for Chelsea in the pre-season tie
Chelsea
maestro Hazard celebrates with Brazilian youngster Kenedy, who was
granted permission to play by his current club Fluminense
Chelsea celebrate after Hazard's excellent opener in the 10th minute as the Premier League giants got off to a fine start
Suarez shoots against Chelsea as the Barcelona forward tried to get his team back into the fierce pre-season tie
Suarez pictured celebrating in front of the fans after equalising against Chelsea shortly into the second half
Barcelona took the lead through their 20-year-old Spanish forward Sandro (right) in the 66th minute but could not hold on
Sandro celebrates with team-mate
Rafinha after giving Barcelona the lead with some neat trickery before
bending the ball into the corner
England defender Gary Cahill was hit in the face as he scored Chelsea's equaliser in the 86th minute against Barcelona
Cahill scored in the dying moments to send the pre-season game between the two giants in the US to penalties
Cahill, pictured being seen to by medical staff after his goal, produced a brave header to score Chelsea's late equaliser
Cahill put his neck on the line to
equalise in the pre-season tie before being substituted as Chelsea went
on to win on penalties
And
even when Chelsea fell behind as Barca, and Luis Suarez in particular,
began to shine, they had sufficient stamina and determination to get
themselves back into match.
A
debut was given to 19-year-old Brazilian Kenedy, still not yet signed
from Fluminense but was permitted to play in this game by his Brazilian
club.
He impressed as well, strong in the challenge, tracking back well and quick getting forward.
He
even directed a well-aimed kick at Adriano early on, refusing to be
bullied. Still, whether he did enough in 45 minutes to earn his move was
unclear.
Chelsea
started well, both Kurt Zouma and Nemanja Matic both went close with
headers and the Serbian should have scored from his while Oscar went
close on seven minutes.
But,
given the run of play, it was no surprise when Eden Hazard picked up
the ball after 10 minutes, easily beating Ivan Rakitic and swerved his
way past two further Barcelona defenders before finishing coolly.
In a week in which he was described as better than Cristiano Ronaldo
by his manager and in which he himself stated he needed to score as
many as the Portuguese, it was a promising demonstration of what might
be expected this season.
But,
despite looking better than at any previous stage of their US tour,
Chelsea failed to press home their advantage. There was a delightful
dinked free-kick on to the bar by Oscar and Diego Costa should have
scored when clean through on 33 minutes.
Slowly Suarez got the measure of Chelsea, renewing old acquaintance with Gary Cahill.
Courtois
saved well from point blank range from the Uruguayan on 31 minutes and
when Suarez wriggled away from his man to deliver a well-timed cross to
Rakitic, Cahill slid in desperately to force him to shoot over.
Radamel Falcao, out to impress
following last year's disappointment at Manchester United, takes an
acrobatic shot in the second half
Oscar almost doubled Chelsea's lead with a first-half free-kick (pictured shooting) but the crossbar saved Barcelona
Ivan Rakitic of Barcelona reacts after missing a shot against Chelsea during their pre-season tie in Washington
Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta jumps for the ball during their pre-season tie against Barcelona which became quite fierce at times
Chelsea wideman Hazard makes a pass under pressure from Barcelona pair Douglas (left) and Munir during Wednesday morning's clash
Chelsea's Kenedy, who has not signed with the Premier League club yet, contests with Suarez for the ball during the tie
Suarez looks towards the referee during the tie as the Barcelona forward felt he was being given rough treatment
But
Suarez seems to reserve special pleasure for showing up Cahill and on
52 minutes a clever dummy totally deceived the Chelsea defender, Suarez
feigning to shoot, which tricked Cahill into diving in and rendered him
obsolete on the floor.
The
Uruguayan simply recovered his poise to execute a delightful chip over
Courtois. Not even the despairing lunge of Zouma could stop it going
over the line.
Barca
brought on Andres Iniesta, Pique and Pedro on the hour and immediately
looked an even stronger unit but it was a younger player, 20-year-old
Sandro who provided the breakthrough, breaking down the left, executing a
step over in front of Branislav Ivanovic to create the space to curl
the ball into the far right-hand corner of the net.
Chelsea did respond however, with Moses, who has been something of a revelation on this tour, incisive on the right.
Ramires should have scored on 79 minutes but drove wide from close range.
Chelsea
gleaned their late equaliser from a Willian free-kick on 86 minutes,
which Cahill met bravely, heading home but receiving a blow from
goalkeeper Jordi Masip to his head as he did so, which necessitated him
being substituted.
Chelsea captain John Terry puts an arm up as he tussles with Barcelona midfielder Sergi Samper
Terry's arm connects with Samper's jaw as the pair jostle for the ball in the friendly clash in Maryland
Both of Samper's arms are clearly locked around Terry's waist in an attempt to stop him winning the ball
Loic Remy, pictured scoring the winning penalty, helped the champions to victory in their preparations for the new season ahead
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho leaves the field as he saw his team draw 2-2 before beating Barcelona 4-2 on penalties
Former Barcelona team-mates and Spain internationals Gerard Pique and Cesc Fabregas share a joke at full-time
A fan is held back by security as he tries to get close to Suarez and the Barcelona stars following their defeat on penalties
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