Barcelona was unable to win the Friuli Venezia Giulia Cup after losing to Udinese by a goal to nil in the triangular tournament held in Udine.
Before the match kicked off, players from both teams observed a minute of silence in tribute to the soul of Messi’s father, who passed away after battling illness.
Marca newspaper reviewed the match’s key highlights, noting that Barcelona dominated the game for almost the entire duration and did not allow their Italian opponents many chances.
However, the Catalan side lacked effectiveness and penetration into the opponent’s box, managing to threaten Udinese’s goal on only two occasions, and they paid a heavy price in the final minute when Ivorian Bayo scored the winning goal for Udinese.
Unlike the first match, Barcelona sought to impose control through ball possession, circulating the ball calmly and wearing down their opponent, who was forced to chase the ball.
Yet Hansi Flick’s side suffered mainly from a lack of attacking depth, as their opponent closed down spaces very effectively.
In the opening minutes, Barcelona could only create danger from set pieces, when Christensen rose for a header that went just wide.
Flick tried to change the course of the game after a quarter of an hour by making five substitutions at once, including Bisseck, who thus made his first appearance in a Barcelona shirt, alongside Balde, who featured for the first time during pre-season.
Nevertheless, the match’s rhythm remained the same, with Barcelona in control but creating few chances, and in the end Barcelona finished the game with a lineup consisting mostly of reserve-team players.
Those minutes were among the best periods of the match for the youngsters, who applied very strong pressure on the opponent and showed very promising signs, though they too lacked a goal.
Barcelona’s best aspect was that they did not allow their opponent to create chances; whereas Nottingham had several scoring opportunities in the previous match, Udinese barely posed any threat to Szczęsny.
But in the final minute, while everything pointed toward a penalty shootout, Koundé committed an error that allowed Udinese to launch a counter-attack, which Bayo finished into the net to decide the match.