Messi assisted twice, Barca defeated Leicester

The reigning La Liga champions easily won 4-2 in the European ICC friendly tournament yesterday, August 3.

Munir celebrates with Messi after scoring a goal. Photo: Reuters

Goals: Munir 26', 45', Suarez 34', Mujica 84' - Musa 48', 66'

Against the reigning Premier League champions, Barcelona showed convincing form when they took a three-goal lead in the first half. In these three scoring situations, Lionel Messi left a strong mark with two final passes and one attack initiation.

Leicester only managed to get the crowd excited when they scored two goals thanks to new signing Ahmed Musa. Before the match ended, young player Rafa Mijica sealed a 4-2 victory for Barca.

This is Barca's second win in the European and North American ICC tournament. In the opening match last weekend, coach Luis Enrique's team defeated Celtic 3-1.

Compared to Barca, Leicester fielded more key players. Among them were Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy, Wes Morgan and Drinkwater. These were players who contributed greatly to the Premier League title last season.

Meanwhile, Barca also fielded some stars but not all. Striker Neymar has not returned due to preparations for the Olympics, while Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta did not play. Javier Mascherano and Sergio Busquets only appeared in the middle of the second half.

However, the La Liga giants still dominated the game. Messi played deep into the middle of the field and shone in the assist department. In the 26th minute, he passed the ball past two Leicester defenders to help Munir face goalkeeper Zieler - a situation that led to the first goal. About eight minutes later, Messi continued with a pass into the penalty area, for Suarez to control and score by dribbling past two opposing players. Before the end of the first half, Barca's attack shone again with a good combination: Messi passed to the wing to Suarez, who chipped the ball precisely for Munir to run down, increasing the score to 3-0.

Barca's stars easily stirred up trouble in front of Leicester's goal.

Leicester had to wait until new signing Musa entered the field to create a breakthrough. With his natural speed, Musa created many situations that caused trouble for Barca's defense, which was not the strongest. In the 48th minute, from a dribble from midfield, Leicester's new Nigerian player passed two players and shortened the score to 1-3.

In addition to his speed, Musa also showed the finishing skills of a high-class player. The clearest evidence was his shot into the top corner of Barca's goal, after a neat ball control in the 66th minute.

Barca's performance slowed down a bit due to the many changes in the second half. However, before the end of the match, the reigning La Liga champions managed to restore their two-goal lead. This time, Mujica tapped the ball into an empty net after a flank attack.

The defeat to Barca was Leicester's final friendly before this weekend's Community Shield, where the Premier League champions will face Manchester United, who won the FA Cup last season.

According to VNE