Seoul: Teen phenom Lamine Yamal grabbed a brace and Polish star Robert Lewandowski also found the back of the net, as FC Barcelona defeated FC Seoul 7-3 in their preseason friendly match in Seoul on Thursday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Barca, one of the world's most decorated football clubs with 28 La Liga titles and numerous other domestic and continental trophies, celebrated their first appearance in South Korea in 15 years with a wildly entertaining performance before 62,482 fans at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick started three of the club's brightest stars, with Yamal, Lewandowski, and Raphinha leading the attack, and midfielder Pedri and Dani Olmo also joining them. Those big names did not disappoint. Lewandowski opened the scoring with an easy goal in the eighth minute. Yamal struck the right goal post with his initial shot, and the ball bounced right back to Lewandowski, who had the gaping net in front of him with goalkeeper Kang Hyeon-mu down and out.
Yamal had his moment in the 14th minute, when he fired a left-footed shot past Kang from just outside the box. The FC Seoul custodian only got a piece of the ball while diving to his left. FC Seoul tried to exploit space behind Barca's defense and finally broke through in the 26th minute. Left back Kim Jin-su stripped Yamal of the ball outside Barca's box when the young forward tried to mount a counterattack. Kim then quickly crossed for Cho Young-wook, who deftly redirected the ball into the top shelf.
Dani Olmo just missed Barca's third goal after Raphinha got on a one-man fast break in the 45th minute, and FC Seoul equalized on a goal by Jordanian defender Yazan Al-Arab during stoppage time. Anderson Oliveira threaded a pass through a wall of defenders, and Yazan, as he's commonly known in the K League, beat three Barcelona players to the ball before slotting it into the bottom right corner past Joan Garcia.
Barca reclaimed their lead only moments later, courtesy of Yamal. After receiving a pass from Olmo on the right wing, Yamal faked out Kim Jin-su in the goalmouth before cutting toward the middle and finding the top left corner for his second goal of the night. Barca changed their entire starting XI to begin the second half. Marcus Rashford, former Manchester United star loaned to Barcelona earlier this month, was among the subs, setting up a reunion with his ex-Man United teammate and current FC Seoul captain, Jesse Lingard.
Rashford tested new goalkeeper Choi Chul-won with a right-footed shot from outside the box in the 52nd minute, but it was Andreas Christensen who extended Barca's lead to 4-2 by dialing in from long distance in the 55th minute. Ferran Torres took a Jofre Torrents pass and showed off a clinical finish after undressing Yazan for the 5-2 goal in the 74th minute. Two minutes later, Gavi made it 6-2 for Barcelona after a series of quick passes ended with his left-footed shot into the bottom right corner.
Jung Han-min responded for FC Seoul in the 85th minute, scoring into the far corner from the left side after Marko Dugandzic sprung him on a fast break. But Torres scored his second goal three minutes later, with Rashford's pass through multiple defenders setting up the 7-3 goal.
Barca midfielder Frenkie de Jong said playing in "very hot and very humid" conditions made this a difficult match for his side, but they all tried to reward fans in South Korea for their support. "In Seoul, the people are very nice to us. They give us a lot of support, a lot of love," the Dutch player said. "So very happy to be here, and to give something back to the people of Seoul and Korea. We tried to give a bit more because we will stay for a couple more days and just happy to be here."
Lingard said Barcelona's "quick tempo" presented challenges for FC Seoul because "they made us run a lot," and added, "But we held our own. We scored three goals." FC Barcelona will play another K League 1 club, Daegu FC, at 8 p.m. Monday at Daegu Stadium in Daegu, 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul.