Daegu: FC Barcelona wrapped up their South Korean summer tour with a 5-0 victory over Daegu FC on Monday. Stars Robert Lewandowski, Marcus Rashford, and Gavi were among the goal scorers for the Spanish giants in front of 45,183 fans at Daegu Stadium in Daegu, 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
According to Yonhap News Agency, last Thursday, Barca had defeated FC Seoul 7-3 in Seoul, behind braces by Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres. Yamal, the 18-year-old sensation, got his second straight start in South Korea and assisted Gavi's opening goal of the match in the 21st minute. After drawing multiple defenders to himself on the right side of the box, Yamal found Gavi just outside the center of the box. The midfielder then fired a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner for a 1-0 lead.
The goal came moments after Daegu FC had blown a chance to grab the lead. When Jeong Chi-in rolled a pass from the left wing, Barca goalkeeper Joan Garcia mistimed his dive to catch the ball. It landed on Geovani's feet with nothing but a wide-open net in front of him and Garcia down and out, but the forward airmailed the shot. Robert Lewandowski doubled Barca's lead in the 27th minute when he slotted home a Gerard Martin cross. Then during stoppage time, Ronald Araujo got his foot on the ball already on its way into the net following Gavi's shot.
FC Barcelona changed their whole starting lineup to begin the second half. And a trio of subs connected for their team's fourth goal, with Dani Olmo playing a give-and-go with Marcus Rashford before setting up Toni Fernandez's left-footed shot just inside the box. The skies opened up a few minutes after the Spanish club went up 4-0, but Barca's offense remained on fire. In the 65th minute, Rashford was the receiving end of another pretty passing play, with Eric Garcia assisting the 5-0 goal.
FC Barcelona spent most of the second half in the Daegu FC half of the field, and only some big saves by the 21-year-old goalkeeper Han Tae-hee kept the match from getting further out of hand. Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick said he was pleased with the performance of teenagers like Yamal, Dro Fernandez, and Toni Fernandez on Monday, and with the work of the entire team during their stay in South Korea. "For us, it was very important that in these matches, every half time, we could change, so 45 minutes for every player," Flick said. "The conditions were very hot, and for the players, it was not easy. But they did a fantastic job. I am happy with my team. This is something where we can build up, and this was our goal to win and also to train hard, and we did it."
Daegu FC's Brazilian forward Cesinha said it was tough to handle Barcelona opponents because they didn't commit mistakes. "These players don't make mistakes. And they put a lot of pressure on us," Cesinha said. "They made great players under duress, and that was the big difference."