Barcelona won their first El Clasico of the season on Saturday night after Pau Victor scored twice to beat arch-rivals Real Madrid 2-1 in New York.
It was another big win for Hansi Flick in pre-season, after Barcelona also beat Premier League champions Manchester City on penalties earlier this week.
The match, played before a sold-out crowd in New York, was halted for an hour after a wild storm near MetLife Stadium. When the match resumed, Barcelona showed Real why they won’t have their way in LaLiga again this season.
Mail Sport highlights five things we learned from the game.
Barcelona won the first El Clasico of the season by beating rivals Real Madrid 2-1 in New York
The productive Pau strikes again
Barcelona scored eight fewer goals than Real Madrid and six fewer than Girona in LaLiga last season.
Robert Lewandowski is also in the final stages of his career, so if Barcelona want to win the title again this season, more firepower is needed.
Step forward, Pau Victor.
The 22-year-old is no prodigy but he has been deadly in pre-season and his brace here proved decisive, also scoring in that win over Manchester City.
After spending the last two seasons on loan for both Sabadell and Barcelona’s B team, he finally looks ready for more first-team action and could be a dangerous new weapon for Flick.
Pau Victor scored two goals for Barcelona, continuing to prove his worth to Hansi Flick
Endrick needs time
With Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham expected to start most games in attack next season, this was a great opportunity for Endrick to show what he can do in important games.
Unfortunately, the 18-year-old seemed somewhat overwhelmed by the event and did nothing of note.
I have to say he has only just settled in with his new teammates and connections are still being formed on the pitch, for example a mistimed run in the first half was a chance he missed.
He also sent a shot wide in the first 45 minutes that should have been on target, but as the game progressed he disappeared from view as Real looked for goals.
It’s unfair to have too high expectations of him for next season, but as many former Real players will point out, you don’t get much time to settle in at the Bernabeu.
Endrick started alone up front, but the Brazilian struggled to have any influence on the match
Flick is the real deal
Since Ernesto Valverde left in 2020 after winning two LaLiga titles and one Copa del Rey, Barcelona have had a rather disappointing run of coaches.
It seemed the task was too big for Quique Setien and Ronald Koeman. Xavi won LaLiga, but his lack of experience eventually showed when problems off the pitch caused problems on the pitch.
But in Flick they now have a coach who has a proven track record at Bayern Munich and who has a clear plan about how he wants his team to play.
The strategy of building up the ball and pressing without possession was clearly visible and his team dominated for most of the match.
Bayern are also known for having political issues in the boardroom. If Flick can solve those at Barcelona, they could have found gold in the dugout.
Hansi Flick has not been in charge for very long, but his style is already clearly visible in Barcelona’s game
Vinicius Jr. is in a class of his own
Vinicius had only been on the pitch for five minutes, but the quality he brought was remarkable.
It seemed as if no Real player had dribbled past their man all evening, but Vinicius’ determination to do so revolutionised the game.
He almost wanted it too much and at one point he ran towards his teammates to take the ball from them, while they were only a few metres away from him.
Vinicius could be forgiven for feeling that the focus has shifted from him to Mbappé following the Frenchman’s stunning arrival from Paris Saint-Germain.
But rather than feeling threatened, he should be salivating at the thought of the damage an attack from himself, Mbappe, Bellingham and Rodrygo could do to European football.
Vinicius Jr had an immediate impact on the game for Real Madrid and his quality was noticed
Warning for World Cup
The 2026 World Cup final will be held at MetLife Stadium, but tonight we saw that hosting a major tournament in the US in the summer is a big problem.
After only 12 minutes the match was stopped for an hour due to stormy weather with torrential rain and lightning.
Also in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the friendly match between Premier League club Wolves and German team RB Leipzig was hit by torrential rain on Saturday evening.
Clouds gathered over MetLife Stadium before the game was stopped for an hour due to a storm
Of course, FIFA can’t predict or plan for bad weather, but the advice to fans tonight was a little confusing.
At first they were told to take shelter in the hall while the storm was overhead, but then they were allowed to return to their seats – and the players to the field – while the storm was still raging.
If you’re heading to America in 2026, the advice seems pretty clear: bring your ponchos, because it could be a soaking wet World Cup.
