Real Madrid - Barcelona summary: score, goals and highlights | USA Clásico 2024

Peep peep peeep! For the fourth time in four Clásicos in the US, it's Barcelona who are victorious.

After a long lightning delay in the first half - indeed, there were doubts over whether the Game would even be able to resume - Pau Víctor emerged as the man of the match.

Having also netted against Manchester City in midweek, the 22-year-old scored the double that has earned the Blaugrana the win. Both of his strikes were very nicely worked goals.

Barça now move on to a friendly with AC Milan in Baltimore on Tuesday. On the same day, Madrid face Chelsea in Charlotte, in their final game before the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta.

Thanks for reading - bye!

That foul on Vinícius gives Madrid the chance to send a final ball into the mixer. Courtois is up for it...

But Modric's ball into the middle ends up in Peña's arms.

Barça work it to Faye on the left, with space to surge towards the byline and knock it into the middle. He does indeed knock it into the middle, but his ball is cut out.

When Madrid look to break, Fort is yellow carded for tugging back Vinícius.

We're into the first of two added minutes in New Jersey.

Ramón is booked for a foul on Raphinha.

Oh, that's almost the most impudent of goals by Vinícius.

From the left-hand side of the Barça box, he tries to dink the ball over Peña and into his left-hand corner, but he just overcooks it. It flies over the bar.

On the right, Martín tries to drift a cross into the danger area, but his delivery is deflected straight into Peña's arms.

Barça are just a few minutes away from making it four wins from four in Clásicos played on US soil.

Barça look to respond to that Paz goal, pouring forward and working it right to Raphinha, who has acres of space on the right.

He can't quite bring the ball under his spell at the first time of asking, and ends up slapping his cross straight down Courtois' gullet.

There had been some 'olès' from Barça-minded fans a couple of minutes ago, but now Madrid are within a goal of levelling.

What with all the substitutions, there hasn't actually been a whole lot of play to tell you about of late. Barça do create a clear chance for a third here, though.

Raphinha skims a neat ball into Darvich's run into the Madrid area, but he can't beat Courtois! The goalkeeper scampers off his line to narrow the angle, and Darvich is unable to find a way through.

Three changes for Barça: Vitor Roque, Gündogan and Darvich are on. Lewandowski, Casadó and Bernal make way.

Real Madrid bring Lorenzo Aguado on for Lucas Vázquez.

Martín is shown a yellow after absolutely hurtling into Faye. A very heavy challenge.

To be fair to Vinícius, it's not like he hasn't looked sharp overall.

Again he dances in from the left wing and into the Barça box. He drops a shoulder and shows Domínguez a clean pair of heels, before laying it inside towards Paz, who can't connect.

A couple more changes are coming on the Barça bench.

That's excellent play by Ramón. The youngster shows real fleet-footedness to get to the ball first on the left wing, before tearing into the Barcelona box.

From the byline, Ramón plays it back to Vinícius in a great position on the penalty spot. The Brazilian's first touch lets him down, however, and he loses it. A sharper Vinícius would surely have done more with that.

Vinícius scampers down the left again, advancing into the box and skipping along the touchline. He tries to cut it back, but Ter Stegen is there at the near post to gather the ball.

Madrid make a triple change: Jacobo Ramón, Rafael Obrador and Nico Paz are all on.

Rüdiger, García and Endrick are off.

Bernal becomes the first player to go into Armando Villarreal's notebook, receiving a deserved yellow card when he drags back Endrick.

Barcelona make a quintuple substitution.

Iñaki Peña, Héctor Fort, Mikayil Faye, Raphinha and Guille Fernández are all on.

Ter Stegen, Martínez, Valle, Víctor and Torre all make way.

Yep, Vinícius is a lad who makes things happen.

This time, Enrick nods a corner kick to his compatriot, who has peeled off into space at the back post. He can't control the ball, though.

Madrid get Vinícius into a position to hare forward down the left wing, but Sergi Domínguez does excellently to step across and hold the Brazilian off. He snuffs out the danger very well.

Right away, Vinícius creates an opening for Madrid. Darting into the penalty box from the left wing, he cuts it back to Ceballos at the top of the Barça box. 

Ceballos tries to turn his way into shooting space, but loses it. Should have got his shot away more quickly.

Real Madrid make their first two substitutions, bringing Vinícius Júnior and Joan Martínez on for Militao and Brahim.

How can Real Madrid respond?

Receiving the ball from Güler, Endrick tumbles to the turf in the Barça box under Bernal's challenge. He wants a penalty... but he's not going to get one.

Barcelona started the second half on the front foot, and have begun the second in the same fashion.

Víctor unleashes a shot from just outside of the area, forcing Courtois into another smart stop.

No half-time changes for Real Madrid, it appears.

Barcelona made a few half-time substitutions, by the way.

Sergi Domínguez, Gerard Martín and Quim Junyent are on for Christensen, Balde and Unai.

The players had a nice long rest midway through the first half, so it makes plenty of sense that they've got on with the second 45 so quickly. Not sure if that half-time break lasted even 10 minutes.

Peeep! After the shortest half time in history, we're back underway already.

Here is a pitchside view of that Pau Víctor opener for Barcelona.

It really was all about the cross from Valle.

Peeep peeep peeep!

Madrid had probably had the better of the play since the restart, but Barça lead through a very nicely worked goal.

Barça very much have their tails up now.

Picking up the ball on the halfway line, Unai surges forward past Güler, before Martín has to bring him down.

Again Madrid keep it inside the Barça half.

Finally, Modric slips a sumptuous little ball into Endrick's run into a pocket of space at the top of the box.

Having brought the ball under his spell, Endrick wastes no time in shooting - but zips his low effort just past the post.

Madrid come again. On the right, Güler releases Vázquez into space on the right-hand byline, where Vázquez wins a corner.

It's Güler who takes the corner, whipping over an inswinging ball to the far post. Ceballos can't connect.

Receiving the ball from García, Brahim cuts in from the left-hand touchline, before appealing for a free-kick for a tug. He doesn't get it.

Just as I say that, Lewandowski very nearly gets Unai in on Courtois. His first-time ball was nice directed, but Militao - I think it was - was alive to the danger.

Modric delivers the free-kick into the Barcelona box. It's nodded down to Güler, who gets a snapshot away, but it's blocked.

A moment later, Brahim slips García into crossing space on the left-hand byline, and Barça have to hack it behind.

Madrid are on top right now.

Endrick nutmegs Íñigo Martínez just inside the Barça half, and the defender responds by shoving the youngster over. He is not impressed.

You can't take your eyes off this Game. That extended break doesn't appear to have curbed either side's forward thrust.

From the left, Balde crosses for Barcelona, his ball reaching Víctor at the back post. Víctor controls and shoots - but his strike flies just past Courtois' far post!

Now Brahim shoots from 25 yards out - but it's not going to trouble Ter Stegen.

Güler has the ball in the net - but it's ruled out!

Brahim slips in a lovely little ball that splits the Barça defence in two, leaving Güler in on Ter Stegen.

Güler finishes low... but the flag is up. He was deemed just offside.

Madrid keep it for a good minute or so, before Ceballos tries to turn a ball round the corner into Endrick's run forward inside the left-hand channel. Ceballos can't find the Brazilian.

If Unai had controlled that pass, he was in.

Víctor finds him with a lovely ball from right to left, with space opening up ahead of the pass's recipient. Unai lets the ball run under his foot, however, and the chance is lost.

Lewandowski is furious with Armando Villarreal. From just outside the Madrid box, the Pole tries to dink a ball into the path of Pau Víctor, but Militao blocks.

Lewandowski is convinced Militao blocked with his hand - and the replays suggests he did. No free-kick is given, though.

Back come Barcelona down the left. 

Balde tries to skip past Güler and into crossing space, but the young Real Madrid player shows good hustle to get a foot in and knock the ball out of play.

The Madrid fans inside MetLife Stadium make their appreciation audible.

On the left, Barcelona come forward through Pablo Torre.

He drives into the Madrid area, but he can't get his shot away.

So, where were we?

In a position deep on the right-hand side, Güler tries to clip a long ball into the Barcelona box, into Brahim's run. It's too long, but Brahim gives the Turk a thumbs-up.

Over on Real Madrid's right wing, there are some sizeable damp patches.

A reminder of the teams:

Real Madrid

Courtois, Vázquez, Militao, Rüdiger, García, Martín, Modric, Ceballos, Güler, Díaz, Endrick

Barcelona

Ter Stegen, Valle, Christensen, Martínez, Balde, Bernal, Casadó, Hernández, Torre, Víctor, Lewandowski

Play is now underway once more.

Play about to resume!

MetLife Stadium now says the game will resume "shortly".

Ah, and the players are now out and ready to go!

Players limbering up ahead of restart

The players are back out on the pitch and are warming up.

"Incredible, we thought there was no chance [of play resuming]," posts AS's Manu de Juan.

Match to restart at 8:30pm

A MetLife Stadium update has just announced that fans can return to their seats and that play will resume at 8:30pm local time. That's 10 minutes from now.

"The rain has stopped"

AS's Manu de Juan has this update from inside MetLife Stadium:

“The rain has stopped. Officials are inspecting the pitch. And some fans are returning to their seats in the stands, despite the fact that there are still bolts of lightning every little while.”

The continued lightning does appear to be something of a problem, if the rules say play can't restart until half an hour has passed without lightning.

Spectators shelter from rain after the Clásico was halted due to adverse weather conditions.

If anyone is stuck for a way to generate 1.21 gigawatts, New Jersey is the place to be right now.

"Another bolt of lightning"

AS's Manu de Juan has just posted this video of another bolt of lightning.

"Every time one happens, the clock goes back to zero: half an hour [until the game can restart]."

In an another post a couple of minutes ago, Manu shared footage of the pitch, which is now full of puddles. "It's looking very unlikely that this game will be played," he concluded.

What are the local rules on lightning delays?

The rules in the US say that the match must be stopped for at least half an hour, and that play cannot restart until 30 minutes have passed without lightning within an eight-mile radius of the stadium.

State Police officers inside MetLife Stadium shelter from rain after the suspension of Real Madrid vs Barcelona.

Before play was stopped, this was the closest we came to a goal.

Pau Víctor met Pablo Torre's corner with a fierce header - but Thibaut Courtois is quite good at saving shots. He beat this one out before it could find its way high into the Madrid net.

It was an entertaining opening to the Game; that all feels like a very long time ago, now.

"Rain falling much more intensely"

We have another video courtesy of our AS colleague Manu de Juan.

"The rain is falling much more intensely now," Manu reports. "It's quite something, how hard it's falling."

Real Madrid TV say they have been told by a local official that the lightning threat will continue to loom over MetLife Stadium until at least 8:10pm local time.

"Serious doubts" that friendly will restart

More from Manu de Juan, and it's not an optimistic verdict. He's not sure we'll see any more play.

"Here’s how hard the rain is falling over MetLife Stadium," Manu says. "Serious doubts about whether this [game] is going to be played.”

On MetLife Stadium's official X account, spectators are being told: "We will advise when it is clear to return to your seats."

No indication from Barcelona, either, on when play might restart.

It remains unclear how long we're going to have to wait.

On X, Real Madrid have posted simply that the game has been halted "until further notice"

"If this game were being held at the Bernabéu..."

"If this game were being held at the Bernabéu with the roof closed, we could have carried on playing," complains AS journalist, and No. 1 Real Madrid fan, Tomás Roncero.

"EVERYONE has to take cover"

More from AS's Manu de Juan, who shares this photo of one of the big screens at MetLife Stadium.

"The screens are insistent that EVERYONE has to take cover," he says.

Lightning storm also stopped Euro 2024 clash

If you were watching the European Championship this summer, this scenario may be quite familiar to you.

During the group stage, the match between Germany and Denmark was halted during the first half, after a lightning storm over Dortmund's Westfalenstadion.

In that instance, play was able to restart after about 25 minutes.

MetLife fans receive police alert

Manu adds that those inside the stadium have received this alert, in English and Spanish, from New Jersey state police. It urges fans to leave their seats and take cover in the inside areas of the stadium.

"Half-hour wait at least"

From inside MetLife Stadium, AS reporter Manu de Juan has this update:

"This is what things look like in the stadium right now. Stands almost empty. Half-hour wait at least."

Play suspended - lightning delay

Real Madrid vs Barcelona is expected to restart at 8:30pm ET, after play was stopped due to adverse weather conditions in New Jersey.

Read Oliver Povey's full report on the lightning delay.

The rain is falling over MetLife Stadium. No lightning just yet, but clearly there is the imminent possibility of some.

Ah. Armando Villarreal is taking the players off the pitch - one can only assume this is storm-related.

Modric leads the players' protests about the decision to stop the game, but off they troop.

I generally find preseason games to be an utter snooze fest, if I'm honest, but this has been an enjoyable opening.

Madrid work it left to Brahim, who drops a shoulder and crosses into the Barcelona box. His ball is a bit too long, though, and nobody in a white shirt is getting on the end of that.

That's a fine save by Courtois! The first clear chance goes Barça's way.

Torre swings over the corner from the right, his delivery arrowing right on to Pau Víctor's head.

Víctor gets plenty behind his effort, but Courtois beats it out!

At the other end, Lewandowski slips the ball out to the right to Valle, who gets a cross away.

His ball is deflected behind for a corner, which Pablo Torre will take.

This game is being played at a very sprightly, unpreseason-y pace, it has to be said.

Madrid push Barça back, with Modric directing operations. He whips a low ball out to Vázquez, who in turn fizzes the ball into the middle.

Endrick is on the receiving end of Vázquez's delivery, but he can't connect properly with his shot.

For the first time, Madrid get across the halfway line and create an attack of substance. 

Los Blancos work it to Endrick, who tries to collect and run at a backpedalling Blaugrana defence. Valle is quickly across to take the ball off Endrick's toes, and Barça clear.

Again Barça come forward, to rising decibels inside MetLife Stadium.

Balde darts down the left and tries to clip a ball into Unai, but again the youngster is unable to bring the ball under his spell.

Barcelona begin the game in possession, working it to Christensen to trot out from the back and lift a high ball forward.

It's too long for Unai Hernández, and Lucas Vázquez is across to shepherd it behind.

Peeeep! We're underway.

Who is the ref for the Clásico?

The match referee, by the way, will be the 38-year-old American official Armando Villarreal.

Kick-off imminent in New Jersey

We were due to kick off a couple of minutes ago... but the teams finally make their way out at MetLife Stadium, where the Guns n Roses is blaring out and the fans are making plenty of noise.

Almost time for kick-off!

Last look at the line-ups

It's almost time to go in New Jersey, where Ancelotti and Flick can be seen engaging in a highly jovial little pre-match chinwag. Here's a final reminder of the teams:

Real Madrid

Courtois, Vázquez, Militao, Rüdiger, García, Martín, Modric, Ceballos, Güler, Díaz, Endrick

Barcelona

Ter Stegen, Valle, Christensen, Martínez, Balde, Bernal, Casadó, Hernández, Torre, Víctor, Lewandowski

MetLife pitch "in a terrible state"

AS reporter Manu de Juan offered a positive update on the weather a few moments ago, but he is less upbeat about the state of the playing surface.

The MetLife Stadium pitch is "in a terrible state", Manu says.

The rain was certainly falling hard in East Rutherford a little earlier.

In this photo, soaked soccer fans can be seen running towards the MetLife Stadium entrances amid the wet weather. 

Barcelona's Alejandro Balde during the Blaugrana's pre-match warm-up.

"Looks like the storm threat has passed"

Manu de Juan, AS's man inside MetLife, has sent this weather update:

“Here’s what the sky above MetLife Stadium looks like,” Manu says in a post on X. “It looks like the storm threat has passed, although the match’s organisers aren’t taking anything for granted.”

The word is that Real Madrid fans greatly outnumber supporters of Barcelona inside MetLife Stadium.

Admittedly, that 'word' is courtesy of Real Madrid TV, so it's not necessarily the most objective of takes.

However many of them there are, Barça's fans appear to be in fine voice.

SOCCER

How much money will Real Madrid earn from US Clásico against Barcelona?

Whatever time the Game kicks off, one thing is for certain: Real Madrid and Barcelona are going to earn a pretty penny from their latest Clásico on US soil.

We take a look at how much the LaLiga giants are set to earn from their fixture.

Weather "looking good" as things stand

On Real Madrid TV, there's optimism that the Clásico will kick off at the advertised start time.

"It's looking good," is the verdict. 

Now there's the kiss of death if I've ever heard it.

Madrid and Barça players on the field

Both sets of players are now out and going through their paces on the MetLife pitch.

If it's to go ahead as scheduled, we have 25 minutes until kick-off.

Warm-ups underway

Players are now out on the MetLife pitch and are warming up: goalkeepers Thibaut Courtois and Marc André ter Stegen have made their way onto the field to start limbering up.

SOCCER

When is Real Madrid - Barcelona? How to watch on TV and stream online | USA Tour 2024

Should you be wondering how you can watch the Clásico, incidentally, let me point you in the direction of our guide on where to tune in.

Who's on the bench in today's Clásico?

Here, by the way, are the two substitutes' benches in full:

Real Madrid:

Lunin, Fran, Jacobo Ramón, Vallejo, Obrador, Joan Martínez, Lorenzo, Jeremy de León, Asencio, Nico Paz, Latasa, Rodrygo and Vinicius.

Barcelona:

Iñaki Peña, Astralaga, Kochen, Fort, Julián Araújo, Lenglet, Gerard Martín, Faye, Sergi Domínguez, Olmedo, Cuenca, Guille Fernández, Junyent, Gündogan, Darvich, Toni Fernández, Raphinha and Vitor Roque.

Madrid on competitive Clásico winning streak

While Barcelona have won every US friendly so far, it’s certainly Real Madrid who have had the upper hand in recent competitive Clasicos.

Indeed, the Spanish and European champions have now won four in a row against Barça, including all three meetings last season.

Most notably, Madrid thumped their arch rivals 4-1 in the Spanish Super Cup final in January.

Flick shuffles his Barcelona pack

Hansi Flick makes seven changes to the team that lined up against Manchester City a few days ago.

Marc Bernal, Marc Casadó, Pablo Torre and Pau Víctor are the only players to keep their places.

First-team fixtures Marc André ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen, Alejandro Balde and Robert Lewandowski all make their first starts of the preseason period.

Barcelona line-up confirmed

Hansi Flick, taking charge of his second game as Barça boss, has now named his team.

The Catalans will line up thusly: Ter Stegen; Valle, Christensen, Martínez, Balde; Bernal, Casadó; Hernández, Torre, Víctor; Lewandowski.

Clásico reportedly will be pushed back

Real Madrid expert Kiyan Sobhani is reporting that the Clásico has indeed been delayed.

Vini among the subs for Clásico

Vinícius Júnior is at Carlo Ancelotti's disposal once more, but he's on the bench for Real Madrid.

Like Éder Militao and Rodrygo Goes, Vinícius joined up with Madrid's preseason preparations after the Milan defeat. Rodrygo will also have to wait for his chance at MetLife Stadium.

Barcelona check in at MetLife

Here, courtesy of Barcelona's social-media team, is footage of the Blaugrana squad's arrival at MetLife Stadium.

Still no word on whether there's going to be a delay to kick-off.

What happened in the first three US Clásicos?

In the first Clásico to be played in the US, Barça were 3-2 winners in Miami Gardens in 2017. 

The clubs didn’t meet again on American soil until 2022, when Raphinha’s goal gave the Blaugrana a 1-0 victory in Las Vegas.

A year later, Barça eased to a 3-0 triumph in Dallas, thanks to goals by Ousmane Dembélé, Fermin López and Ferran Torres.

How many US Clásicos have there been?

This will be the fourth time that Real Madrid and Barcelona have played a summer Clásico in the United States.

So far, Barça have enjoyed the experience rather more than their arch rivals: they’ve won three out of three.

Clásico duo's second US tour games

Real Madrid and Barcelona are both preparing to play their second game of the preseason period.

Madrid kicked things off in Chicago on Wednesday, losing 1-0 to AC Milan at Soldier Field. Former Villarreal winger Samu Chukwueze scored the winner for the Rossoneri.

Barça, meanwhile, drew 2-2 with Manchester City in Orlando on Tuesday, before beating the Premier League champions on penalties. Youngsters Pau Victor and Pablo Torre were on target for the Blaugrana.

Could adverse weather delay the Clásico?

It’s worth noting that there is a possibility of today’s game facing a delay.

That’s because forecasts say there’s a 70% chance of a lightning storm hitting New Jersey at the time of kick-off.

No decision has been made in this regard, but it’s understood that the game would be pushed back two hours, to 9pm ET, were organisers to opt for a delay. 

Presentación Mbappé como nuevo jugador del Real Madrid

A whole host of big names are absent for Real Madrid today. 

Most notably, star summer signing Kylian Mbappé will play no part in the Clásico - or indeed any of Madrid's US fixtures. He'll join up with Los Blancos' pre-season preparations after the club's return to Spain.

The same goes for Jude Bellingham, and a number of other players. Ferland Mendy, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Federico Valverde and Dani Carvajal are also absent from Madrid's US tour.

MetLife the setting for latest US Clásico

Still no team news from Barcelona, whose social-media team have shared this pre-match view of MetLife Stadium.

The 82,000-capacity arena is home to two NFL franchises, the New York Giants and the New York Jets.

Militao returns for Madrid

Ancelotti makes just the one change to the team that started against AC Milan in midweek.

Éder Militao, who is back to availability after returning from his summer hols, replaces Jesús Vallejo in Madrid's central defence.

Real Madrid starting XI confirmed

We already have team news at MetLife Stadium.

Carlo Ancelotti has named his line-up, which is as follows: Courtois, Vázquez, Militao, Rüdiger, García, Martín, Modric, Ceballos, Güler, Díaz, Endrick.

Real Madrid vs Barcelona: welcome!

Hello! For the third year in a row, Real Madrid and Barcelona go head to head in a preseason Clásico on US soil.

Kick-off in New Jersey is at 7pm ET - in about an hour and a half's time.