http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/engl...its/pretemporada/chivas_barcelona/partit.html
Goalfest in the USA (2-5)
Jordi Clos
Barça won their first friendly in the USA against Mexican outfit Chivas, and did in style. Xavi, Hleb, Etoo, twice, and Cáceres provided five goals to delight the Chicago crowd.
Messi may not have been there, but Barça showed Chivas of Guadalajara that then can still win convincingly without their Argentinian hero. It was never going to be an easy task, the Mexican side has some class players, have been together longer and were well motivated for the game. But Barça were clear about their ideas both in attack and defence, and avoided any nasty surprises with a solid first half performance, with two goals from Xavi and Hleb. The second half was a more open affair, but with several interruptions, and towards the end of the game the goals really started flowing, with the game ending 5-2 to the Catalans.
Gaining ground
After Chivas got off to an impetuously strong start, in which they made it clear that they were in no way overawed by facing the Liga giants, Guardiolas side started imposing their superior skills, and Chivas early confidence took a knock. Barça once again demonstrated that the good results of their work on getting the ball out of defence, and played a fast passing game with some lethal piercing runs that caused the Mexican side all kinds of headaches. Pedro enjoyed the first opportunity, in the 11th minute, with a fine effort from the edge of the area that struck the bar and rebounded back into play off the goal line. A tight midfield formed by Keita, Xavi and Iniesta continued to link well with the forwards, and in the 24th minute Henry saw a shot sail over the bar by a matter of inches.
Goals from Xavi and Hleb
Barça seemed to be enjoying the medium distance shots, and that was how the first goal came about. A great play by Iniesta down the left followed by a Xavi strike put the Europeans ahead after 25 minutes. Barça were well in command by now, and Iniesta and Hleb both had chances before combining to produce the second goal. Shortly before the break, the Spaniard laid on a delightful assist to the Belarusian, who rounded the keeper and stoked the ball home unchallenged.
Etoo on fire
The Barça boss made five half-time changes, and one of the new incorporations, Samuel Etoo, only needed three minutes to make it three, the goal coming off an excellent move down the right by young Jeffren. But this time, Chivas did conjure up a response, first through a Pineda header off a free kick, and then Padilla took advantage of a rare confusion in the Barça defence to beat Pinto in the 58th minute.
More goals to end
As the legs tired and the structure of the game was affected by the introduction of further changes, the final minutes brought about a rush of goals. Barça put the game well out of Mexican reach in the 72nd minute when an opportunistic Etoo grabbed his second of the night, but then Hernández pulled one back for Chivas at the other end. The game had barely restarted before Martin Cáceres made it 5-2 off a corner, with just seconds left on the clock. Yet another highly convincing performance from Barça, then, as the preseason continues to raise optimism for what the season under Guardiola has in store for the fans.
Goals
0-1 Xavi (min 25)
0-2 Hleb (min 45)
0-3 Etoo (min 48)
1-3 Padilla (min 58)
1-4 Etoo (min 72)
2-4 Hernández (min 88)
2-5 Cáceres (min 89)
there's only 1 player at Barca that I'd rather have but we'll never get him
