caughtoffside
·14 December 2021
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·14 December 2021
Barcelona missed the chance to gain some light relief amid their poor run of form on Tuesday when they were beaten in a friendly cup final.
The Catalan giants took on Argentina’s Boca Juniors in the inaugural Maradona Cup – a one-off game set up to honour the late Diego Maradona who played for both clubs.
Ferran Jutlga Blanc put Barca ahead early in the second half, but Exequiel Zeballos levelled for Boca and the game was decided in a penalty shootout.
As you can watch in the video below, Aaron Molinas, Cristian Pavon, Carlos Izquierdoz and Marcos Rojo all scored penalties for Boca.
But Barca missed two spot-kicks with Guillem Jaime and Matheus Pereira both failing to convert from 12 yards, after Ferran and Dani Alves had been successful.
The result meant that new manager Xavi now on a four-match winless run, following defeats by Real Betis and Bayern Munich, plus a 2-2 draw at Osasuna.
Next up for Barca, who dropped out of the Champions League as a result of their loss to Bayern, is a La Liga clash at home to Elche on Saturday.