Barcelona demolish Como in Joan Gamper Trophy rampage

With the La Liga opener against Mallorca just days away, Hansi Flick's side look sharp, cohesive and ready to challenge for honours after a month of solid preparation together.

The Catalans have maintained their lethal attacking edge from last season while deploying a razor-sharp offside trap that continues to bamboozle opponents, Como fell into it four times in the opening 11 minutes alone.

The match began tentatively, with Como appearing the brighter team early on and nearly scoring within the first minute, only for an offside flag to intervene.

However, that proved a mere illusion as Barcelona unleashed a storm from the 20th minute onwards. Fermin Lopez emerged as the star of the show, orchestrating the first three goals with poise and precision. He opened the scoring in the 21st minute by robbing the ball high up the pitch and calmly slotting past the goalkeeper.

Fourteen minutes later, Lopez doubled the lead with a stunning strike from the edge of the box. He then turned provider, threading a superb pass to new signing Marcus Rashford, who laid it on a plate for Raphinha to tap home in the 37th minute.

Lamine Yamal took over in the closing stages of the first half, terrorising Como's defence down the right flank and netting a brace to put the result beyond doubt. His first came in the 42nd minute after Raphinha won possession in the box, while the second arrived early in the second half, assisted by substitute Ferran Torres in the 49th minute.

Yamal's performance has underlined why Barcelona view him as untouchable, selling such a talent would be a grave mistake.

The encounter also offered a glimpse of Barcelona's summer arrivals in front of their home faithful, with 5,967 spectators creating a vibrant atmosphere at the Estadi Johan Cruyff. Goalkeeper Joan Garcia had a quiet debut but produced a fine save in the second half to preserve the clean sheet. Marcus Rashford, deployed as a central forward, looked uneasy in the role and squandered a glaring open-goal chance late in the first half, a miss mirrored by Ferran Torres later on.

However, Rashford showed flashes of his quality when drifting to the wing, using his pace to deliver the assist for Raphinha's goal. The third new face, Roony Bardghji, entered as a late substitute but had limited time to shine.

A flurry of changes allowed Flick to test his squad depth, with the likes of Jules Kounde, Gavi and Marc Casado getting minutes. Barcelona's superiority was overwhelming, their high press relentless and their teamwork evident after weeks of integration.

If they had been more clinical, particularly with those missed sitters, the scoreline could have been even more lopsided.

Defender Alejandro Balde had previewed the clash, saying: "The Como match will be special. It's the last match of the pre-season, and I think we've had a good pre-season. We're ready for the start of La Liga."

Fermin Lopez, meanwhile, has been vocal about his form, having said earlier in pre-season: "We're getting into rhythm... overall, very good."

No immediate post-match reactions from the players surfaced on X, but the result has fans buzzing ahead of the league kick-off.

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