Photo: Nicolas Asfouri/ AFP
FC Barcelona are that rare thing in football,outside of Madrid, they are loved by fans all over the world. They arrived in Bangkok on Monday to a muted welcome, but their presence in the nation’s capital has been so well received that, even though they crushed the Thai national team 7-1, they leave as heroes with a new band of foreign supporters.
Last night, over 48,000 supporters filled Rajamangala Stadium to watch a close to full strength Barca team ravage their national team, admittedly it was the Thai SEA Games squad with a few senior players.
Neymar started in a front three alongside Messi and Pedro, and it took just over ten minutes for the slight Brazilian to score his first goal for Barcelona, tapping in a low cross from Cesc Fabregas.
Pedro scored a hat trick, Messi bagged a brace and Alexis Sanchez scored the seventh as a second half substitute. The match was over as a contest by halftime, 5-1. Teerasil Dangda scored Thailand’s only goal from the penalty spot right before halftime.
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“Friendly games like these help me to see different possibilities, variations, but clearly the idea is that he (Neymar) progresses. From the game against Santos to today he has improved.
“The link-up between the two (Messi and Neymar) is what most caught the eye. They connected well, they scored, but they also linked up well with the other players” said Barca coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino.
Barcelona have scored 24 goals in their five pre-season matches, with the 7-1 victory coming after they destroyed Neymar’s former club Santos 8-0.
Barca play another friendly, against a Malaysian squad in Kuala Lumpur, on Saturday before returning to Spain.
Barcelona team: Valdes, Pique, Fabregas, Pedro, Messi, Neymar, Song, Adriano, Dani Alves, Sergi Roberto, Bagnack. Subs: Pinto, Xavi, Iniesta, Sergio, Bartra, Montoya, Mascherano, Alexis, Dongou and Alba.
All the goals from the FC Barcelona vs Thailand match.
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Photos: FC Barcelona
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