Fiorentina 2-1 Barça: Blaugrana suffer without Messi and Neymar
Barcelona struggled once again in front of goal without star forwards Lionel Messi and Neymar, with Luis Suarez unable to do it all on his own. The Uruguay international did bag a goal for the Blaugrana, but otherwise Luis Enrique's men were anything but clinical in the final third, with La Viola taking their chances on their way to a 2-1 win.
Fiorentina started the game like a house on fire, with Filippo Bernadeschi chipping in with two early goals, in what is Barça last involvement in the International Champions Cup.
After merely four minutes, Borja Valero showed great audacity to nutmeg compatriot Sergio Busquets, before angling in a cross towards his unmarked teammate. The Viola number 10 flicked a neat header beyond Marc-Andre Ter Stegen to give the hosts the lead.
On 12 minutes, the same man was at it again, but would this time combine with a different Spaniard. Joaquin marauded his way down the right, before chopping back an intelligent pass for Bernardeschi. The 21-year-old make no mistake, stroking home a neat finish.
Barça weren't to sit in the corner and quietly lick their wounds, however. Luis Suarez halved the deficit on 16 minutes, after a fabulous volleyed pass from Ivan Rakitic. The Croatia international picked out his teammate, who promptly took the ball under his spell in the penalty area and scrambled a finish underneath goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.
Pedro and Suarez both had further chances to level up the game, but could only find the stands or the goalkeeper's gloves, before Ter Stegen was forced into a good save on the stroke of half time to deny Bernadeschi a hat trick.
Immediately after the restart, Suarez showed Barça's intent to get back into the game. The Uruguay international was denied a back-post tap in by an intelligent Roncaglia interception, after good work down the left from Pedro.
On the hour mark, Rafinha saw a tame shot saved by Tatarusanu, before Sergio Busquets looked to contribute an unlikely goal. The midfielder found himself just inside the opposition penalty area, before lashing a low drive to the goalkeeper's right. The Romanian shot-stopper parried well, with the ball spilling out to Suarez, but Rodriguez was on hand to make a vital block to keep the scoreline at 2-1.
Fiorentina responded with a long-range effort from Manuel Pasqual which dipped over the crossbar, before Barça broke upfield again. Substitute Sandro Ramirez unselfishly squared a pass to Rafinha, but the Brazilian was promptly dispossessed after getting the ball caught up under his feet. Minutes from the final whistle, Sandro managed to dig out a shot just inside the box, but directed it straight at Tatarusanu.
Barça continued to labour in front of goal until the very end, despite retaining possession and controlling proceedings fairly well. With Fiorentina happy to sit deep and see out the result, Enrique's men were unable to dream up anything capable of breaking down La Viola's resilient lines.
