Yes, it was Barca’s first minutes of pre-season, but Vissel Kobe were slap bang in the middle of their league season, and are currently top of the league whilst chasing a three-peat of titles. However, only in the last few minutes of the first half when they scored the equaliser, had the hosts shown anything like the urgency required.

Barcelona’s summer got off to a winning start in Japan on Sunday, as they beat Vissel Kobe 3–1. This fixture was thrust into doubt in the week due to what Barcelona regarded as a contract breach by the promoter,

Roony Bardghji was one of the standout performers for Barcelona as they secured a comfortable 3-1 victory over Vissel Kobe, in what was the team’s friendly of the pre-season.After a relatively