Barcelona have beaten Manchester United 2-0 on penalties following a goalless 90 minutes in their friendly match in Gothenburg this evening.
Both teams fielded strong starting lineups, with Nemanja Vidic in defence again for the Red Devils following a return from his serious knee injury.
In what was a fast-paced opening, Cristian Tello dragged his shot wide before David de Gea did well to tip Lionel Messi's low drive away.
Despite plenty of possession in the first 45 minutes, United were unable to create any significant chances.
However, they were awarded a penalty on the stroke of half-time when Nani was brought down by Tello.
Wayne Rooney stepped up to take the kick but saw his original effort saved by Victor Valdes. The ball came back out to the striker, though he could only fluff the rebound wide.
Substitute Shinji Kagawa almost made an instant impact after the break when his shot was pushed away.
De Gea then did well to keep the scores level with two quick saves from Alexis Sanchez and Pedro respectively.
Both teams continued to attack for the remainder of the 90 minutes but neither was able to score the goal that the game arguably deserved.
Instead, the game went to penalties and it was the Spaniards who came out on top after misses from Nani and Ashley Young.
Jack Prescott
