Man of the match Jude Bellingham’s first goal in a Real Madrid shirt and a spectacular Joselu scissor kick saw Manchester United fall to a 2-0 defeat in Houston.
Just 24 hours on from the Red Devils youngsters’ loss to Wrexham in San Diego, Texas played host to Erik ten Hag’s first-team against the Spanish giants.
Bellingham marked his second Madrid appearance with a lovely finish against long-term admirers United, who saw Joselu acrobatically sweep home a late second.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side took control of the friendly in the sixth minute when Bellingham was put through by Antonio Rudiger to score his first goal since his recent £115million switch.
There were questions over whether the England international stayed offside, but there was no getting away from the quality of the touch and 18-yard clipped finish.
Madrid edged the play under the NRG Stadium roof, where goalkeeper Andre Onana looked assured on his bow but would be beaten again by former Stoke and Newcastle striker Joselu’s brilliant finish.
United complete their US tour against Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas on Sunday, with Kobbie Mainoo looking unlikely to feature.
The 18-year-old got the nod to start on Wednesday but an early collision saw him limp off, with the midfielder making his way down the touchline as Madrid struck the opener.
Rudiger collected the ball and spotted Bellingham’s run through the middle, meeting his pass with a smart touch before lifting it over Onana. He avoided a flag for offside despite it looking a tight call.
Alejandro Garnacho cut in and fired over as United looked for a quick leveller and Mason Mount could not get a clean strike away when he had an attempt.
Madrid looked the most dangerous side, wasting an opportunity from a cutback before Vinicius Jr forced Onana into a save from a tight angle.
Marcus Rashford saw a clipped attempt across the face of goal come to nothing and tempers frayed as half-time approach.
Lisandro Martinez’s challenge on Bukayo Saka in New Jersey on Saturday angered Arsenal, just as the defender’s foul on Bellingham did just before the break.
The England midfielder got up and pushed the Argentina international, with players from both sides involved before a booking was dished out.
Bellingham was withdrawn as part of five Madrid half-time alterations, with Fernandes seeing a low ball cut out and Garnacho forced Andriy Lunin to push over a snapshot.
Ten Hag made a tranche of alterations midway through the second half and substitute Scott McTominay followed a marauding run from the halfway line with a shot at Lunin.
Those changes swayed the momentum Madrid’s way, with Onana shifting his feet well to deny Joselu before the summer signing went close again.
Diogo Dalot cleared off the line before Antony ripped a left-footed shot over and Bruno Fernandes tried his luck at the end end.
There would be one final goal but it came at the wrong end from a United perspective. Lucas Vazquez crossed from the right and Joselu brilliantly struck past statuesque Onana in the 89th minute.
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation
Joshua Kimmich is ready to open talks with Bayern Munich over his future at the club amid speculation linking him with Barcelona.
The Germany international has spent nine years at the Allianz Arena, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Barca have been repeatedly linked with Kimmich in recent transfer windows and are said to retain an interest ahead of next season.
Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the midfielder talked up Barca - as well as fierce rivals Real Madrid - but fell short of saying he is open to a move.
"I want to talk to Bayern. When I do that, I won't go out and talk to the press about it," he said.
"I'm not thinking about this. I will speak to Bayern first. But of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid are amazing clubs with an amazing history."
Kimmich has played 37 times in all competitions this season for Bayern, whose last remaining hope of silverware is in the Champions League.
Bayern will face Real Madrid over two legs for a place in the final, with the first match in that double-header taking place in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel will depart the dethroned Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick the favourite to succeed him.
The managerial uncertainty is not helping with regards to the Kimmich rumours, but he insists that will not be a deciding factor on his future.
"It's not the most important thing right now," he said. "I know that when you sign a contract you don't sign it with the coach.
"You sign it with the club. For me, the most important thing is the club, not just the coach.
"But it's also important to know what the coach thinks about you and the team. Other people in the club can worry about choosing the coach."
Desailly calls on LaLiga to do more to protect Vinicius Junior
Marcel Desailly has called on LaLiga to do more to protect Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior and other players who have been targeted by racist abuse.
Vinicius broke down at a press conference earlier this month as he opened up about the abuse he has received from the stands while representing Madrid.
The Brazil international is not alone in that regard, with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni another example, and World Cup winner Desailly wants more to be done.
"Vinicius has spoken out, but it's not about him - it's about LaLiga and the people who can take action," he told Stats Perform.
"We have the power to change things, but we are not doing enough. Samuel Eto'o had the same issue before.
"Vinicius is one of those who is suffering because the administrative people in charge are not willing to hit harder than they are."
Vinicius has been a key player for LaLiga champions-elect Madrid once again this season with 13 goals and five assists in 23 outings.
Desailly regards Vinicius, who scored the winning goal in the 2022 Champions League final, as one of the finest players of his generation.
"He's a very ambitious player," Desailly said. "I think he's improved a lot because he is now clinical in assisting and finishing.
"When you look at someone like Ousmane Dembele, his stats are not as good.
"Then you look at Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka, another who has improved - there is potential for each of those to get close to Vinicius."
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