Lechia Gdansk 2-2 Barcelona: Neymar’s debut for Barça ended with a draw

Full-time: Lechia Gdansk 2-2 Barcelona
Goals: Sergi Roberto 25′, Lionel Messi 56′
Match date: July 30, 2013
Stadium: Gdansk Arena
Competition: Pre-season friendly
Barcelona line-up: Pinto, Montoya, Sergi Gómez, Bartra, Adriano, Song, Dos Santos, Sergi Roberto, Alexis, Messi and Tello.

Barcelona took on Lechia Gdansk in Poland this Tuesday night and couldn’t come up with a better result than a 2-2 draw. Sergi Roberto and Lionel Messi scored the two goals for the Blaugrana, but the home side proved to be a tough nut to crack on such an early stage of the pre-season preparation. Neymar‘s most awaited debut took place late in the second half, as he came on to the pitch to replace Alexis Sanchez, in the 75th minute of the game. The last 15 minutes of the game were still enough to see Neymar drawing some fouls, but without Lionel Messi at his side, the Brazilian didn’t have the opportunity to show much more for now.

The former Santos player had a first taste of the roughness he can definitely expect from defenders in Europe and even though this has only been a friendly match, Neymar struggled a bit to stand on his feet while he got pushed and kicked away in several consecutive plays. Unless the Spanish referees end up granting him some proper protection in La Liga, the 21-year old is going to need to get through a tough adaptation.

Barça will now head back to Spain in order to start preparing their next friendly game, this time at the Camp Nou. The Blaugrana will host Neymar‘s former club Santos FC, for the Joan Gramper trophy. Unlike what happened in Poland, Lionel Messi and Neymar are now expected to cohabit on the pitch during some period of this game.

Watch all the goals and highlights video from the Lechia Gdansk 2-2 Barcelona match:

Neymar and FC Barcelona match photos against Lechia Gdansk:

 

Sources: fcbarcelona.com