August 24, (THEWILL) – Manchester City and Barcelona drew 3-3 in a charity game at the Nou Camp, thanks to a late penalty kick from Riyad Mahrez for Manchester City.
It was a match played in honour of former Barcelona goalkeeper and coach, Juan Carlos Unzue, who was afflicted with ALS two years ago. Barca play against selected opponents to raise money for ALS research.
Prior to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang putting any doubt about his future to rest by volleying Barcelona even, Julian Alvarez gave the visitors the lead when he took advantage of a goalkeeping blunder to open the six-goal fest. There were no further goals before the interval and the teams went into the break 1-1.
After the break, Frenkie de Jong did the same as he finished strongly. Cole Palmer quickly equalised, but Memphis Depay came off the bench to retake the lead. Erling Haaland won a penalty, and Mahrez smashed it into the top corner to complete a fitting draw with minutes left to spare.
Both teams will now focus on their respective domestic competitions. Barcelona host Real Valladolid in La Liga on Sunday, while City host Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
