Barcelona capped off their pre-season preparations with a 4-2 win against Tottenham Hotspur in the annual Joan Gamper Trophy.
A much-changed Spurs side without the likes of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min led for much of the evening at Barca's temporary home of the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, but quality eventually told as Xavi's men rallied to secure a late victory.
Ange Postecoglou will have again been pleased by the progress his team is showing in possession but defensive frailties remain ahead of Sunday's Premier League opener at Brentford.
Barcelona travel to Getafe on the same day to kick off their La Liga campaign.
How the game unfolded
Barcelona took the lead with their first attack just three minutes in. Spurs were quickly caught in transition and Raphinha was able to cross for Robert Lewandowski, who peeled back away from Pedro Porro and Eric Dier to slot home from close range.
The hosts should have added a second soon after. Lewandowski's pass into the box was deflected on by Porro and into the path of Raphinha, but he was unable to keep his composure and fired over.
After failing to clear the danger for Barca's opener, Davinson Sanchez nearly redeemed himself at the other end when he rose highest to meet a cleverly-worked corner routine, but his looping header was held by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Spurs then won the ball back high up the pitch and carved out another half-chance when Richarlison picked up the ball just inside the Barcelona box, only for Eric Garcia to quickly close him down and block his shot.
Lewandowski continued his search for a second goal with a thunderous drive from 25 yards, but Guglielmo Vicario was able to parry the ball to safety.
Midway through the first half, Tottenham found themselves level. Sergio Reguilon's low cross was met by Giovani Lo Celso, and though the Argentine struck the post, Oliver Skipp was on hand to convert the rebound.
Barcelona nearly re-took the lead when Vicario headed the ball away and Raphinha tried to dink him from 30 yards, but the Italian managed to retreat and deny the winger.
The visitors were incensed that they were not awarded a penalty when the ball struck Alejandro Balde's arm in the box, with their considerable and understandable appeals dismissed. Manor Solomon then shot just wide from the resulting knock-down off of the Spaniard's wrist.
Spurs were duly rewarded in the coming minutes when they found another goal. Ivan Perisic's searching cross was met by Skipp, who leapt high above Frenkie de Jong and emphatically headed past Ter Stegen.
Towards the end of the first half, Tottenham nearly had a third. Richarlison nipped possession back in midfield and set Solomon racing away, with Ter Stegen throwing up a strong wrist to deny the Israel winger.
With the final chance of the opening 45, Raphinha's wicked cross found the head of Oriol Romeu, but he was unable to keep his effort on target and Spurs went into the break ahead.
After the interval, Tottenham continued to look comfortable on the ball, with Richarlison nearly adding a third when he was able to swivel away from Eric Garcia on the edge of the box, firing narrowly over.
Barcelona were starting to work their way back into the contest. Pedri was able to instinctively flick a cannoned pass over Sanchez and connect with a half-volley, only for it to sail over the top.
Back down the other end, Porro met a loose cross on the edge of the box and forced Ter Stegen into another fine save with his knee.
Xavi made several changes on the hour mark and two of them nearly combined to equalise. Marcos Alonso's ball round the back found Ferran Torres, but he was denied by a last-ditch slide tackle from Sanchez.
With ten minutes to go, Barcelona drew level. Jules Kounde's long ball over the top was brought down by Lamine Yamal, and Torres was on hand this time to tap in from close range.
Vicario twice came to Tottenham's rescue soon after, firstly to keep out Ez Abde's 25-yard shot before tipping a wicked Alonso free-kick over the bar.
Heading into stoppage time, Barcelona found a winner. Yamal skipped past Reguilon and fed in Torres, whose reverse ball for Ansu Fati was inch-perfect and he managed to slot into the bottom corner.
Refusing to rest on their laurels, Barca added a clincher to round off the evening. Fermin Lopez ran around the back of Reguilon and Sanchez and squared for Abde to finish.
Barcelona player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen - 6/10 - Made several decent stops in his hour or so on the pitch. Probably a little busier than he would have expected to be.
RB: Ronald Araujo - 5/10 - Double-teamed by Perisic and Reguilon leading to Spurs' equaliser before being withdrawn with a muscle injury.
CB: Jules Kounde - 6/10 - Found it hard to keep Richarlison quiet even though he was hardly a direct threat, but did well to set up Barca's late equaliser.
CB: Eric Garcia - 4/10 - Likewise outfought and outthought by Brazil's number nine, continually chasing his shadow.
LB: Alejandro Balde - 6/10 - Afforded the freedom to bomb down the left due to the narrow formation, though was a little wasteful with his delivery.
DM: Oriol Romeu - 7/10 - Looked completely at home in the heart of midfield. Will be hard to fill the hole left by Sergio Busquets but Romeu is at least a decent player.
CM: Frenkie de Jong - 8/10 - Danced and pranced away from his Spurs counterparts throughout.
CM: Gavi - 5/10 - Tucked infield and stretched play out on the left flank in near-equal measure.
AM: Pedri - 6/10 - Got on the ball on occasion but not enough to make a meaningful difference.
CF: Raphinha - 7/10 - Appeared to be far more comfortable when pulling out to the right and delivering crosses as opposed to coming inside and running in behind.
CF: Robert Lewandowski - 8/10 - Could have scored a number of goals in the opening exchanges but had to settle for just the one.
Substitutes
SUB: Sergi Roberto (32' for Araujo) - 5/10 - Fortunate that his lack of pave wasn't exposed by the veteran Perisic, though the Croatian caused him problems with his crossing and passing.
SUB: Ferran Torres (62' for Lewandowski) - 8/10
SUB: Marcos Alonso (62' for Balde) - 6/10
SUB: Inaki Pena (62' for Ter Stegen) - 6/10
SUB: Ansu Fati (62' for Gavi) - 9/10
SUB: Ilkay Gundogan (62' for Pedri) - 6/10
SUB: Ez Abde (62' for Raphinha) - 6/10
SUB: Fermin Lopez (80' for Romeu) - 6/10
SUB: Lamine Yamal (80' for Garcia) - 9/10
Subs not used: Astralaga (GK), Dest, Martinez, Lenglet, Christensen, Valle, Alarcon
Manager
Xavi - 6/10 - Barcelona looked stale from when Tottenham first equalised until the head coach made several substitutions. Work to be done ahead of their season opener.
Tottenham Hotspur player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Guglielmo Vicario - 5/10 - Allowed Raphinha's deep cross to reach Lewandowski while he was unable to keep out the Pole despite getting a touch on the ball. Hesitant again off his line but made a few saves as well.
RB: Pedro Porro - 5/10 - Left plenty of space behind him but used his pace to recover well. His technical excellence was an asset in playing from the back.
CB: Eric Dier - 5/10 - Gave the ball away on occasion but at least tried to play Postecoglou's way and didn't relent.
CB: Davinson Sanchez - 8/10 - His best performance for Spurs in years and it came in a friendly. Saved Tottenham on several occasions with tackles and blocks.
LB: Sergio Reguilon - 5/10 - Another passable performance going forward but still has a lot of work to improve on going the other way.
DM: Yves Bissouma - 7/10 - Enjoyed himself in the middle of the park, taking in possession and progressing it superbly even when under intense pressure.
CM: Oliver Skipp - 9/10 - A well-earned brace from a midfielder that has worked hard to crash the box more often under Postecoglou this summer.
CM: Giovani Lo Celso - 6/10 - His notoriously poor finishing was on display yet led to Spurs' equaliser. Otherwise useful in the and out of possession and could yet prove to be an important player for Postecoglou.
RW: Manor Solomon - 5/10 - Threatened to run in behind and cause trouble though would have liked to have been involved a bit more.
CF: Richarlison - 6/10 - Hassled and harried Barcelona's backline, putting himself about and fighting to get shots away.
LW: Ivan Perisic - 7/10 - Clearly past his best athletically but his delivery and composure remain top tier.
Substitutes
SUB: Djed Spence (72' for Perisic) - 5/10
SUB: Alfie Devine (72' for Devine) - 5/10
SUB: Dane Scarlett (76' for Richarlison) - 5/10
SUB: Pape Sarr (88' for Bissouma) - N/A
Subs not used: Austin (GK), Gunter (GK), Emerson, Davies, Phillips, Son
Manager
Ange Postecoglou - 7/10 - A Spurs side made largely of backup or reserve players strolled into Barcelona's house and matched or bettered them for the most part. Excellent work.
Player of the match - Oliver Skipp (Tottenham)
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This article was originally published on 90min as Barcelona 4-2 Tottenham: Player ratings as Barca win Joan Gamper Trophy.
