Barcelona win opening ICC clash

Barcelona picked up a 3-1 victory over Celtic in their opening International Champions Cup fixture at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.

Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi started the game on Saturday although new Celtic signing Kolo Toure was left out of the Hoops squad, and Barca opened the scoring after 11 minutes as Arda Turan hit a sumptuous curler into the top corner 

The Scottish champions got themselves level just before the half-hour mark thanks to a poor touch from Jose Antonio Martinez that let in the ever-dangerous Leigh Griffths.

But Barcelona were back ahead within a minute after an Efe Ambrose own goal, before Suarez played in El Haddidi Muir to round off the result before half-time. 

Celtic are next in action on Wednesday when they face Astana at Celtic Park in their Champions League third qualifying round second-leg tie, while the La Liga champions face Leicester and Liverpool in their remaining ICC fixtures.

In under a minute, Celtic were testing the Barca defence as Patrick Roberts picked up the ball in acres of space and raced towards Jordi Masip’s goal, hitting a delightful curling effort that just fizzed past the post.

The …

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