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Chelsea spoils Antoine Griezmann's debut, beats Barcelona

By Alex Butler
FC Barcelona acquired French forward Antoine Griezmann in a July 12 transfer from rival La Liga club Atletico Madrid. Photo by Andreu Dalmau/EPA-EFE
FC Barcelona acquired French forward Antoine Griezmann in a July 12 transfer from rival La Liga club Atletico Madrid. Photo by Andreu Dalmau/EPA-EFE

July 23 (UPI) -- Chelsea spoiled Antonie Griezmann's Barcelona debut by beating the La Liga champions 2-1 in a friendly Tuesday at Saitama Stadium in Saitama, Japan.

The former Atletico Madrid star officially joined Barcelona in a July 12 transfer. Griezmann did not play in the second half of Tuesday's setback. United States men's soccer star Christian Pulisic started for the Blues, appearing in his second game for the Premier League club. Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong also made his Barcelona debut.

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Chelsea midfielder Jorginho stepped into a pass from Barcelona center midfielder Sergio Busquets during the first scoring sequence. The ball found Blues forward Tammy Abraham at the top of the box. Abraham sidestepped Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen before netting the 34th minute score.

The Blues held the 1-0 lead through the halftime whistle before Ross Barkley added some insurance in the 81st minute. Marcos Alonso slid a short pass to Barkley at the top of the box during that sequence. Barkley tapped the ball down before ripping a shot into the near post netting, giving the Blues a two-goal edge.

Ivan Rakitic found the net for Barcelona's lone tally in the 91st minute. The Croatian midfielder brought in a short pass from Malcom during that sequence. He then lifted his head and ripped a 25-yard shot into the top left corner of the goal, beating Blues keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

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Barcelona star Lionel Messi did not play in the preseason clash. Chelsea battles Reading in another friendly at 10 a.m. EDT Sunday in Reading, England. Barcelona faces Vissel Kobe in a friendly at 5 a.m. Saturday in Kobe, Japan.

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