The Catalans' homegrown starlets shone in New Jersey, but Carlo Ancelotti will need his stars at their best when the season kicks-off

For all their issues, both on and off the field, Barcelona can always rely on their youth products. Real Madrid may have the most talented squad in world football, but they have had to spend big to put it together. Barca, by contrast, head into the new campaign with a team that is reliant on academy graduates who are only getting better.

On Saturday, the two great rivals of Spanish football met in New Jersey, and it was Hansi Flick's side who ran out 2-1 winners in this pre-season Clasico, led by homegrown striker Pau Victor.

This wasn’t vintage Barcelona in tiki-taka pomp. Rather, Flick’s side pieced together a composed performance, attacking at the right times while taking their chances as they came and doing enough defensively to keep Madrid’s stars at bay.

Barca came closest early on as Thibaut Courtois made a smart stop to keep out Pau. The forward made no mistake shortly before half-time, however, as he corralled Robert Lewandowski's knockdown and headed into an empty net. The 22-year-old then added a second after the break, as his tidy tap-in rounded off a fluid counter-attack.

Madrid always carried a threat, though, and they got their deserved goal with 10 minutes remaining as their own academy graduate Nico Paz dove acrobatically to nod home at the far post, adding jeopardy to a game that badly needed it.

Despite that, Barca were comfortable in the end, seeing out some late pressure – brought about by the introduction of Vinicius Jr – to seal a win. Results don’t matter here, but a new version of Barca seems to be developing under Flick, and it might be a lot of fun to watch.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from MetLife Stadium…

GettyWINNER: La Masia

Barca may have somewhat recovered financially from their lever-pulling nadir of 2022, but they’re still a broken institution that is badly short of the cash needed to inject quality into the squad. It’s a good thing, then, that they still have the world’s best footballing academy.

Pau Victor was the headline-grabber here, but he was just one of six La Masia products who started on Saturday, with only Alejandro Balde what you would call a first-team regular. The youngsters held their own against one of the best sides in world football, and when you factor in the roles Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Fermin Lopez, Gavi and Lamine Yamal will play for Flick this season, and there is likely to be a massive La Masia flavour to this Barca side in 2024-25.

AdvertisementWINNER: Pau Victor

Unlike many of the academy talents who have been promoted to the Barca first team in recent years, Pau Victor has had to wait until his early 20s before finally getting a chance to impress. The forward, who can play anywhere across the attacking line, will turn 23 in November, and perhaps should be looking to move on to further his career.

However, after scoring 20 goals for Barca Atletic in the Spanish third division last season, Pau was handed a five-year, first-team contract in July, and it has been reported that he has already usurped Brazilian teenager Vitor Roque in the pecking order behind Robert Lewandowski.

Having already scored against Manchester City during the Blaugrana's tour of the United States, Pau only furthered his case against Madrid. He was the best player on the pitch for long stretches, orchestrating from a No.10 role, and grabbed a much-deserved opening goal before half-time. He then bagged a second after the break, suggesting he is ready to make the step up in 2024-25.

Getty ImagesLOSER: Endrick

Endrick has endured a rough few months. He failed to impress for Brazil at Copa America, and didn't get off to a flying start for Madrid on his debut against AC Milan on Wednesday.

Against Barca, he endured similar struggles. The Brazilian managed 25 touches, with just one inside the opposition box. He didn't complete any of his three attempted dribbles and spent a lot of time making fruitless runs behind a rugged Barca defence.

Credit must go to Ancelotti for giving the youngster a chance to impress, but it might be better to shield him from the spotlight once the competitive games begin.

GettyWINNER: Vinicius Jr

Talk about impact! There’s something visceral about Vinicius playing football; when he receives a pass, a stadium rises to its feet, the noise level increases and the anticipation grows. It was that exact energy that the Brazilian fed off in his 20 minutes on the pitch.

This wasn’t much of a game when he entered. Barca may not have had control, but Madrid didn’t look like doing much with the ball. Vini changed that. In a blur of legs and a flurry of step-overs, the winger stretched play, terrorised his opposite number, and brought the fixture to life.

He may not have impacted the result, but Vini looked sharp from the second he touched the ball. Full-backs beware…