Barça 3-5 Arsenal: Blaugrana soft at the back as preseason begins with defeat
Lewandowski, Raphinha and Ferran got Barça's goals in an entertaining friendly in Los Angeles
Barcelona kicked off pre-season with a 5-3 defeat to Arsenal in an eight-goal thrilled in Los Angeles.
While Barça were playing their first friendly of the summer, this was Arsenal's fourth outing in July and the difference in sharpness between the two teams was obvious.
That said, Barça made it a contest and took the lead twice in the first half.
Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring in the seventh minute and, after Bukayo Saka had equalised and then missed a penalty, Raphinha restored the Catalan side's lead with a deflected free kick.
Kai Havertz drew the Premier League side level before the break and a brace from Leandro Trossard in the second half took Arsenal clear.
Ferran Torres pulled one back for Barça to give Xavi Hernandez's side a chance of snatching a draw only for Fabio Vieira to seal the win for Arsenal.
Barça, whose first friendly in the USA against Juventus was postponed due to a virus in the cap, are next in action on Saturday against Real Madrid in Dallas.
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