Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Mamelodi Sundown midfielder Tiyani Mabunda vie for the ball during their friendly match Mamelodi Sundowns vs Barcelona FC for the Mandela Centenary Trophy on May 16, 2018 at FNB Soccer Stadium in Johannesburg. / AFP PHOTO / PHILL MAGAKOE
Catch up with anything you might have missed.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Mamelodi Sundown midfielder Tiyani Mabunda vie for the ball during their friendly match Mamelodi Sundowns vs Barcelona FC for the Mandela Centenary Trophy on May 16, 2018 at FNB Soccer Stadium in Johannesburg. / AFP PHOTO / PHILL MAGAKOE
Barcelona beat PSL champions, Mamelodi Sundowns 3-1 in the Mandela Centenary Cup at FNB Stadium on Wednesday night.
It took just two minutes for the Catalan giants to open the scoring, with Ousmane Dembele finding the back of the net.
Sundowns seemed to settle a bit and in the 12th minute, Percy Tau missed a very good chance to level the scores after he found himself with just Marc-Andre Ter Stegen to beat.
Tau went for the chip, but couldn’t quite the elevation needed to go all the way.
Just one minute later, it was Barca who scored again, though, with Luis Suarez hitting the back of the end.
There was some back and forth action for the remainder of the second half, but it was Barca who led 0-2 at the break.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde made several changes to his team at the start of the second half, but the man the crowd wanted to see, Lionel Messi, remained on the bench.
In the 66th minute, Andre Gomes put the game beyond doubt, punishing a very casual Sundowns’ defence.
Messi finally appeared in the 73rd minute.
Sundowns, though, were desperate for some consolation and they got it in the 75th minute with Sibusiso Vilakazi shooting and scoring.
There was no Messi magic, though, but he has a World Cup to prepare for.
If you missed the match, catch up with the full text of our live blog, or check out the videos below.
HT: @Masandawana ?? 0-2 ??@FCBarcelona
Ousmane Dembele & Luis Suarez with the goals so far.pic.twitter.com/DvXsDUYkfg #NelsonMandelaCentenaryCup
— DiskiStyle (@DiskiStyle) May 16, 2018
? @Hlompho_Kekana vs @mterstegen1
Great play all round by both players pic.twitter.com/CoPUnIDaYp ?? ?? ??
— DiskiStyle (@DiskiStyle) May 16, 2018
Comical defending by @Masandawana as @aftgomes makes it 0-3 for @FCBarcelona at FNB.pic.twitter.com/Qk8jBBmMug #NelsonMandelaCentenaryCup
— DiskiStyle (@DiskiStyle) May 16, 2018
Vilakazi pulls one back for Sundown 3-1 #SundownsBarca Watch Live https://t.co/trUPxfhmFr pic.twitter.com/5k47kuyNQ2
— SABC News Online (@SABCNewsOnline) May 16, 2018
ON COMES MESSI!!! pic.twitter.com/OaYhX76OM3 #NelsonMandelaCentenaryCup
— DiskiStyle (@DiskiStyle) May 16, 2018