BLOG FROM FEDEX FIELD: FC BARCELONA 1 (NEYMAR 31) MAN UNITED 0

27 Jul, 2017

90+4: The Reds suffer a first defeat of Tour 2017, presented by Aon, as a result of Neymar's opportunistic first-half goal at the FedEx Field in Maryland, USA. Mourinho's men wiill clearly benefit from the workout, however, and the squad's attention now turns to Sunday's friendly against Valerenga in Oslo, Norway.

90+1: United appeal for a penalty after the ball appears to strike the hand of a Barca man, but the referee waves play on.

90: There will be four minutes of added time.

89: Rashford hits the deck following an encounter with a Barcelona player on the wing, and the number 19 leaves the pitch for a moment alonside a club physio. Thankfully, he re-enters the action a few seconds later and appears to be fine.

85: Sergi Samper replaces Roberto for the opposition.

84: Axel Tuanzebe takes the place of Valencia.

83: Marouane enters the book for a foul on Roberto, the same player who he had collided with a few moments ago..

81: The match resumes and Fellaini, thankfully, is able to play on.

79: Fellaini goes to ground following a collision with Sergi Roberto on the halfway line and the Belgium international looks to be in terrible pain, as two physios run on to the pitch to provide him with medical attention.

77: Martial has the ball in the back of the net, stroking the ball home from around eight yards, but unfortunately he is in an offside position and the goal does not stand.

72: United move the ball around with impressive pace and purpose, creating space for Pogba to burst forward through the middle, using his giant stride to move quickly. The Frenchman reaches the 18-yard box and hits a low shot that brings a good save out of Cillessen.

71: Another solid effort from Pereira is saved by Cillessen, who does well to claim the deflected effort with relative ease.

70: Pereira, on as a substitute at half-time, lashes an ambitious shot over the bar from the edge of the Barcelona penalty area. He faced the La Liga side last season, of course, while he was on loan at Granada.

67: Alcacer has an excellent opportunity to double Barcelona's lead, but he fluffs his lines by shooting wide of Romero's goal.

65: Martial receives the ball on the edge of the penalty area, cuts onto his right foot and hits a composed shot that narrowly misses the target.

62: Lingard went to ground prior to his exit just then, and the Academy graduate was escorted off by a club physio. Let's hope he does not have an injury.

61: Mkhitaryan and Lingard both leave the pitch, as they are replaced by Andreas Pereira and Anthony Martial.

59: Check out this impressive photo that was taken during the first half here at FedEx Field.

56: The tempo and atmosphere has dropped a little at the start of the second period, which also happened in the four previous Tour 2017 matches in the US. It's hardly surprising, to be fair, given how many substitutions were made at the break (15 in total).

53: Paco Alcacer beats Romero to the ball and then hits the post with a shot from an acute angle, before turning to see the linesman's flag raised for offside.

50: Yep, the Camp Nou club changed their entire team at the break - except for the goalkeeper Cillessen, This is how they are lined up now: Cillessen, Piqué, Denis, Arda, Iniesta, Vermaelen, Alcácer, Digne, Roberto, A.Vidal, Munir.

46: The Spanish side set the ball rolling again.

MATCH RESTARTS

HT: Sergio Romero, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly, Matteo Darmian and Marouane Fellaini have all come on for the start of the second half, taking the places of De Gea, Lindelof, Smalling, Blind and Carrick.

HT: A group of players were warming up throughout the final 15 minutes of the first half, so don't be surprised if and when we report a host of substitutions for the second period.

45: The referee calls time on an action-packed first half in Maryland, where the La Liga giants lead thanks to Neymar's opportunistic finish on 31 minutes. The Reds went close through Rashford, Pogba and Lukaku.

44: Pogba drives up the right wing and hits a low cross into the penalty area that Lukaku misses with his outstretched boot by just a matter of inches.

42: Messi, looking fit and sharp in his second pre-season match, lofts a beautiful pass over the top for Suarez to chase. Lindelof appears suddenly to head the ball into the air, before the former Liverpool striker volleys a shot that brings a good save out of De Gea.

40: Messi curls a dangerous left-footed free-kick slightly over the crossbar from around 25 yards, although De Gea was in a good position to make a save if the shot had hit the target.

38: A host of United players are warming up by the corner flag to the left of De Gea's goal, presumably ahead of Mourinho making a handful of changes at the half-time break.

35: A Mexican wave is usually the sign of a terrible game, but this first half has been really entertaining with plenty of shots at goal from both teams. The fans are just enjoying themselves!

31: Messi slips a short pass forward that Valencia tries to control, but the United right-back unfortunately falls over the ball and Neymar manages to execute an opportunistic finish from close range.

27: Barcelona break at pace and De Gea makes a comfortable save to deny Suarez. The Spain international is then required a moment later, using his legs to block a driven effort from Neymar.

26: The American fans are lapping up the action here in Maryland, and many of them are grasping the countless opportunities to take photos of their favourite players. You can see the flashbulbs constantly going off in the crowd, particularly when the likes of Rashford, Lukaku, Pogba, Suarez, Neymar and Messi are each on the ball.

21: Following a sluggish start to the game, in which Barcelona registered several shots at goal, United are growing into the action and currently look dangerous in the final third, particularly when attacking the Catalans on the counter. Come on you Reds!

16: Rashford is afforded a massive ovation from the crowd when he runs over to the left wing to take a United corner. The young forward almost scores a second later, too, when he dribbles through the box to shoot straight at the well-placed Cillessen.

15: Henrikh Mkhitaryan hits another United effort just wide of the post, before Jesse Lingard's shot from distance is deflected wide.

14: United move up the pitch along the right flank and Paul Pogba is able to unleash a powerful shot that is claimed by goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen.

13: Messi sees a shot cannon off the outside of the right post following a shot from the edge of the penalty area, as the Catalan side begin to dominate these opening exchanges.

10: United captain Michael Carrick executes a tough sliding tackle on Neymar and the Brazilian wants a free-kick, but the referee is having none of it and he waves play on - much to the dismay of the Barcelona supporters in the crowd.

9: Chris Smalling steps out of the defensive line and fouls Suarez, earning a briefing warning from the referee.

7: Ex-Liverpool striker Luis Suarez registers another effort at United's goal, hitting a left-footed strike that De Gea tips wide of the post.

5: Neymar comfortably surges forward through the middle of United's midfield and slots a short pass out wide to Messi, whose effort from the right of the penalty area is saved by De Gea.

4: David De Gea makes a smart save to collect a low shot from Neymar, the Brazil international who has been linked with a move away from Barcelona in recent weeks (but now looks set to stay).

3: Marcus Rashford crosses a teasing ball into the box and summer signing Romelu Lukaku shoots over the bar from close range. It would not have counted anyway, however, because the linesman had his flag raised for offside.

2: Neither team is wearing traditional colours here, with Barcelona in turquoise and United in white.

1: The match is underway at FedEx Field.

MATCH STARTED

The teams are out on the pitch and the start of the first half is just a few moments away. How are you feeling - confident? The Reds have already secured four wins on this pre-season tour of America and a fifth, against the mighty Barcelona, would provide a major boost.

The stadium erupts with noise at the sight of Jose Mourinho's squad emerging from the tunnel for the pre-match warm-up, before the noise levels are amplified even further when Lionel Messi leads his Barcelona team-mates onto the pitch. It's a star-studded game!

Speaking about tonight's game in the tunnel, Jose told ESPN: "I want to see the same as I have seen. We are going to play every player. Of course nobody likes to lose, even in friendlies, so we will try to win. But the more important thing is that everyone will play, everyone will have an experience and everyone will go home with minutes in their legs."

Barca have named their side: Cillessen, Rakitic, Sergio, Suarez, Messi, Neymar Jr, Semedo, Mascherano, Alena, Jordi Alba, Umtiti.

Injured midfielder Ander Herrera is now taking part in a light training session on the pitch, following the earlier workouts for Mata and Young (scroll down for more on that). The 2016/17 Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year is expected to return to action on Sunday against Norwegian side Valerenga in Oslo.

A reminder that United will wear the brand new adidas third kit for the first time, following its world-wide release last Friday.

This will be Barcelona's second match of the summer, after Ernesto Valverde's side kicked off their pre-season preparations with a 2-1 win over last season's Champions League finalists Juventus. After facing United, Barça then travel to Miami to take on rivals Real, before playing against Brazilian side Chapecoense.

Fans who subscribe to MUTV on Sky or Virgin Media, the club’s MUTV app or online at the recently launched mutv.com have access to watch all of the team’s pre-season games. With no extra cost to subscribers, fans can watch all seven of United’s tour games live.

Injured players Juan Mata and Ashley Young are completing a light training session on the pitch with a member of the coaching team, as they continue to work on their fitness. MUTV pundit Bojan Djordjic, watching from pitchside, also joins in with a short passing routine for a moment before exiting.

Each seat carries the logo of the Washington Redskins, the NFL team who play their matches here at the FedEx Field.

Although these matches in the US are generally dominated by Reds, there are plenty of Barca supporters already here due to the large Hispanic community in the Washington DC area. After waiting patiently outside for several hours, the fans of both clubs have just been allowed into the stadium with kick-off approaching.

FedEx Field has a capacity of 82,000 and this match has been reported as a sell-out today, with local soccer fans clearly keen to watch two of Europe's greatest, most historic clubs in action. We're set for a great occasion at the close of this trip to America.

“Everybody knows that FC Barcelona are one of the biggest clubs in the world with the biggest players, and it is a good test for us to play against them. We want to play against the best, we want to beat the best and become the best. It is a big test, playing against Barcelona, and it helps us to get ready for the Super Cup as well.”

United have won all four games in the US against LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Manchester City and Real Madrid. Jose Mourinho now hopes to finish the stateside trip on a high. "I think it is the best way to finish the pre-season, to play against the best players, the best teams, and it is an experience we want to live," he told us.

Welcome to ManUtd.com's live blog for the fifth match of Tour 2017, presented by Aon, against FC Barcelona. My name is Mark Froggatt and I will be your guide to the action at FedEx Field, which is normally home to the Washington Redskins in Maryland.