Pasadena (US): Ernesto Valverde expects a bright future for summer signing Arthur Melo after the Brazilian midfielder netted a stunning goal on his Barcelona debut in a 5-3 penalty shootout win after a 2-2 stalemate against Tottenham Hotspur in a match of the pre-season International Champions Cup here, Saturday.
The La Liga champions have lost the services of experienced midfield duo Andres Iniesta and Paulinho since the end of last season, but splashed out 40 million euros to bring in Arthur from Brazilian outfit Gremio.
The 21-year-old made an instant impression in Barcelona’s opening encounter pre-season tournament. Barcelona boss Valverde has confirmed that he still wants to add to his options in the middle of the park, but was encouraged by the early signs from Arthur during an impressive first half display.
Both sides were without many of their big names, with the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris all still recovering from their exertions at the World Cup.
But Barcelona’s weakened team went ahead in the 15th minute when Andre Gomes delivered an inswinging cross from the left, Rafinha headed the ball back into the six-yard box, where Munir cushioned it into the net from point-blank range.
Rafinha laid the ball back to the midfielder on the edge of the area and he effortlessly swept it into the far top corner beyond the helpless Spurs custodian.
But after Valverde introduced a raft of teenagers into the fray, Spurs began to pull themselves back into the game and pulled level with two goals in as many minutes. Son Heung-min latched onto a rebound to divert a shot into an unguarded net. Georges-Kevin N’koudou restored parity pouncing with a volley from inside the six-yard box.
In the penalty shoot-out that followed, Anthony Georgious missed for Spurs, with Barcelona converting all five of their spot-kicks with new signing Malcom scoring the winning penalty.