BARCELONA BEAT REAL MADRID IN MIAMI
Barcelona have beaten Real Madrid 3-2 in a pulsating friendly in front of a sell-out crowd of 65,000 in Miami.
The La Liga rivals will meet twice in August in the Spanish Super Cup and this International Champions Cup match in the US set the entertainment bar high, with Gerard Pique's strike settling a fiercely contested clash.
Madrid were missing Cristiano Ronaldo but both teams were close to full strength.
Ernesto Valverde, getting a taste of Clasico drama early in his career as Barcelona manager, selected Neymar despite speculation swirling over the Brazilian's future at the club.
However, it was stalwart Lionel Messi who opened the scoring after three minutes, beating Luka Modric and firing home, with his strike deflecting off Raphael Varane and beating Keylor Navas.
Ivan Rakitic doubled their lead with a powerful drive when Suarez helped force Neymar's low cross to the Croatian midfielder on the edge of the box.
Madrid fought their way back at the Hard Rock Stadium with Mateo Kovacic drilling expertly past Jasper Cillessen from the edge of the area.
Marco Asensio, starting on the left of Real Madrid's attack in place of Ronaldo, then started and finished a lightning break to tie the game in the 36th minute.
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