Barcelona Thrash Tottenham 4-2 To Win The Joan Gamper Trophy

Barcelona pulled out a thrilling performance in the last 10 minutes of their Joan Gamper Trophy final match to beat Tottenham 4-2.

Late goals from Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati, and Ez Abde put the 2022 winners in front despite an underwhelming Barca display.

Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring for the host in the Joan Gamper Trophy match but Spurs’ Oliver Skipp scored a brace to put Postecoglou’s side 2-1 up.

Lewandowski powered home with a left-footed half-volley from Raphinha’s cross but Tottenham responded when Skipp fired home following Giovani Lo Celso’s shot.

Ivan Perisic made a dogged run down the left then sent an inch-perfect cross which met Skipp, who converted to make it 2-1.

They held the lead not until the final 10 minutes when Barcelona unleashed a late onslaught that left Tottenham shocked.

Tottenham looked in control as they played Barcelona in the final of the Joan Gamper Trophy, but they failed to sustain it.

Lamine Yamal, 16, came in as a substitute and changed the game for the host in the final 10 minutes of the encounter.

Yamal picked out the onrushing Torres to turn home from close-range to make it 2-2, and then dazzled with a phenomenal turn before feeding Fati – who fired the winner beyond Vicario in the Spurs goal.

However, Femin Lopez then finished off Tottenham after finding Abde who scored to make it a 4-2 victory in the final preseason match for these two sides.

FC Barcelona hosted the 58th edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy, which took place on August 8, 2023, at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

What is the Joan Gamper Trophy?

The trophy is a football competition inaugurated by former Barcelona president Enric Llaudet in 1966 and held in August before the start of the Spanish season.

The trophy was named after one of the founding members of the club who also played and became president of Barca, and the winner of the match is awarded a silver cup with gold finishing.

In the Joan Gamper game, four teams are featured, contesting two semifinals, a third-placed playoff, and a final until 1997, when it became a one-off match between two teams.

The change, however, only happened because of the demands placed on players and clubs by their increasingly packed schedules.

The Joan Gamper Trophy match goes into penalties immediately if the score is level after 90 minutes, for the same reason.

FC Barcelona host the preseason tournament every summer and this is their 46th triumph, their 11th on the bounce.

Past Winners

German side Koln are the team with the most appearances in the trophy game apart from Barcelona after their five participations.

They are also the only team to have won the trophy more than once, winning it in 1978 and 1981 — the year before their most recent appearance.

Tottenham have participated before, finishing third behind champions Barca and second-placed PSV Eindhoven in 1986, with Spurs beating AC Milan 2-1 in the consolation match.

Here are the past winners of the Joan Gamper Trophy…