Goalkeeper James Beadle was the hero as English Championship side Birmingham City beat Spanish champions Barcelona on penalties following an entertaining 2-2 draw at St. Andrew’s on Friday.
Beadle saved from Roony Bardghji and Brian Fariñas, while Jordi Pesquer hit the bar as Birmingham won the shootout 3-2.
August Priske had earlier given the Blues the lead with his fourth goal in preseason only to see a brace from Egypt striker Hamza Abdelkarim hand the advantage to Barça.
Jhon Solís’ 68th-minute strike restored parity on the night and forced penalties, where Beadle emerged as the hero.
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Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham, a former Birmingham player, joined in the celebrations from the stands, wearing his hometown’s shirt as he enjoys some time off after the World Cup.
Barça were also missing the bulk of their squad due to the World Cup, with coach Hansi Flick forced to name an inexperienced side after a week of training at St. George’s Park.
The Catalans were without all eight of their Spain internationals who lifted the trophy in North America this summer, while Anthony Gordon, Jules Koundé and Raphinha did not feature, either, although there was a debut for summer signing Karim Adeyemi.
That set the stage for Abdelkarim to star after Priske had opened the scoring with a fine header from an Alexander Cochrane cross.
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Abdelkarim, 18, cut short his holiday after the World Cup, where he featured four times for Egypt at the finals, to boost his chances of earning a place in coach Flick’s squad this season.
He won and converted a penalty to draw Barça level before the break and then, after Wojciech Szczesny made a fine stop from Tomoki Iwata, scored from close range in the second half after Beadle could only parry a Bardghji strike.
His brace will give Flick something to think about as Barça continue to seek a long-term replacement for Robert Lewandowski, who left for the Chicago Fire this summer, but it was not enough to secure the victory for his team.
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Birmingham drew level again when former Girona midfielder Solís was on hand to turn home after Christoph Klarer had knocked a free kick into his path with 20 minutes to go.
Both teams could have won the game late on. Cochrane smashed the bar for the hosts, while Beadle made a late double save from Bardghji and Álex González to force penalties.
Scott Wright and Álvaro Cortés both scored before Luis Vázquez and Bardghji both missed to leave it level after two penalties.
Ethan Laird then scored for the Blues before Barça youngster Pesquer hit the bar.
Jack Robinson’s effort was then saved by Áron Yaakobishvili and when Guille Fernández netted for Barça again it was all level, but after Patrick Roberts fired home, Fariñas was denied by Beadle to seal the win for Birmingham.
The match was Birmingham’s final warm-up ahead of the new season, which starts with a Carabao Cup tie against Swansea City on Aug. 8.
Barcelona will continue their preparations for the defence of their LaLiga crown when taking on Premier League side Nottingham Forest on Aug. 8. The Catalans’ first competitive action of the new season will come in their opening LaLiga contest at Elche on Aug. 23.
