Orian Goren featured as Barcelona lost to Udinese in decisive match
The 17-year-old Israeli came off the bench in the 1-0 loss to the tournament hosts. Earlier, the Catalans beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 on a penalty by Raphinha.
Barcelona finished today (Saturday) the three-team preparation tournament in Udine with a 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest and a 1-0 loss to the hosts, Udinese, who won the home tournament after beating both their rivals 1-0 with two dramatic goals. The matches were held in a 45-minute format each, and in the second encounter, 17-year-old Orian Goren received another opportunity in the senior team of Hansi Flick.
In the first match against Nottingham Forest, Barcelona started with Raphinha, and although the English were close to taking the lead in the 29th minute when Morgan Gibbs-White hit the post, the decision came right at the end. In the 45th minute, a handball by Milenkovic in the box led to a penalty for Barcelona, and Raphinha scored it in the 46th minute to make it 1-0 for the Catalans.
Immediately after, Barcelona met Udinese. Flick made only two changes to the lineup, but in the 16th minute, he made a series of substitutions, and among those entering was Orian Goren, who received 29 minutes on the pitch. This game was also decided at the last moment, and contrary to the flow of the game. In the 45th minute, young Idrissa Gueye assisted Isaac Baio, who scored the only goal and gave Udinese a 1-0 win. Thus, the hosts completed two wins at the buzzer, after also beating Nottingham Forest 1-0, and won the home tournament at the expense of Barcelona.
For Goren, this was another opportunity to impress Flick during the preparation period. The Israeli midfielder took part in the senior team's training camp and received minutes in previous preparation matches as well. Flick even complimented him earlier this week and said that he and Ibrahima Thonkara "surprised" him during the camp and that the two have "huge potential".
The matches in Udine came after two other preparation matches for Barcelona this summer. In the first, the Catalans beat CE Europa 4-1, and in the second, they succumbed to Birmingham in a penalty shootout after 2-2 at the end of the match.
