New Delhi: The crowd of nearly 94,000 on hand at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena was the largest to watch a soccer game in the United States since the 1994 World Cup.
They were treated to an entertaining match between Barcelona and the Los Angeles Galaxy, one that may have seen as the redemption of David Beckham, at least as far as Galaxy fans were concerned.
Despite their pre-season form, Barcelona still showed their quality, eventually claiming the 2-1 win.
First Half
Barcelona started off the first half with silky combination play orchestrated by Lionel Messi, who was the lynchpin of a side featuring a host of inexperienced young players, such as Jonathan Dos Santos and Bojan Krkic.
As Barca probed for the goal, the speed of the Galaxy on the counterattack through long passes from Beckham opened a few opportunities.
The Galaxy actually had the first shot on goal, when Jovan Kirovski went wide on his attempt in the fourth minute.
However, Barcelona maintained the majority of the possession and they made it pay off in the 11th minute. Pedro Rodriguez charged into the box, eluding defender Todd Dunivant and shooting on goal.
Back-up goalkeeper Josh Saunders, in for an injured Donovan Ricketts, managed to stop the shot, but couldn't hold on to the rebound. Messi pounced on the opportunity, dribbling past a scrambling Saunders and sending the ball toward goal.
AJ de la Garza was able to block that shot as well, but the rebound fell nicely for a still-lurking Rodriguez, who tucked the ball straight away into the net.
In response to the goal, the Galaxy pulled out of their defensive format and pushed forward more in search of the equaliser.
Kirovski had a shot saved by Jose Manuel Pinto in the 14th minute.
Landon Donovan had a notable play in the 29th minute, when he turned and beat defender Rafael Marquez with a smart move, then sent a long shot on goal that was deflected out for a corner.
Dunivant was able to reach Beckham's service, but his header attempt was high.
Marquez, who has been recovering from an injury, was subbed out for Adriano Henrique only a minute later.
Barcelona went on a dangerous run of possession as the end of the half neared, but Saunders was able to come up with three impressive saves, first on Seydou Kieta in the 38th minute, then Dos Santos in the 41st, then Messi in the 42nd.
Those saves would prove to be crucial, as the Galaxy earned an opportunity of their own in the 45th minute. Henrique tackled Donovan late just outside the box, providing Beckham with a prime opportunity. Yaya Toure argued the call, earning a yellow for dissent.
Beckham did not waste the chance, stepping forward and burying the free kick past Pinto. The crowd, which had intermittently booed Beckham up to that point, roared approval at his effort while the Englishman celebrated with his team-mates.
Thus, the two sides went into the break level.
Second Half
After wholesale changes by Josep Guardiola to start the second half, Barcelona took a little while to get going, but they soon began to dominate play.
Though most of the starters were in for Barcelona, the creative spark of Messi was missing, and the Catalans were unable to break through, even as they closed down nearly every opportunity for the Galaxy.
A foul on Xavi by Stefan Miglioranzi led to a quick restart, which yielded another foul by Gregg Berhalter to stop the play. Xavi stepped up to the dangerous free kick chance and sent it screaming barely outside of the goal arc.
As chances for the Galaxy dried up, Beckham dropped further back to try to get more touches on the ball and get something going with his long passes. Barcelona captain Carles Puyol did well to get to most of those long balls first, though, negating the Galaxy's attacks.
In the 65th minute, Donovan had enough energy to take off on a long run from midfield that beat the Barcelona defenders into the box, but Valdes blocked his angled shot.
It was a foolish mistake by the Galaxy that helped set up Barcelona's winning goal. Goalkeeper Saunders muffed an attempted clearance badly, sending the ball out of bounds deep in the Galaxy's own half.
Barca again took advantage of the half chance - building a play quickly from the prime position. Sergio Busquets worked a give-and-go play with Jeffren Suarez, who finished coolly past Saunders for the lead.
With the advantage safely in hand, Barcelona put on a possession clinic, limiting the Galaxy's touches severely.
Beckham finally came off in the 87th minute, as Mike Magee subbed in.
A late corner kick was the Galaxy's last gasp to draw level, but that threat was snuffed out as Barcelona held on for the win.
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