Yes, it was Barca’s first minutes of pre-season, but Vissel Kobe were slap bang in the middle of their league season, and are currently top of the league whilst chasing a three-peat of titles. However, only in the last few minutes of the first half when they scored the equaliser, had the hosts shown anything like the urgency required.

Flick's Barça kicked off the 2025/26 season with a 1-3 victory on Japanese soil against Vissel Kobe.  The Blaugranas prevailed in a match marked by a slow pace and rotations, in which Flick used a