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Draw leaves room for optimism (1-1)

Barça drew with Chivas of Guadalajara in the second game of their American tour, a match that often resembled an official tie. Gudjohnsen put Barça ahead, but the Mexicans equalised in the 85th minute.

Frank Rijkaard's side came within a whisker of another win, this time against Chivas Guadalajara in Los Angeles (1-1). Despite Barcelona looking much the better side, there was little doubting that this team was better prepared than Tigres Monterrey, and treated this game with the seriousness such an encounter deserved. Barça had all the best chances, but a defensive mishap was responsible for Chivas adding a late goal to cancel out Gudjohnsen's earlier effort.

Competitive team

Rijkaard opted to start with just one reserve team member, Jordi Gómez, but there was certainly confusion in the first half. Barça failed to get the ball moving as they usually do, and the passing was poor, which was highly uncharacteristic of what we have come to expect of the team.

Barça had a series of half-chances, including a long range Eto'o effort (min 17) and two set pieces struck by Márquez (min. 23) and the Cameroonian (min. 43). Towards the end of the first 45 minutes, the Mexicans enjoyed a couple of opportunities, first a headed effort by Francisco Rodríguez and then an Omar Bravo strike that was blocked by an impressive Víctor Valdés, who was as decisive as he was in Monterrey.

Changes in the second half

The pattern changed after Rijkaard made a series of half-time changes, bringing on fresher players like Ronaldinho, Gudjohnsen, Crosas, Oleguer, Motta and Ruben. The packed stadium was enthused to see Ronaldinho enter the fray, and there were camera flashes every time he went near the ball.

Gudjohnsen again

In the 56th minute, Sylvinho thought he had scored, but the ball was cleared off the Mexican goal line. Shortly after, Ronaldinho saw a great chance intercepted by keeper Osvaldo Talavera with Giuly failing to convert the rebound.

But the goal always looked like coming, and finally did in the 73rd minute. Icelander Gudjohnsen was the man on target, as he had been against Monterrey. This time he latched onto an excellently lofted Ronaldinho pass to break the offside trap, first hitting the post, but pouncing on the rebound to score the first goal of the game.

Defensive error

Barça then brought on Iniesta, and continued controlling the game, but could not round off a good night. A misunderstanding in defence with five minutes to go led to Chivas equalising thanks to a Diego Martínez header. The wild supporters celebrated the Mexican team's draw in a game in which Ronaldinho's exquisite performance was rewarded with the man of the match award.