Barcelona kicked off their pre-season in style, beating CE Europa 4-1 in a friendly at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper before heading to England.
The Catalan side dominated from start to finish. Yet the name on everyone's lips was Alex Gonzalez, who scored one and made another after coming on at half-time.
According to "Sport", the young winger made an instant impact, capping his second week under Hansi Flick in the finest fashion.
Flick handed Gonzalez a taste of first-team preparations after his standout form in the closing stretch of the 2025-2026 season with the youth side.
Signed from Dam, Gonzalez made his debut for Pol Planas's team at the start of April and nailed down a starting spot in record time.
His performances earned him a shot with the first team, and he made clear from the off he had no intention of letting it slip.
Against Europa, Alex teed up Ibrahima Toumkara in the 48th minute with a fine run down the left. Ten minutes later he pounced on a gift from Toni Fernandez arriving from the opposite side to slot home the fourth with ease.
Those two goals delivered the knockout blow. The scoreline mattered less than the chance it gave Flick to run the rule over Barcelona's brightest academy talents, who took advantage of the absentees away on World Cup duty to train alongside first-team names like Alejandro Balde, Fermin Lopez and Marc Bernal.
