birmingham vs barcelona ends 2-2, Birmingham win on penalties
Birmingham City held Barcelona to a 2-2 draw before winning 3-2 on penalties at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park. The preseason opener gave Hansi Flick a first…
BIRMINGHAM — birmingham vs barcelona ended 2-2 before Birmingham City beat Barcelona 3-2 on penalties on Friday, July 31, 2026, at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park in England. It was Barcelona’s first match of preseason, and the Spanish club took on a Birmingham side that currently plays in the Championship.
The game gave Hansi Flick an early look at a roster split between senior names and young La Masia prospects. New signing Karim Adeyemi also featured in the squad and was listed among Barcelona’s substitutes after the first half.
birmingham vs barcelona: first preseason test for Flick
Barcelona started with Szczesny; Espart, Christensen, Martín, Jofre; Casadó, Bernal; Adeyemi, Tunkara, Kluivert; Abdelkarim in a 4-2-3-1 shape. The bench included Yaakobishvili, Rodríguez, Fort, Balde, Araujo, Fermín, Raphinha, Roony and others.
Barcelona’s lineup underlined the theme of the night. Several big stars were still on vacation after the World Cup, so the club leaned on younger players and fringe options for its first runout of the preseason.
Birmingham, meanwhile, named Priske, Stansfield, Fujimoto, Vicente, Solís, Iwata, Cochrane, Osayi-Samuel, Klarer, Neumann and Beadle. It was a useful early test for both sides, though the result only arrived after a penalty shootout.
How the match unfolded
Birmingham took the lead through August Priske in the 31st minute. Barcelona answered through Hamza Abdelkarim from the penalty spot in the 42nd minute, then went ahead when Abdelkarim scored again in the 60th minute.
Barcelona’s lead did not hold. Jhon Solís equalized in the 68th minute and forced the game into penalties after 2-2 at full time.
The shootout went Birmingham’s way. ESPN reported that Birmingham City won 3-2 on penalties and advanced after a tense finish. Barcelona missed three of its five kicks, with R. Bardghji, J. Pesquer and B. Fariñas unable to convert.
For Birmingham, S. Wright, Á. Cortés, E. Laird, G. Fernández and P. Roberts took the decisive spot-kicks, with the club sealing the win in front of its home crowd.
Why the result matters
For Barcelona, this was less about the score and more about minutes, shape and sharpness. The club used the match to assess academy players, new faces and those returning into a preseason rhythm after the break.
The numbers showed a familiar contrast. Barcelona had 68% possession and 502 passes to Birmingham’s 233, but Birmingham created the bigger damage in the moments that mattered and matched the visitors on the scoreboard.
That matters because preseason games often reveal more about depth than glamour. A team can dominate the ball and still leave with questions if it does not finish chances or close out a match in the final minutes.
Birmingham, for its part, will take confidence from beating Barcelona in any format, even if only after penalties. The club also got a sharp workout against a side that had more of the ball and more of the squad attention.
Barcelona’s next steps in preseason will now focus on minutes, fitness and combinations. The first match already showed Flick one hard fact: the ball can belong to his team for long stretches, but the result still belongs to the side that lands the final kick.
