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.

Barcelona’s pre-season got off to the perfect start in Japan on Sunday when Hansi Flick’s side locked horns with Vissel Kobe after a highly controversial set of days.The game, which was initially