a good start for a team that's still working out the kinks. And Chivas might have just started their new campaign, but they too have options.
Barcelona defeated Chivas de Guadalajara 5-2 Sunday evening, thrilling a large crowd at Soldier Field with yet another goal fiesta -- which has been the theme of their preseason thus far.
"We played one of the biggest teams in the world," Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola said. "They're very dynamic. We give ourselves a lot of credit for what we did here tonight. It was a great game.
"Our players are extraordinary. We have great talent on our team. The players know what they have to do -- the sacrifices they have to make every day."
French international Thierry Henry played the first half of the match and liked what he saw.
"When you play you want to put pressure on the other team," Henry said. "That's what we tried to do. It's not always easy."
Barcelona dominated play in the first half, with Xavi and Alexander Hleb tallying goals 20 minutes apart for a 2-0 halftime lead. The newly acquired Hleb called the team's overall performance "OK."
"The season is just beginning," Hleb said. "For me it's time to adapt. I'm happy I scored, but every game, I want to score more."
Chivas began the match with their starters and switched at halftime. It made things a little interesting in the second half, but Barcelona continued their attacking onslaught, outscoring Chivas 3-2. Samuel Eto'o tallied two of the Barca goals.
"Chivas changed their system from the first half to the second half," Guardiola said. "We knew that Chivas could still get back in the game. We continued playing our game the same way. We wanted to move the ball as quick as possible and try to score more goals."
Chivas managed to tally two goals courtesy of young players -- Jesus Padilla and Javier Hernandez.
"The game was a two-game match," Chivas manager Efrain Flores said. "The first half we played our starters out of respect for our fans. The second half we played our young players and it was 3-2. The goals scored were mistakes of our young guys."
But at the end of the day, Chivas players still celebrated.
"Everybody wants to score, especially in games against first-class teams," Hernandez said. "The final score was just a learning experience."
Jose Casares, whose 90th-minute header rounded out the scoring, saw the Barcelona win as a step in the right direction.
"We'll take this win on build on it for New York in the next three days," he said.
Barcelona is on its way to New York, where it will face the Red Bulls Wednesday in the second game of its USA tour.
Kathryn L. Knapp is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
