LANDOVER, MD -- Loïc Remy sent home the winning penalty as Chelsea downed Barcelona in an International Champions Cup match at FedEx Field, home to the NFL's Redskins. The Barclays Premier League side scored all four of their penalties, while Barcelona's Alen Halilovic hit the bar and Gerard Pique had a penalty saved to send the Blaugrana home packing.
Andres Iniesta and Radamel Falcao each netted their team's first penalties, which were brought on directly following full time (without extra time), but Halilovic and Pique missed back-to-back and just sat and watched as Remy knocked home the winner to hand Barça their second straight loss.
After the match, Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtouis was named Man of the Match after only conceding a duo of penalty kicks and making four vital saves in regulation to drive his club to a confidence-boosting win.
Eden Hazard scored a brilliant goal in the 10th minute on a solo run past multiple multiple Barça to take the lead for the Blues. Following that moment, the rest of the first 45 were all FC Barcelona's, and yet Courtouis managed to stave off numerous phenomenal strikes by the attacking men of La Liga's treble winners.
Ivan Rakitić had an awfully close opportunity in the 15th minute, and following that, Luis Suarez forced two sensational saves by Courtouis and afterwards just shook his head in disbelief.
Diego Costa had the other prime attempt for Chelsea in the initial 45 minutes. The Spanish striker had a one-on-one situation with keeper Marc Andre ter Stegen, but his attempt to finesse the ball around the German went further wide than expected.
Chelsea led 1-0 at half time despite Barcelona thoroughly controlling possession, shots, shots on target, and nearly every other area of the match.
The Blaugrana answered right away after the half time interval, as Suarez finally managed to get a ball past the young Belgian keeper of Chelsea in the 49th minute. The Uruguayan striker chipped a shot over Courtouis' head, and Kurt Zouma attempted to make an unreal clearance, but ended up blasting the post with his attempt as the ball carried past the line and in for the Barcelona equalizer.
Alex Sandro took the lead for FCB in the 66th minute with a fantastic screamer of a strike from the top left portion of the penalty area that no keeper, not even Courtouis, could halt. With a 2-1 lead, all the momentum had completed its shift to the Spaniards.
A test was posed to Jordi Masip, who had come on for ter Stegen, in the 79th minute, as Ramires had a scorching attempt at net on a Chelsea breakaway. The Brazilian's shot was off target slightly to the right, and Barcelona maintained their thin one-goal advantage.
The Blues finally equalized in the 85th minute, when defender Gary Cahill knocked home a header off a free kick cross over the leap of Masip.
It was a commanding effort by both sides, but it was clear from the majority of the match's duration that Barça were more prepared for their opponents and were performing in better form. A classic FC Barcelona staple, the Spanish club won the possession battle by a 69%-31% margin, as well as doubling the number of shots taken by Chelsea (18 to 9).
But Chelsea made it to penalties, and won it when it mattered. Because that's soccer.
This was the second consecutive match between these two sides decided by penalties. Perfect for the world's potential top two teams.
With Lionel Messi and Neymar absent from the Barcelona lineups in the ICC tour games, the upcoming season result for the La Liga champs looks awfully bright. After all, without two of the team's three biggest producers, Luis Enrique's squad managed to drive the English Premier League winners to penalties.
In each of their last cracks at Guinness International Champions Cup opponents, FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC will take on Serie A side Fiorentina. Barça get the first crack on Sunday, August 2nd in Florence, Italy, while Chelsea will host Fiorentina in London three nights later.