In their Joan Gamper Trophy 2017 match on Monday August 7, FC Barcelona did pay a fitting tribute to Brazilian football side Chapecoense, who were broken and left destroyed after their horrific tragedy following the Colombia plane crash last year. The Catalan giants also made sure they move on from the Neymar exit with an emphatic statement.
Who cares if the 'N' has gone missing from 'MSN', Messi and Suarez are still there to help keep the Barcelona flag flying higher and higher. 5-0 remained the final score in favour of Barca on Monday at Camp Nou.
It was Gerard Deulofeu who opened the scoring for the hosts in as early as the sixth minute of the match, before the likes of Sergio Busquets, Lionel Messi joined in the party in the first half. Suarez duo Luis Suarez and Denis Suarez netted one each in the second half.
Although it was a pre-season friendly against a football team who is trying to rebuild itself from the ashes, Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde fielded a strong line-up, with the first La Liga 2017-18 game for Messi and team scheduled for August 20 against Real Betis.
Prior to that, Barcelona have a double-leg showdown in store against arch rivals Real Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana 2017. Here are the dates...
Vamos Chape all over Camp Nou
Com essa foto nos despedimos da Espanha! Muito obrigado! #VamosChape #JoanGamper pic.twitter.com/F23RcQDLNx
— Chapecoense (@ChapecoenseReal) August 7, 2017
Although the home team supporters, as expected, dominated the stadium, loud cheers were also in store for the away team whenever they made a good move during play. Emotions were running high, both on the field and off it.
Attacking midfielder Alan Ruschel, one of the survivors of that horrific plane crash, played for 35 minutes in the match. It was his first return to football in a Chapecoense jersey after that tragedy.
The other two survivors Neto and Jackson Follmann were also give a grand reception in the heart of Camp Nou before the game. While Neto didn't play a part in the match, Follmann, the goalkeeper, unfortunately, won't be able to play football again in his career.
His leg has been amputed.
FC Barcelona also donated an amount of €250,000 to Chapecoense.