Barcelona look smooth in Como demolition as Ter Stegen buries

Reigning Spanish champs Barcelona finished their pre-season preparations by thrashing Italian side Como 5-0 on Sunday in a game which signalled a thawing of relations with goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.Barca likewise provided Marcus Rashford an alternative’s look two weeks after the England forward joined on loan from Manchester United.Advertisement Double strikes from Fermín Lopez and Lamine Yamal and a first-half objective from Brazilian Raphinha completed the thrashing in the Joan Gamper Trophy.Played at the Johan Cruyff Arena within the group’s training complex, while Barcelona await the greatly delayed modernisation of the Camp Nou to be completed, Hansi Flick’s group revealed fluency as they prepare to begin their Liga title defence away to Mallorca on Saturday.Before kickoff on Sunday, Ter Stegen provided the standard captain’s speech from the pitch, just days after his dispute with the club over the handling of his back injury broke to the surface.”I think it was important to resolve the problem between the club and me, and now it’s time to look forward,”stated the 33-year-old German goalkeeper, 2 days after having the captaincy restored.Advertisement”We’re going to battle once again for all the prizes and we hope that with your aid we can win all the titles possible, “Ter Stegen told the fans.Rashford suffered mixed fortunes, offering the cross

for Raphinha to rating but likewise blowing the opportunity to use an empty net.bur-dam/ cl/gj/bb