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Bellingham watches Birmingham beat Barcelona on penalties

Published : Saturday, 1 August, 2026 at 5:36 PM

Observer Online Report

Jude Bellingham watched from the stands as his former club Birmingham City stunned Spanish champions Barcelona on penalties following an entertaining 2-2 draw at St Andrew’s on Friday.

Goalkeeper James Beadle was the hero for Birmingham, saving efforts from Roony Bardghji and Brian Fariñas, while Jordi Pesquer hit the bar as the Championship side won the shootout 3-2.

August Priske put Birmingham ahead with his fourth pre-season goal, but Barcelona turned the game around through a brace from Egypt striker Hamza Abdelkarim.

Jhon Solís restored parity for Birmingham in the 68th minute to force the match into a shootout.

Bellingham, who came through Birmingham’s ranks, joined the celebrations from the stands wearing his hometown club’s shirt as he enjoyed time off following the World Cup.

Barcelona fielded an inexperienced side, with most of their squad unavailable after the World Cup. Eight Spain internationals who lifted the trophy in North America were absent, while Anthony Gordon, Jules Koundé and Raphinha also did not feature. Summer signing Karim Adeyemi made his debut.

Abdelkarim, 18, had cut short his holiday after representing Egypt four times at the World Cup to boost his chances of securing a place in Barcelona coach Hansi Flick’s squad.

He equalised from the penalty spot before scoring again in the second half after Beadle parried a Bardghji effort.

But Birmingham levelled again when Solís turned home after Christoph Klarer headed a free-kick into his path.

Beadle then made a late double save to send the game to penalties, where Birmingham eventually secured victory.

The match was Birmingham’s final warm-up ahead of the new season, which begins with a Carabao Cup tie against Swansea City on Aug. 8. Barcelona will face Nottingham Forest in their next pre-season game on the same day before opening their LaLiga campaign at Elche on Aug. 23.

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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury

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