The LA Galaxy Academy are unbeaten at the prestigious Istria Youth Cup in Croatia this week.
The Galaxy Under-16 side led by Brian Kleiban and Andrew May are undefeated in three matches, and on Thursday they picked up their biggest win yet: a 2-1 win over FC Barcelona. Croatian head coach Zlatko Dalic was in attendance as the Los Angeles club earned their win.
Johnathan Perez and Mauricio Cuevas found the back of the net as the Galaxy defeat the famed La Masia side led by wunderkind Xavi Simons. Cuevas opened the scoring with a brilliant Olimpico off a corner kick in the fifth minute. Perez doubled the scoring with a far post finish just a minute into the second half.
The Galaxy U-16’s victory over Barcelona ends a successful week that saw Los Angeles earn a pair of draws against Slavia Prague and Red Bull Salzburg. On Tuesday, a second-half comeback helped the Galaxy earn a thrilling 3-3 draw with Slavia Prague, with goals from Alex Alvarado, Mauricio Cuevas, and Marci Kileen. On Matchday one, Jonathan Perez scored the lone tally as the Galaxy drew Red Bull Salzburg, 1-1.
The Galaxy will now take on Dinamo Zagreb in the third-place match on Saturday at 2 am PT.
