Pre-season friendlies: Rooney helps United outclass Barcelona, Arsenal thrash Lyon, Chelsea beat PSG

Manchester United kept up the positive momentum of their pre-season tour with a 3-1 victory over Barcelona in the International Champions Cup in Santa Clara, California. Arsenal thrashed Olympique Lyonnais 6-0 as they continued preparations for the new Premier League season with a stylish demolition of their French opponents in the Emirates Cup. Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made the difference Saturday, making two shoot-out saves and firing home the winner as the Blues downed Paris Saint Germain on penalties in an International Champions Cup friendly. [caption id=“attachment_2363898” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Wayne Rooney, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against FC Barcelona. Getty[/caption] Wayne Rooney put the English club on top early by heading home a goal in the 10th minute before Jesse Lingard and Adnan Januzaj each added second-half goals. Manchester United, who beat Champions League winners Barcelona in the title game of 2009 and 2011, have enjoyed a successful U.S. tour with victories over Club America of Mexico and Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes. Barcelona, playing without standouts Lionel Messi and Neymar, along with Claudio Bravo, Javier Mascherano and Dani Alves, made it an exciting match but failed to cash in on a few prime scoring chances. Luis Suarez twice hit the post on first-half shots for Barcelona and had another goal overturned by an offside call in the second half. Manchester United seized a 2-0 lead in the second half when Lingard scored in the 65th minute. Barcelona struck back in the 89th minute with a goal by Rafinha, but United answered with their third moments later, courtesy of Jacuzzi. Barcelona were coming off a win against MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy on Tuesday and have one more match in the United States before they return to Europe. Arsenal thrashed Olympique Lyonnais 6-0 as they continued preparations for the new Premier League season with a stylish demolition of their French opponents in the Emirates Cup on Saturday. Olivier Giroud, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alex Iwobi and Aaron Ramsey scored within a nine-minute spell in the first half before Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla netted after the break. “What you want in pre-season is to find your team playing at a good pace with good cohesion,” manager Arsene Wenger told reporters at the Emirates Stadium. “The goals were spread through the whole team which means collectively we are good.” Arsenal opened the scoring after 29 minutes when Giroud rose to head an Ozil free kick into the net and the Londoners doubled their advantage when Oxlade-Chamberlain drilled home a low finish. Iwobi, 19-year-old nephew of former Nigeria and Bolton Wanderers midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha, made it 3-0 when he stretched to finish with his left foot and Ramsey added another to leave the visitors reeling. Ozil notched a fifth goal with a low finish after good work from Ramsey and Giroud, and Cazorla dealt the French side a final blow in the 84th minute with a cute free kick, rolling the ball low beneath the leaping Lyon wall. Arsenal face German side VfL Wolfsburg, who lost 2-1 to Villarreal, on Sunday and can secure the trophy with victory. Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made the difference Saturday, making two shoot-out saves and firing home the winner as the Blues downed Paris Saint Germain on penalties in an International Champions Cup friendly. Ninety minutes of action saw the teams level at 1-1 after a goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the first half and Victor Moses in the second. Courtois saved the day for the Premier League champions, denying spot-kicks from Jean-Christophe Bahebeck and Thiago Silva before blasting the winner into the top corner for the 6-5 shoot-out triumph against the French champions. It was a morale-boosting win for Chelsea, who fell 4-2 to Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls to open their pre-season North American tour. The match between two clubs that clashed in the late stages of the Champions League the past two seasons got off to a tense start before a crowd of 61,224 at Bank of America Stadium – home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. The first minute saw a run-in between Diego Costa and Paris defender Serge Aurier, while Ibrahimovic appeared to strike John Terry in the head a couple of minutes before scoring, although neither player was cautioned. Paris Saint Germain went ahead in the 25th minute. After Matuidi won possession near the edge of the penalty area and fed Jean-Kevin Augustin. The teen talent’s shot hit the post and fell to Ibrahimovic, who slotted it into an unguarded net. Marco Verratti had a chance to double the lead in the 36th minute but his attempt to chip over Asmir Begovic went high. Courtois replaced Begovic at halftime as both sides made multiple substitutions. The Belgian turned away a 50th minute shot from Thiago Motta and as the half wore on Chelsea began to assert themselves. After Cesc Fabregas and Lucas were off target, Moses combined with Fabregas for the equalizer in the 65th. Radamel Falcao then came on for his first appearance for the Blues since signing a one-year loan deal in the wake of a disastrous one-year loan at Manchester United. The Colombian looked sharp, and converted Chelsea’s first penalty of the shoot-out. Chelsea play European Champions Barcelona in their last International Champions Cup match in Washington on Tuesday, while Paris Saint Germain take on Manchester United at Chicago’s Soldier Field on Wednesday. With inputs from Reuters and AFP