Sold-out DRV PNK Stadium rocked Tuesday as FC Barcelona beat Inter Miami 6-0 in friendly

Three hours before kickoff, it was already evident that Inter Miami was not playing a typical home game on Tuesday night.

The parking lots at DRV PNK Stadium were filling up, and the FanZone was packed with FC Barcelona fans giddy about watching their beloved Blaugrana as the iconic Spanish club kicked off its two-week U.S. summer tour. They were especially excited to get a glimpse of Robert Lewandowski, who joined the team on a $50 million transfer last weekend.

Lewandowski did not play, but Barca fans got to celebrate plenty with a 6-0 win over their hosts. Six different players scored -- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Raphinha, Ansu Fati, Gavi (who is 17 years old), Memphis Depay and Ousmane Dembele. Barcelona’s exquisite passing sequences, spacing and individual talent were even more impressive in person than on television.

Inter Miami coach Phil Neville called the game “a brilliant learning experience” and tried to put it in perspective.

“It’s not enjoyable to lose games or concede goals, but we have to have a reality of what was on that pitch.,” Neville said. “You look at their front six, it is probably going to be the best in the world – Lewandowski, Raphinha, Fati, Aubameyang....It was a big challenge for us, playing against world class players. It was a brilliant occasion. You could feel the buzz in the air. We’ve now experienced what a sold-out DRV PNK feels like. We have a lot of young guys who take away valuable experiences about the level you need to be at to play at the top, top level.”

Inter Miami right back DeAndre Yedlin said his team’s weaknesses were exposed by Barca, adding that can be beneficial going forward.

“One thing I learned when I was growing up, and earlier in my career is you have to get exposed sometimes to grow,” Yedlin said. “I think we did get exposed tonight. You can see certain trends within MLS games that we have problems with that got exposed even more tonight because we’re playing against a top team. So, now we know exactly what we have to fix. At the end of the day we take the experience and grow from it.”

Neville said Yedlin, a U.S. national team right back, showed he has the quality to compete against the likes of Barcelona, as did Spanish playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo and a few others. But most of the players on Miami’s roster now see what they have to improve to reach that level.

Inter Miami players each have a personal development plan, and Neville said they should go home and “sharpen their pencils” and put in the necessary work.

It was the first sellout crowd in Inter Miami’s three-year history, and the traffic jam around the Fort Lauderdale stadium was unprecedented. Miami Heat forward Victor Oladipo, TikTok influencer Noah Beck, and tennis player Aryna Sabalenka were among the fans in the crowd of 19,113.

“I’ve been a Barca fan since the 1990s, when Puyol was a rookie and I had to go to Barca stadium on my honeymoon with the goal of marking my new wife a fan,” said Benito del Cueto, a 58-year-old chef from West Miami. “Now my daughters are big fans, as well, so I guess you can say in runs in the family. I’m excited to see all the new signings and what next season has to bring.”

Osvaldo Jimenez, 34, drove four hours from Orlando for the match. He is a native of Venezuela, a longtime Barcelona fan, and was eager to see Lewandowski.

“Barca hasta la Muerte! (Barce ‘til I die),” said Jimenez. ”As soon as I heard Barcelona was playing in Florida, I bought tickets, in the first five minutes. I have been a fan since the days of Romario, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho, and then, of course Messi. All the best players have played at Barcelona, and now we have Lewandowski, so we will win the Champions League. Barca is back!”

The youngest fan surely was 3-month-old Emily Guzman Rodriguez, whose parents John and Angela are huge Barca fans.

“As soon as I heard Barca was coming to Fort Lauderdale, I had to get tickets,” said John Guzman, a native of Colombia. “We are going to make sure our daughter becomes a fan when she gets a little older.”

Neville, who called the game the “biggest in club history”, hopes some of the local Barcelona fans who showed up will return to DRV PNK Stadium for Inter Miami’s upcoming MLS matches. Miami’s next home game is July 30 against FC Cincinnati.

“Hopefully, the people that come will say, `You know what? We’re going to come more to this stadium, we’re going to fill out when we play Cincinnati and Columbus and Toronto,” Neville said. “We’ve got an unbelievable section of supporters that come week, week out, now the next step for this football club is to have more nights like against Barcelona. Big crowds, big games. When I joined the club, that was our vision.”

All the Miami players got minutes, including Neville’s son Harvey and team co-owner David Beckham’s son Romeo, who play for Miami’s reserve team. The starting XI was: Gonzalo Higuain, Bryce Duke, Indy Vassilev, Alejandro Pozuelo, Victor Ulloa, Gregore, Kieran Gibbs, Aime Mabika, Damion Lowe, DeAndre Yedlin and Nick Marsman. Seven players were subbed at halftime. Forward Leo Campana missed the game with a knee injury.

Barcelona’s starters were Ter Stegen, Dest, Pedri, Ansu Fati, Nico, Christensen, Aubameyang, Kessie, Raphinha, Eric and Balde. Lewandowski warmed up but was not on the game roster. Barca subbed out all 11 starters at halftime.

Missing from the Barcelona sideline was its coach Xavi Hernandez, who was stuck in Spain after complications with his passport and visa. He needed to provide extra documentation and a supplemental application to enter the United States because he played games in Iran during his time as a player and coach with Qatari team, Al Sadd,

Hernandez’ brother, Oscar, has been running the team training in Xavi’s absence.

For the Barcelona players, the U.S. tour gives them a chance to expand their club brand and also learn more about MLS and the American sports landscape.

“It was a real pleasure and privilege to play here in Miami and we are grateful for the support,” said Barca defender Eric Garcia. “It is amazing to see how big our club is in the States.

Barca’s next game is against rival Real Madrid in Las Vegas, then Juventus in Dallas and New York Red Bulls in Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. Miami returns to MLS action Saturday on the road at New York City FC.