Barcelona vs. LA Galaxy: Score, Grades and Reaction from 2015 ICC

American soccer fans got a close look at arguably the best club on the planet in reigning La Liga and Champions League trophy winners Barcelona in Tuesday's International Champions Cup match against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The heavily favored visitors to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, were without several notable names. That didn't stop Barcelona from achieving the desired result in a 2-1 victory, which showed off the type of depth the dominant Blaugrana have.

Barca didn't have the likes of Lionel Messi or Neymar on the pitch, but past Premier League scoring champion Luis Suarez headlined their attack. Suarez's skills showed on his goal in the 45th minute, which Fox Soccer provided footage of:

One could hardly blame Barcelona for coming out a bit flat in their International Champions Cup opener. The first half was filled with lackluster energy that featured but a couple of excellent chances to break the scoreless deadlock.

Suarez had a clean look at around the 33rd minute, delivering a quality shot from outside the box that Galaxy goalie Brian Rowe fully extended for to make a diving deflection. ESPN FC's Andrea Canales observed how engaged Rowe was despite the exhibition nature of the match:

As mentioned before, though, vengeance would be had just before the halftime intermission with Suarez's winner.

It was a unique occasion for Suarez, who was squaring off with his former teammate in longtime Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, who's only recently gone stateside to Los Angeles. The two caught up a bit before the match, per the Galaxy's official Twitter account:

"He is a fantastic team mate, probably the best player I have played with," said Gerrard of Suarez, per FCBarcelona.com. "He's a good guy, a family man away from the pitch, we keep in touch and keep supporting each other throughout our careers, so yes, he is a good friend of mine."

Gerrard teamed with reigning MLS MVP Robbie Keane to man L.A.'s front line. The good tandem on paper unfortunately had scant scoring opportunities since possession was hard to come by for L.A.—even as their adversary wasn't on their best form in the early going.

L.A. beat reporter Adam Serrano applauded the efforts of defender A.J. DeLaGarza, who was doing all he could on the back line to keep Suarez away:

Although Gerard Pique subbed in for Suarez in the second half, the damage had already been done. The Galaxy managed a meager 22 percent time of possession in the opening half and couldn't even muster a shot, per FC Barcelona on Twitter.

A turnover deep in Galaxy territory led to a Barcelona blitz at the 56-minute mark, culminating in an insurance tally by midfielder Sergi Roberto:

Tommy Meyer's brilliant header in abbreviated added time cut the Galaxy's deficit in half when many of the substitutes were on:

It was just too little, too late for the hosts to have any chance at salvaging a point.

This match reemphasized the talent gap between the globe's best team and the class of the MLS, which still has a long way to go to even be in the same conversation as the other top leagues from around the world. Not exactly a revelatory takeaway, but a stern reminder to the U.S. nevertheless.

One positive for L.A. in addition to playing until the final whistle and making the score more respectable was the spark Ari Lassiter provided off the bench.

The 20-year-old generated two chances in the second half to make the match more interesting down the stretch, the first of which came off a phenomenal display of finesse:

"

Ari Lassiter strutting his stuff. #LAvFCB pic.twitter.com/OhZllWsuce

— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) July 22, 2015"

The loss should only fuel the MLS to push harder for premier talent and to grow the game more in the U.S. With MLS improvement on the International Champions Cup stage in the coming years, the league can gain credibility and build better overall teams for the future.

A sold-out crowd of 93,266 at the Rose Bowl Tuesday suggests interest will continue to stay rampant in this tournament, which is good news for the future of American soccer.

Until then, fans will be on the edge of their seats, seeming to see the pitch tilted one way in the American opponents' favor, as was the case with Barca Tuesday evening. Saturday's showdown with Manchester United at Levi's Stadium figures to present Barcelona with a bigger challenge.

Selected Grades

Luis Suarez: A

What more could fans have asked for from the prolific striker? Spectators had to be disappointed not to see Messi and Neymar in action, but at least Suarez lived up to his billing by finding the back of the net.

He was active for much of the match and even had a couple of openings he didn't capitalize on before he ultimately scored. One has to commend the temperamental star for stepping up and providing U.S. fans with a nice show.

A.J. DeLaGarza: B+

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

The Galaxy defenseman deserves some credit for hanging on under an almost constant assault. Colorado Rapids standout Shane O'Neill had high praise for DeLaGarza's game:

"

Delagarza the best player on the field in first half or what? Putting out fires all over the place... #LAvFCB

— Shane ONeill (@Shaneone27) July 22, 2015"

L.A.'s midfield did little to aid DeLaGarza, and both Barca goals came on loose balls that led to easy shots for the opposition's world-class finishers. Several gritty stops by DeLaGarza prevented the outcome from being even more lopsided.