Chapecoense defender Neto (centre) weeps before the Joan Gamper Trophy friendly against Barcelona
Monday evening saw Barcelona play host to Chapecoense in the Joan Gamper Trophy, just nine months after the tragic plane crash that near-destroyed the Brazilian club.
As you might expect, emotions ran high throughout with the only three players to survive the disaster – Jackson Follman, Neto and Alan Ruschel (all seen above) – invited out onto the Camp Nou pitch before the match to perform a ceremonial kick-off…
Having suffered serious spinal injuries in the crash, Alan Ruschel did exceeding well to last the first 35 minutes of the game, leaving the pitch to a unanimous standing ovation from the 65,000-odd fans inside the stadium…
Alan Ruschel, survivor of the Chapecoense plane crash, receiving a standing ovation at the Nou Camp tonight pic.twitter.com/MlsYxjX7SX
— Tomasz Mortimer (@TMortimerFtbl) August 7, 2017
Chape played in special jerseys that featured 71 stars spread across it: one for every victim of the plane crash.
Barca ended up winning 5-0 with goals from Gerard Deulofeu, Sergio Busquets, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Denis Suarez, not that the evening was anything other than a testament to the memories of all those poor souls who lost their lives back in November and the fortitude of a football that refused to give up in the aftermath.
Here are the highlights…