Barcelona Femeni put up a stunning performance last night when they defeated Rosengard Women 7-0 in the group stage of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Their win against the Swedish side secured the defending champions’ spot in the quarterfinals of the competition, with two games to spare in the group stages.
In a display of utter dominance, Barcelona Femeni showed their ruthless side once again, completely blowing their opponents away with an overwhelming attacking force that ripped the opposition to shreds.
The Blaugrana pulled off the rout against the Malmo-based club courtesy of goals from Keira Walsh, Caroline Graham Hansen, Salma Paralluelo (2), Claudia Pina, Marta Torrejon, and an own goal from Rosengard’s Jessica Wik.
First Half
With the Estadi Johan Cryuff fully packed to see the team play their last game of the calendar year, Barcelona put on a show to the delight of their fans, totally dominating their opponents with beautiful attacking football.
In the 14th minute, Aitana Bonmati had the first clear chance of the game, but the goalkeeper brilliantly saved her attempt, keeping the score level. A minute later, the Spanish midfielder ran rings around the Rosengard defense before passing to Keira Walsh, whose shot was assisted into the back of the net with a little deflection.
Eight minutes later, Claudia Pina fired a shot from the edge of the box, but the goalkeeper saved her attempt, sending the ball crashing into the crossbar with a touch. Four minutes later, Mariona Caldentey almost benefited from a loose ball but saw her shot blocked by a defender.
In the 34th minute, an exquisite exchange of passes between Aitana Bonmati and Caroline Graham Hansen saw the former assist the Norwegian forward with a back heel to score Barcelona’s second goal. Graham simply connected with Aitana’s pass and sat her marker down before placing a low shot past the goalkeeper.
The search for more goals continued for Barcelona, who didn’t look satisfied at all with the outcome despite being 2-0 up. In the 44th minute, the goalkeeper denied Salma Paralluelo’s attempt, preventing her from registering a goal. The young forward won an aerial duel and sent a header towards goal; however, her effort was pushed behind the goal by the goalkeeper.
The first half ended 2-0 in favor of Barcelona, who fairly should have scored more judging by their performance.
Second Half
Returning to the pitch after a brilliant first half, the Blaugrana instantly showed their hunger for more goals. Rosengard were forced to defend deeply in their own half as Barcelona kept launching waves upon waves of attack and kept possession of the ball around the opposition’s penalty area.
In the 54th minute, Caroline Graham Hansen assisted Salma Paralluelo in scoring Barcelona’s third goal of the night. The Norwegian whipped in an overhead pass, finding Salma, who powered past her marker and slotted the ball beyond the goalkeeper with her right foot.
The Spanish forward struck again on the hour mark, completing a brace and scoring Barcelona’s fourth goal of the game. Salma Paralluelo latched on to Ona Batlle’s delivery at the near post and guided the ball home with a deft touch from her left boot.
In the 73rd minute, Claudia Pina’s various attempts at finding the target were finally rewarded when she scored Barcelona’s fifth goal. A loose ball in the box fell kindly to Pina, who sent a right-footed volley into the back of the net.
Two minutes later, the Catalans scored their sixth, creating a replica of the result in Malmo a week ago. Brought on in the 69th minute to replace Mariona Caldentey and Ingrid Engen, respectively, Vicky Lopez and Lucy Bronze combined perfectly to set up Marta Torrejon for the team’s sixth goal.
Lucy Bronze headed back Vicky Lopez’s delivery across the face of goal to find captain Marta Torrejon, who was left unmarked with a gaping goal at her mercy. The captain headed the ball home to complete a repeat of their 6-0 victory in the first leg of the fixture
However, Barcelona went a step further and scored a seventh goal ten minutes later. Caroline Graham Hansen delivered a corner kick, and Martina Fernandez headed the ball toward the goal. Her effort was turned home after bouncing off the legs of Rosengard defender Jessica Wik. Dramatically, Jessica Wik’s own goal opened the scoring for Barcelona in their 6-0 pummeling of Rosengard in the first leg.
Lucy Bronze almost made it eight goals for Barcelona in the 88th minute, getting on the end of Vicky Lopez’s delivery to send a header on target. The goalkeeper tipped the effort of the English full-back over the bar, keeping the score at 7-0.
The game ended with a 7-0 victory for Barcelona Femeni, who have now secured passage to the quarterfinals of the competition. Barcelona Femeni wrapped up the calendar year with a huge win at home, securing their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League. The Blaugrana also currently sits at the top of Liga F with 36 points, nine points clear of Real Madrid in second place
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