It was an enthralling game at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium yesterday when Barcelona Femeni locked horns with their arch rivals Real Madrid away from home. The Blaugrana defeated Los Blancos 3-0 at full time, thus, extending their lead at the top of the league summit to twelve points.
First Half
Both sides seemed to match each other at the early stages of the game, as Barcelona attempted to stamp their usual dominance on the game by claiming the lion’s share of possession. Real Madrid made it tough for the Catalans by pressing high up the pitch and forcing errors from the Barcelona backline.
However, the game opened up in the 10th minute when Barcelona scored the opener through Fridolina Rolfo. A beautiful exchange of passes between Ona Batlle, who played at right back and Caroline Graham Hansen led to the Spanish fullback sending a low cross across the face of goal. Fridolina Rolfo arrived at the far post and calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net.
Seven minutes later, Caroline Graham Hansen’s cross to the far post was met by Claudia Pina, whose stretching effort on goal was just a little too short and saw the ball veer wide off the mark.
Real Madrid responded to the attack and almost forced Irene Paredes into scoring an own goal. The Barcelona center back struck the post with a sliding attempt to block a pass aimed across the face of goal.
In the 34th minute, Graham Hansen weaved through three defenders and aimed for goal with a beautiful left-footed shot. The Norwegian’s shot drifted inches away from the goalpost as Barcelona continued to search for a second goal.
A great save from the goalkeeper saw Aitana Bonmati miss a sitter in the 38th minute. The midfielder was gifted the ball in the opposition box after a wrong pass from the goalkeeper. However, Barcelona were denied a second goal as Aitana’s shot struck the goalkeeper’s legs and the ball rolled out for a Barcelona corner kick.
The resulting corner almost put the Catalans two goals up but Barcelona were denied by the crossbar. Salma Paralluelo struck the crossbar with a beautiful dipping effort that went over the goalkeeper.
Both sides headed down the tunnel at halftime, with the score at 1-0 in favor of Barcelona.
Second Half
The game restarted with Barca picking up right where they left off and increasing the tempo of the game as they continued their search for a second goal. However, it wasn’t until the 55th minute that Aitana Bonmati scored to give the Catalan giants a two goal lead.
Keira Walsh sent Caroline Graham Hansen on the attack with a delightful long pass, and the Norwegian forward gleefully evaded her marker on the goal line to lay the ball up for Aitana Bonmati to convert.
Two minutes later, the Norwegian attacker almost got on the scoresheet herself after meeting Fridolina Rolfo’s cross at the back post. However, the forward was unable to get a clean strike on the ball and watched her effort sail harmlessly away from goal.
After a wonderful game, an assist, and several attempts on goal, Caroline Graham Hansen got on the scoresheet herself in the 67th minute, Receiving a pass from Ona Batlle on the edge of the box, the attacker dazzled and danced past the opposition defenders before finally shrugging off Olga Carmona’s tackle and firing a low shot into the back of the net.
Cata Coll was called into action and forced to make a couple of saves late in the game as Real Madrid tried to register a goal. Barcelona kept a clean sheet and ended the game with a 3-0 victory, securing a win and extending their lead over their archrivals.
