Barcelona Femeni advanced to the final of the Supercopa de Espana at the expense of Real Madrid following their 4-0 victory in the semifinal fixture. The Blaugrana got their win after scoring three goals in the first half before sealing their victory with another goal in the second half.
A brace of goals from Mariona Caldentey and Salma Paralluelo lead the Catalan side to victory against their archrivals in the second El Clasico of the season.
First Half
It took Barcelona about 5 minutes to get their rhythm after kickoff and Real Madrid seemed to have the upper hand within that period as they tried to get in behind the Barcelona defense. However, once the Blaugrana got their groove it was a matter of how many goals they cpuld score.
12 minutes into the game, Barcelona got a corner kick which Salma Paralluelo delivered beautifully into the penalty area. The Madrid defence were unable to clear the ball away from the face of their goal and this resulted in Mariona Caldentey pouncing on the loose ball to send Barcelona ahead in the tie.
Three minutes later, Barcelona stole possession of the ball in the opposition’s half and Aitana Bonmati found the overlapping Ona Batlle with a through pass in the box. The full-back passed the ball to Salma Paralluelo, who excellent turn and nutmeg helped her evade two defenders before taking a shot with the outside of her left foot to score Barcelona’s second goal of the night.
Real Madrid came close to scoring in the 24th minute when a scramble in the Barcelona box led to a shot on goal. However, Ingrid Engen was in position to block the shot and preserve Barcelona’s two goal lead.
Paralluelo almost scored again in the 33rd minute after being set up by Mariona Caldentey but her shot whizzed inches away from goal.
Barcelona got their third goal in the 38th minute from the penalty spot. Mariona Caldentey was fouled by Ivana Andres in the box, and although the referee waved for the game to continue at first, VAR intervention ruled in favor of Barcelona as the Catalan side were awarded a penalty.
Mariona Caldentey calmly converted from the spot to put Barcelona three goals ahead.
Barcelona almost made it four in the additional minutes of the first half when Ona Batlle was denied a goal after her shot came off the crossbar.
The first half ended 3-0 in favor of Barcelona, who could have easily had more had they been more clinical with their chances.
Second Half
Barcelona seemed to pick off where they left off as the Blaugrana had a much better start in the second half than they did in the first.
Aitana Bonmati almost scored in the 49th minute following Caroline Graham Hansen’s brilliant movement in the box. The midfielder had to stretch to get a shot on goal, and saw her effort saved by the goalkeeper.
Three minutes later, Salma Paralluelo got her brace and Barcelona scored their fourth goal of the game. The young forward shrugged off her marker as she latched onto Caroline Graham Hansen’s delivery into the box, and unintentionally struck the ball past the goalkeeper.
With a final to play in three days, Barcelona opted to rest their key players and made some substitutions. Claudia Pina, who came on as a substitute had several attempts on goal but failed to find the back of the net.
After 3 minutes of additional time, the referee blew the final whistle and Barcelona secure their spot against Levante in the final.
