Barcelona thrash Real Madrid in El Clasico

The much-awaited El Clasico clash between archrivals Barcelona Femeni and Real Madrid was played at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys this afternoon, and the Catalan side completely destroyed their fellow counterparts in white.

Barcelona secured three points, defeating Real Madrid for the 12th time in Liga F following a 5-0 victory at Montjuic. Here’s a quick recap of how it went down at the Montjuic stadium

First Half

The game started with much excitement and anticipation, as expected, and it took a while for the flood gates of goals to open up. Real Madrid started the game strong with their intense pressure in the Barcelona half, while the Blaugrana seemed to struggle to keep possession of the ball.

However, that narrative didn’t last for very long, as Barcelona took the game by the scruff of it’s neck after a shaky start in the first ten minutes of the game. Barcelona took possession of the ball from the women in white and soon after were presented with an opportunity to open the scoring in the 17th minute.

Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati scored Barcelona’s first goal after a clean one-two pass between Caroline Graham Hansen and Lucy Bronze on the right wing. The Norwegian laid the ball into the path of the Spanish midfielder, who then calmly placed the ball into the bottom left corner to open the scoring in a tense game.

Close to the half-hour mark, Barcelona came pretty close to scoring their second. Salma Paralluelo was through on goal, and the youngster’s placed shot veered just inches off the mark. Barcelona kept piling up the pressure on their opponents.

Patri Guijarro missed from close range in the 36th minute after Mariona Caldentey headed the ball back into her path. However, the midfielder’s tame shot couldn’t go past Misa Rodriguez in goal for Madrid.

Three minutes later, Graham Hansen struck the frame of the goal with a left-footed strike after dazzling in the box. 

Barcelona missed another chance in front of goal again in the 42nd minute when Graham Hansen put the ball over the crossbar following a rebound from Salma Paralluelo’s saved shot.

However, Graham converted with her third chance of the game in the 43rd minute after finding the back of the net from close range. Salma Paralluelo’s long-range shot from outside the box struck the crossbar, and the Norwegian was in the perfect position to calmly bring the rebound down with her chest before firing in from close range.

Barcelona got a third goal right on the stroke of halftime from a corner kick. Patri Guijarro flicked Mapi Leon’s delivery towards the back post, finding Mariona Caldentey, who found the top right corner of the goal to put Barcelona 3-0 up at halftime

Second Half

Barcelona started the second half hungry for more goals, but once again, Salma Paralluelo failed to find the target a minute into the half. The young forward peeled away from her marker but saw her shot saved by the goalkeeper’s flailing leg.

The league champions kept possession of the ball for the entirety of the second half and totally dominated the game. Still in search of more goals, Aitana Bonmati, Caroline Graham Hansen, and Salma Paralluelo all strived to score, but their efforts yielded no results.

However, Barcelona were going to be rewarded late in the game, as Claudia Pina scored the team’s fourth goal of the game. In the first additional minute, Aitana found her way into the box and easily went past Madrid defender Ivana Andres before laying the ball back for Claudia Pina to guide it home.

Just when many thought the game was over, Barcelona’s youngster Vicky Lopez scored the fifth goal of the game. Esmee Brugts’s pass found the 17-year-old, who ran in behind her marker and calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper with the last kick of the game.

The game ended 5-0 with Barcelona fans celebrating the win in the club’s temporary home stadium. Barcelona once again showed their dominance in the Liga F with another El Clasico victory. 

The win made it 67 straight home wins for Barcelona Femeni in the Liga F counting back since February 2019. Barcelona now sit six points clear at the top of the Liga F standings following their 5-0 rout of Real Madrid.