A clinical first half sent rampant Barcelona Femeni through to the semifinals of the Copa de la Reina when they locked horns with Sevilla in the quarterfinals of the competition on Wednesday. The Blaugrana scored six unreplied goals in the first 45 minutes before adding two more goals to their tally in the second half.
First Half
Sevilla started the half strongly and looking determined to cause problems for the Blaugrana. However, their resistance lasted for only five minutes before Barcelona scored and took control of the game.
A break in midfield sent Paralluelo on a foraging run towards the opposition’s backline. The young forward devoid of options took a shot on goal and scored albeit with the help of a deflection.
The game progressed with Barcelona in total dominance, but it wasn’t until the 15th minute that Aitana Bonmati put the Blaugrana two goals ahead with a finish from close range. Salma Paralluelo played a brilliant through pass for Mariona Caldentey, who squared the ball for Aitana Bomati to slide in and finish from close range.
Two minutes later, Barca scored their third goal in similar fashion to theie second. Salma Paralluelo once again initiated the strike by releasing Vicky Lopez in the box before the young midifelder squared the ball across the face of goal for Mariona Caldentey to finish at the far post.
Paralluelo almost made it four goals for Barcelona in the 29th minute but was denied by the goalkeeper. Three minutes later, Barca made it four when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Aitana Bonmati. Mariona Caldentey stepped up and calmly found the back of the net from the penalty spot.
Salma Paralluelo got on the scpresheet again when she scored Barcelona’s fifth goal in the 36th minute. Aitana Bonmati stole possession very close to the opposition’s penalty area and released Mariona Caldentey, who in turn found a darting Paralluelo at the far post to make it five for Barcelona.
Like their last four goals, Barcelona again passed their way into the box to finish from close range. Salma Paralluelo was once again influential in the creation of the goal, neat footwork and a skillful pass sent Vicky Lopez on the loose. The 17-year-old midfielder then squared the ball for Caroline Graham Hansen to score from close range.
Cata Coll survived a red card scare for a foul on Gabi Prieto outside the box. The goalkeeper mistimed her tackle and ended up catching Sevilla with a high foot. The goalkeeper was shown a yellow card for the offense, and Sevilla were awarded a freekick, which was eventually saved by the goalkeeper.
Barca had already completed their task by the time the halftime whistle was blown putting six goals past Sevilla and securing their spot in the semifinal.
Second Half
Although the second half started a little bit slower than the first, it was not completely devoid of action.
Mariona Caldentey came close to scoring three minutes after the restart but a little shove from a Sevilla defender made the Barca forward lose her footing and shoot wide off the mark.
Aitana Bonmati got her second goal of the game in the 58th minute with an easy finish from close range. The Sevilla goalkeeper spilled the ball after saving Salma Paralluelo’s header and Aitana Bonmati reacted quickly to the loose ball and scored Barcelona’s seventh goal of the game.
With another game coming up against the same opposition in the Liga F on Saturday, Barcelona decided to rest some of their key players and make some substitutions. Replacing Vicky Lopez, Aitana Bonmati, Mariona Caldentey, Irene Paredes, and Caroline Graham Hansen were Guilia Dragoni, Bruna Vilamala, Ari Arias, Marta Torrejon, and Esmee Brugts,, respectively.
In the 77th minute, substitute Ari Aria scored the eight goal for Barcelona firing home from close range after receiving Ona Batlle’s pass at the far post.
Salma Paralluelo almost scored again in the 87th minute but saw her effort veer inches away from goal.
The game ended with an 8-0 victory for Barcelona, who have now secured qualification into the semifinals of the Copa de la Reina.
