Barcelona Femeni defeated Levante UD 5-0 in their Liga F clash yesterday at the Polideportivo Municipal de Nazaret. Levante ended the Blaugrana’s run of 79 consecutive wins at home in the first leg of the fixture back in January, when they forced a 1-1 draw at the Estadi Johan Cryuff.
However, Barcelona were too much to handle for the Valencia-based side in the second fixture on Matchday 22. A rampant Barcelona attack tore the home side to shreds, scoring five goals in the process.
First Half
Barcelona started the game strongly, dominating possession and dictating the tempo of the game. It only took four minutes for the Blaugrana to open the scoring via Bruna Vilamala.
Claudia Pina released Salma Paralluelo with a fantastic through ball, and the forward’s burst of pace proved to be decisive when she found Bruna Vilamala at the far post for Barcelona’s opener.
The game continued with Barcelona keeping the ball and stringing passes around in the opposition half in a bid to get a second goal. In the 38th minute, the goalkeeper denied Alexia Putellas a goal after a beautiful exchange of passes in the penalty area.
A minute later, Levante broke loose on the counter, with Alba Redondo sprinting towards the Barcelona goal. Vicky Lopez took on defensive duties in that moment, chasing down the Levante forward before cleverly clearing the ball of the forward’s feet in a last-ditch tackle.
In the 34th minute, Vicky Lopez assisted Salma Paralluelo for Barcelona’s second goal. The 17-year-old midfielder floated a delightful pass into the penalty area, and Salma Paralluelo calmly brought the ball down with her chest before converting at the near post to put Barcelona two goals ahead.
A double save from the goalkeeper in the 41st minute denied Barcelona their third goal in the half. The goalie saved Salma Paralluelo’s volley as well as the follow-up shot from Marta Torrejon.
Barca headed into the dressing room at halftime with a two-goal advantage.
Second Half
In similar fashion to the first half, it took only four minutes for Barcelona to get the party started at the restart. In the 49th minute, Salma Paralluelo assisted Bruna Vilamala again to score her brace and Barcelona’s third goal of the game.
Brilliant play from Pina fed Alexia the ball inside the box; however, the captain was not in the right position to shoot and laid the ball for Salma Paralluelo, who in turn teed up Bruna Vilamala to fire a low shot into the bottom corner.
Three minutes later, Salma Paralluelo also got her own brace when she scored Barcelona’s fourth goal of the game. Bruna Vilamala passed to Vicky Lopez, who burst into the penalty area but was denied an attempt on goal by a last-gasp tackle. This created an opportunity for Salma Paralluelo to pounce on the loose ball and volley the ball into the back of the net.
Martina Fernandez scored her debut Liga F goal in the 67th minute to wrap up the game for Barcelona. Marta Torrejon punted a free-kick delivery back across the face of goal for Martina Fernandez to tap into an empty net.
Barcelona had more attempts on goal but were unable to convert and score more goals. Caroline Graham Hansen saw her effort saved by the goalkeeper in the 77th minute. Claudia Pina’s shot struck the crossbar after an exquisite exchange of passes between her and the Norwegian forward. Mariona Caldentey’s attempt on goal was blocked by a defender in the 90th minute, as Barcelona ended the game 5-0 at fulltime.
