Barcelona Femeni extended their winning streak yesterday after defeating Eibar 5-0 in their Liga F clash. The Blaugrana scored all five goals in the second half after ending the first half goalless.
Caroline Graham Hansen opened the scoring for the league champions with a long range shot, after which Esmee Brugts delivered the fatal blow with a hattrick of goals in the space of eiht minutes. La Masia talent, Ari Arias wrapped up the game with another goal to maintain Barcelona’s position at the top of the league rankings.
Here are a few things that were noticed during the game:
Esmee Brugts hattrick
Barcelona Femeni’s summer signing, Esmee Brugts, scored her first couple of goals for the team yesterday. The Netherlands star found the back of the net for the first time since joining Barcelona in the summer, and did so in style.
Esmee Brugts opened her goalscoring account for Barcelona in a fabulous way, scoring thrice in the space of eight minutes to secure the victory for the league leaders. The hattrick was well deserved for Brugts who had till wait till December to finally score for her new club since joining from PSV last summer.
Graham Hansen’s goals
Barcelona’s Norwegian forward sets the wheel in motion once again when she opens the scoring in a game where the Blaugrana found it quite challenging to find the back of the net. Graham Hansen rifled a left-footed shot into the top corner from outside the box to open up a tight encounter for Barcelona.
This has been a constant occurence since the start of the season, with Hansen often times providing the solution to Barcelona’s difficulties in attack. The Norwegian is one of the league’s top goalscorers and assist leaders followin her weekly performances for Barcelona.
Aitana-Hansen link up
Eibar put up a good defensive performance in the first half forcing a goalless draw at halftime despite Barcelona’s dominance on the game. However, the champions broke down their resilience in the second half as Aitana and Hansen started to combine more frequently as the game progressed.
The duo has been crucial for Barcelona since the start of the season and showed their importance once again in the game against Eibar. Although, the Ballon d’Or winner failed to score yesterday, she played an important role in Barcelona’s first two goals.
Injury woes
As we nearly approach the mid-way point of the season, Barcelona’s injury woes keep piling up. With Mapi Leon the latest on the team’s injury list, the champions might need to look inward at La Masia or recruit a player or two in the winter transfer window.
The Catalan giants’ matchday had a few La Masia players take the place of the injured veterans, and this is a hue source of concern for the Blaugrana heading into the latter part of the season.
Barcelona currently sits at the top of the league rankings sixpoints ahead of their archrivals Real Madrid. The Blaugrana’s next game will be played on December 13, when they face FC Rosengard in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
