BEVERLY HILLS, March 24, (THEWILL) – High-flying Spanish Primera Iberdrola club Barcelona Femeni have emphatically given their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League a huge boost on Wednesday with a 3-0 win over Manchester City Women in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-finals.
Due to coronavirus travel restrictions, the tie was staged at the Stadio Brianteo, Monza in Italy instead of Barcelona’s home stadium, the Estadi Johan Cruyff. However, it was of little consequence for Lluis Cortes’s side who have firmly placed a strong foot in the door of advancing to the last eight.
The “hosts” took control of the first half and dictated play but it took 35 minutes before they finally found a way through the compact City defense to break the deadlock from a powerful Asisat Oshoala shot from distance that left City goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck glued to the spot as the ball went in off the far post.
The Nigerian striker was again in the thick of things when play resumed after the interval. Her darting runs into the box were proving too tough to handle and in order to deal with one such move, City’s Demi Stokes brought her down for a penalty against the English side.
Barca’s centre forward Mariona Caldentey doubled the team’s lead with a beautifully struck spot kick and the hosts were cruising to a sound win. But, they gave City the chance to pull one back and make for a tense finish to the tie because only three minutes after the Barca penalty, City won one for themselves too.
Up stepped City striker Chloe Kelly to convert for the visitors only for Barcelona goalkeeper Sandra Panos to prevent her from scoring by saving the penalty and keep the score two goals to nothing in Barca’s advantage. And, although City had some other chances to halve the deficit and get a vital away goal, they were not clinical enough.
The visitors were made to pay for their profligacy when Barca tripled the score to extend their lead even further. A lovely passing sequence ended with Lieke Martens hitting the post but Jenni Hermoso was in the right place at the right time to hit the rebound into the City net.
The return tie is scheduled to be played in a week’s time and not many will bet against Barcelona going on to book their place in the last four of the most elite football competition in Europe.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
