It was a great match for the Barcelona women’s league as they get higher chances for the UEFA Champions league women’s final after defeating Wolfsburg 5-1 in the semifinal first leg at Camp Nou on Friday in front of a world-record crowd of 91,648 supporters.
Barca extended their extraordinary winning streak to 45 games in all competitions, stretching back to last June, with goals from Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmati, Caroline Graham Hansen, and Jennifer Hermoso.
This was Wolfsburg’s first loss since November, a streak of 17 games that ended with Jill Roord’s consolation goal.
Barca had previously set the attendance record in women’s football when they defeated Real Madrid in March in front of 91,553 fans, but they have since surpassed it and now have the two greatest attendance figures in the sport.
The second leg will be contested next Saturday at the Volkswagen Arena, with the winners facing Lyon or Paris Saint-Germain in the final in Turin on May 21.
This was considered Barcelona’s biggest test of the season, and there were concerns about whether they would be able to carry their domestic form into a match against the team that defeated them in the 2020 semifinals.
Any worries were swiftly dispelled by an extraordinary first ten minutes in which Barcelona could have scored at least four goals.
Friolina Rolfo, the former Wolfsburg player who scored the winner for the German club in their last meeting two years ago, set up Bonmati’s
opener with just three minutes on the clock.
After Rolfo and Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic squandered chances, Barcelona extended their advantage after 10 minutes. Graham Hansen raced into the area to score a magnificent single goal, cutting back onto her left foot and producing a fine finish after Marta Torrejon won the ball back.
Highlights
Wolfsburg, a two-time Champions League winner and contender for the domestic double this season, could have equalized soon after. Roord set up Svenja Huth, but she was denied twice, first by an Irene Paredes block and then by a Sandra Panos save.
That was a rare moment of danger for Wolfsburg in a first half dominated by Barcelona, and they soon had their third when Hermoso scored after Putellas and Torrejon combined.
Ballon d’Or winner and crowd favorite Putellas then made it four before halftime, and Barcelona’s assault continued into the second half, albeit with their magic touch failing them in front of goal.
As Barcelona continued to dominate, Crnogorcevic had a goal called out for offside, Almuth Schult made a wonderful save from Torrejon, and Putellas fired just wide.
Roord equalized for Wolfsburg with 20 minutes remaining after a lengthy VAR check concluded she was onside, but this only helped to fuel Barcelona’s attack with one more goal added rounding up to 5:1 at the blow of the final whistle
