Barcelona Femeni all the time bounce again – however know Chelsea will likely be a step up at school
The ultimate whistle sounded and Barcelona Femeni’s gamers started to leap round and hug one another in a circle.
The gamers gathered for a group picture with all of the employees whereas, sliding throughout the grass, Claudia Pina, the star of the match with two targets, ran from her interview with Catalan broadcaster TV3 to get entangled. Happiness stuffed the Johan Cruyff stadium with the group via to a different Champions League semi-final.
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4 days after their first ever defeat to Actual Madrid — at — Barca’s second defeat this season in Liga F, Pere Romeu’s group confirmed no mercy to Wolfsburg. With a 4-1 lead from the journey to Germany, they had been in management within the tie, however they bounced again from that uncommon defeat towards Madrid in model in entrance of their followers with a 6-1 win to progress 10-2 on combination.
This Barca group will not be used to shedding, and defeats are likely to weigh extra closely on them than different sides — though they continue to be 4 factors clear within the league. However shedding to Madrid at Montjuic after beating them 18 occasions in a row was a shock.
“A defeat all the time leaves you shaken,” Alexia Putellas stated after the sport on DAZN. “We’ll be taught from this.”
They proved they’re fast learners by dismantling Wolfsburg and proved they’re nonetheless the group to beat within the Champions League, regardless of not being the power they had been in successful the final two European crowns.
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The environment within the Johan Cruyff stadium was as if nothing had occurred 4 days earlier. It was an vital fixture towards revered rivals and two-time winners of the Champions League.
The primary time Barca confronted the German facet was of their second look within the Champions League in March 2014. Of their debut season within the European competitors in 2012-13, Barca misplaced 7-0 on combination to Arsenal within the spherical of 32.
The next season they ready themselves to attempt to be extra aggressive in Europe and beat Brondby and FC Zurich earlier than assembly Wolfsburg. It was the golden age of the German nationwide girls’s group and the defeat felt inevitable.
Wolfsburg ran them ragged to win 5-0 on combination. It was a actuality test for Barca followers, who noticed that their group had been thriving in Spain however had been gentle years away from being aggressive in Europe. And there the seed was sown to provide the group the mandatory preparation in order that, in a couple of years’ time, they may compete towards the very best in Europe.
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The altering of the guard got here when Barca beat Wolfsburg within the 2023 Champions League ultimate in Eindhoven — coming from 2-0 down at half-time to win 3-2.
With that in thoughts, Barca didn’t maintain again within the second leg. They had been 2-0 up inside 20 minutes thanks to 2 targets from .
Her targets had been adopted by these of Esmee Brugts, two from Pina, together with a surprising free-kick, and a strong strike from one other lifeless ball from Mapi Leon within the 91st minute that hit the crossbar earlier than getting into.
That is the seventh consecutive season during which the Catalans have certified for the Champions League semi-finals — a file for any group within the competitors, surpassing Lyon’s file of six.
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The primary time was after they reached the ultimate in Budapest, the place Lyon beat them 4-1 in 2019. However since 2021 they’ve gained three Champions League titles prior to now 4 seasons, a historic quadruple final season (Liga F, the Copa de la Reina, the Girls’s Champions League andthe Supercopa de Espana) and 4 Ballons d’Or, two every for Putellas and .
They could have misplaced a few of the glow up that they had final season and subsequent face Chelsea within the final 4, the group they wished to keep away from.
Barcelona worry English groups increasingly more. They’re conscious the WSL has stepped up its sport since 2022 they usually see the English top-flight because the benchmark for European leagues.
In current seasons, Manchester Metropolis and Chelsea have put them in a decent spot. Final season, they even misplaced 1-0 at Montjuic to Chelsea, then coached by Emma Hayes, however, but once more, they bounced again to win 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
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As they confirmed in that 2023 ultimate towards Wolfsburg, they’ve grown within the face of adversity. They’re now not the group that didn’t react towards Lyon within the 2022 ultimate in Turin, after they misplaced 3-1.
These semi-finals are in all probability the closest they’ve been in years, and Chelsea, who’ve reached one other degree below Sonia Bompastor, may have taken word of their defeat towards Actual Madrid.
Barcelona, nonetheless, have proven that in a league the place they know they’re going to win each season, it’s good for them to style defeat in order to not turn out to be over-confident.
As soon as they’ve shaken this off, and with the sporting respect they’ve for Chelsea, the outlook will likely be completely totally different.
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“The essence of this group is ambition,” Paralluelo stated to the Spanish TV channel TVE after the sport. How far will their ambition take them this time?
This text initially appeared in .
Barcelona, Champions League, UK Girls’s Soccer
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