Barca crush Real Madrid to reach women's Champions League semis / Photo: Lluis GENE - AFP
Barca crush Real Madrid to reach women's Champions League semis
Barcelona demolished rivals Real Madrid 6-0 on Thursday to progress to the women's Champions League semi-finals 12-2 on aggregate.
Alexia Putellas shone for the Catalan giants in their first game at the rebuilt Camp Nou, building on their 6-2 quarter-final first leg victory.
Three-time winners Barca reached an eighth consecutive semi-final, with winger Caroline Graham Hansen netting twice and Putellas also on the scoresheet in the rout.
Pere Romeu's dominant side, runners-up to Arsenal last year, will face Bayern Munich in the semi-finals after the German side knocked out Manchester United on Wednesday.
Despite missing key player and long-term absentee Aitana Bonmati, Barca put on a tour de force to entertain a 60,000-strong crowd, the fourth-highest attendance in the competition's history.
Two-time Ballon d'Or winner Putellas put Barca ahead on her 500th appearance for the club early on, turning home a rebound after Misa Rodriguez saved from Ewa Pajor.
That set Barca on their way to beating Clasico rivals Madrid for a sixth time this season. They have scored 25 goals in the process against only two conceded.
Graham Hansen swiftly added the second for the Liga F leaders with a header from a Putellas cross.
Irene Paredes headed home from a corner for Barca's third, just as she had done in the first leg, as Madrid crumbled.
Polish striker Pajor grabbed the fourth with a close-range finish after Rodriguez struggled to push away a header.
Athenea del Castillo poked wide for Madrid shortly before half-time, spurning her team's best chance.
Norwegian winger Graham Hansen netted Barca's fifth early in the second half, turning away from her marker and producing a fine lofted finish.
Pajor and Graham Hansen wasted further openings as Barca continued to dominate, with Esmee Brugts notching the sixth with a tap-in after a neat move involving Patri Guijarro and Clara Serrajordi.
Barca's jubilant fans gave Putellas a deserved ovation as she was replaced late on. The 32-year-old star is out of contract at the end of the season but there will be much clamour for her to stay with displays like this.
M.Shukla--MT
