A goal from Kheila Hamraoui with ten minutes to go put Barcelona into the semifinals of the Women’s Champions League and ended the resistance of a great Atlético de Madrid, which, despite the numerous casualties with which it arrived at this meeting , stood up and stayed alive until the final whistle.
The French midfielder broke the stubborn resistance of the mats in the 80th minute by taking advantage of a loose ball inside the box after Caroline Graham Hansen’s cross from the right wing that Asisat Oshoala failed to finish off.
Barça will play their place in the final next Tuesday at the Anoeta stadium in San Sebastián (8:00 pm) against Wolfsburg, who beat Glasgow City (9-1).
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Athletic
Atlético de Madrid: Hedvig Lindahl; Alia Guagni, Aissa Tounkara, Merel van Dongen, Carmen Menayo (Emelyne Laurent, m.72); Turid Knaaak (Ana Marcos, m.88), Amanda Sampedro, Jade Moore, Kylie Strom; Ángela Sosa (Alexandra Chidiac, m.88); and Toni Duggan.
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Barcelona
Sandra Cloths; Marta Torrejón, Andrea Pereira, Mapi León, Leila Ouahabi; Kheila Hamraoui, Alexia Putellas (Vicky Losada, m.91); Lieke Martens (Mariona Caldentey, m.63), Caroline Graham Hansen, Jenni Hermoso and Asisat Oshoala (Aitana Bonmatí, m.82).
- GOAL:
0-1, m.80: Kheila Hamraoui.
- REFEREE:
Stéphanie Frappart (FRA). He showed a yellow card to Guagni (m.24), from Atlético de Madrid.
- INCIDENTS:
Quarterfinal match of the Women’s Champions League played in San Mamés behind closed doors due to the health situation due to the coronavirus. A minute’s silence was observed for the victims of COVID-19. The Atlético players posed with a t-shirt to encourage their teammate Virginia Torrecilla, who is recovering after being operated on in May for a brain tumor. Seconds before the start of the game, the players of the two teams and the referee trio knelt as a symbol against racism.
The first half was balanced, with each team playing the expected role. Barça, who came out with all their artillery, monopolized possession of the ball against a very well-planted Atlético who barely left gaps in their defensive system and looked for their options on the counter attack.
The defensive solidarity of the mattresses managed to neutralize the Barça power. Those of Lluis Cortés, despite his territorial dominance and the pressure on the exit of the ball from his rival. Barça lacked speed and rhythm to wear down the mattresses and practically did not generate danger in the first half hour other than in a couple of distant shots from Lieke Martens (m.11) and Alexia Putellas (m.27) resolved without haste by Lindahl.
Atlético, aware of its obligation to save on efforts, measured its deployments in attack well and, knowing how to wait for its chance, was able to generate a couple of good arrivals.
The first, in the 10th minute, was finished by Kylie Strom with a high shot at the far post after a good cross from Turid Knaak and in the 25th, Angela Sosa chose the pass option wrong when Knaak was in a good position for the shot. .
The Barça response caused the clearest goal opportunity in the first half. It was in the 33rd when a long attacking action ended with a shot from Martens that practically took the central mattress Aissatou Tounkara from the goal line.
After the break, the guidelines were maintained although with a Barça increasingly tightening the nuts on the rojiblancas. Oshoala’s speed created the main problems for an Atlético who, despite the wear and tear, always remained firm and while the gasoline lasted, he tried to launch some against.
In the end, the Barça players found the prize after serious warnings, the first in the 70th minute in a poisoned center by Marta Torrejón that neither Oshoala nor Putellas reached and four minutes later with a hard shot by Graham Hansen cleared by Lindahl.
With Atlético increasingly difficult to drain water came that golden ball by Graham Hansen that only managed to touch Oshoala, but which was left dead in Hamraoui’s boots. The French did not forgive and scored a goal that is worth a semifinals of ‘Champions’.
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