Barça vs Madrid: Patri & Pajor Fuel Final Hope | Champions League

BarcelonaEleven goals in eight games against Real Madrid. These are the numbers of an Ewa Pajor who has sealed the quarter-finals of the Copa de la Reina with a brace at the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium (0-4). The Blaugrana are unforgiving and will be in the semi-finals after a hard fought match, which ended with another thrashing by Pere Romeu’s team. Alexia Putellas – after finishing a corner taken by Graham Hansen – and Salma Paralluelo – with a great pass from Patri Guijarro – completed the scoring. Barça continues to dominate and has already won 23 Clasicos out of 24 played.

Real Madrid have once again come out with pressure in the opponent’s field, as they did in the final of the Spanish Super Cup. The whites, aware of the importance of getting ahead of the scoreboard, were about to score the first goal after a pass from Claudia Pina towards the goalkeeper – an action that Pere Romeu has insisted they should not do if it is not necessary – which fell short due to the poor state of the playing field at the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium. Athenea recovered the ball and dribbled past Cata Coll, but couldn’t find the hole to shoot at goal. It was one of the only approximations of Pau Quesada’s team in the first half.

Barça has been growing with the passing of the minutes, but Pere Romeu has encountered a new headache. In the quarter hour of the game, Laia Aleixandri left on a stretcher with her hands covering her face after an injury to her right knee. Without Mapi León – injured – or Marta Torrejón – who has not traveled to Madrid for personal reasons -, the Catalan coach has opted for Aïcha Camara as central. And in the face of a stalemate in which neither team managed to impose their game, the blocked ball was once again key. If Esmee Brugts opened the can in the final of the Spanish Super Cup with a corner, in the Cup it was Alexia Putellas who finished off Graham Hansen’s cross alone. The arrival of Marc Soler – in charge of strategy plays – to the coaching staff has led to an improvement in these actions. In fact, Pere Romeu himself emphasized the importance of “individualizing tasks”.

Doublet of the pixichi

With the score 0-1, the game got heated after a brawl between Claudia Pina and Misa Rodríguez. The footballer from Montcada i Reixac took the ball from the goalkeeper to take a foul and ended up receiving a blow from the white player. Minutes later, Pina pushed Eva Navarro in the middle of the field and Real Madrid asked the VAR to review a possible red card that the referee did not consider appropriate. Vicky – after a great individual action that ended with a shot on the post – and Pina – a great hand from Misa prevented it – had the 0-2, while Athenea – with a goal disallowed for offside after overcoming a very advanced Cata Coll – and Weir – with a shot saved by the Balearic goalkeeper – were able to equalize for the Madrid players.

All this until Ewa Pajor arrived. The Polish forward – who has eleven goals in eight games against Madrid – took advantage of a pass from Patri Guijarro – and Misa’s lack of force – to score the second goal. From here, Barça found a way to hurt. Guijarro again filtered a pass – in this case towards Salma Paralluelo – to make it 0-3 and Pajor completed the scoring after a pass from Paralluelo. Barça joins Atlético de Madrid, Tenerife and Badalona – who made history after eliminating Real Sociedad with a goal from Itzi Pinillos in the 114th minute – and will be in the draw for the semi-finals on Friday (1pm). The first leg will be on March 10, 11 or 12, while the return leg will be on March 17, 18 or 19.