Barça shows it wants to continue reigning in the Champions League by demolishing one of Europe's giants.

BarcelonaControl, possession, and hunger. A hunger for goals. A hunger to press high up the pitch. A hunger to win it all again. Barça showed with a convincing thrashing of Wolfsburg (1-4) that they want to be the queens of Europe again. The Germans, one of the continent's standout teams despite having lost momentum recently, should have been a tough nut to crack, but the Catalan side were far superior. Despite the home side narrowing the gap in the final moments, Sydney Schertenleib, a diamond of only eighteen years old, He scored the fourth to seal a resounding victory. Pere Romeu's Barça returned happily from the Wolfsburg Arena, a stadium where they had never won. A resounding victory, and the Champions League quarterfinal tie was almost underway, awaiting the return leg on Thursday at the Johan Cruyff Stadium. Before that, the Blaugranas will host Real Madrid in Montjuïc in a Liga F match this Sunday. It could be a magical week.

In Germany, they had to shake off the respect that Wolfsburg always commands and remain faithful to the ideals that make Barça play delightful football and that have led them to be the best team in Europe in recent years. In what was set to be the most difficult match of the season so far, the reigning champions took to the pitch very focused. Romeo held nothing back. The occasion deserved it. The only change to the starting lineup was a must: a remarkable Jana Fernández filled the void left by the injured Ona Batlle. In the engine room, Patri Guijarro protected Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí, who, along with a brilliant Mapi León, were responsible for supplying the attacking triplet. Barça came out with a lot of firepower: Caroline Graham Hansen, Ewa Pajor, who was facing her former team, and Salma Paralluelo.

Unstoppable Graham Hansen - Aitana connection

During the opening minutes, Wolfsburg managed to maintain a tight duel, with almost nothing happening in the penalty areas, apart from a few timid approaches from the Blaugrana. Until an almost unstoppable connection was activated. Half an hour into the match, Graham Hansen sent a precise, purposeful pass behind Janina Minge, looking for the run of an undetectable and tireless Aitana. The San Pedro de Ribes native reached the byline and delivered a tight, tense pass to the near post, which Pajor, with the tip of his boot, would then lead to Caitlin Dijkstra's own goal. Barça had done the difficult task: break the deadlock. With the score in their favour and the game under control, the halftime break would go in.

After the restart, Romeu's team punished their opponents in just three minutes, from the 50th to the 53rd. First, Irene Prades sent a corner kick delivered by Mapi León into the back of the net. With Wolfsburg forced to attack, the Germans were in a mess, and Barça took advantage of it, scoring a goal on the counterattack, finished fortunately by Salma Paralluello. The Catalans smelled blood and didn't have enough. After the third, they looked for a fourth. Salma had it just around the corner, and she could have scored a double after a beautiful play that ended with Pajor assisting the winger, who finished under the legs of Anneke Borbe. However, the play was ruled offside. Pere Romeu's team enjoyed themselves against a shattered opponent who needed to attack, but if they let their defense go, they knew Barça could destroy them in front of their fans.

Sydney Schertenleib, through the front door

However, the Blaugrana eased off a bit, also a result of their effort throughout the match and the relaxation of feeling so superior, and Wolfsburg managed to extract some energy. On just the home side's third approach of the entire match and on their first corner in almost eighty minutes, they got it. Janina Minge, too alone at the far post, delivered a superb header to reduce the deficit.

Until a storm hit: Sydney Schertenleib, who came on in the final minutes, scored the fourth with a curling shot from just inside the top corner. With two more shots, the Swiss star would have scored two more goals. It was his first time playing in a Champions League quarterfinal. Barça has a present and a future.