Barça warns Madrid of the hell they will have to live through this month

BarcelonaIn the first of three clashes between Barça and Real Madrid that will take place in the next few days, the Blaugrana have already shown that they will not show mercy to their favourite rivals. In the match corresponding to the first leg of the semi-finals of the Copa de la Reina, played on white territory, the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium, under incessant rain, Pere Romeu's team got rid of their rival without hesitation (0-5) and put on track a tie that will be sealed next Wednesday.

Real Madrid, who have never won the competition, still have a lot of trouble to go through to get close to the level of a Barça that, although they have raised some doubts throughout this season, are plugging away in the stretch where they start to play the carob beans. After the international break, which was attended by the bulk of the Barça squad, the team returned to competition on Sunday with a scandalous thrashing of Eibar away from home (1-8).

Against Real Madrid, the Blaugranas have continued to oil their scoring machine. Barça have no mercy against the Whites, having already thrashed them in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals, and the latest precedent: a 5-0 at the end of January in the final of the Spanish Super Cup. Before that, in November, they had already thrashed them 0-4 in the match corresponding to the first round of the Liga F. The Blaugranas will now have two more games against Alberto Toril's team to continue to show that they are far superior to their rival, despite the fact that the Whites' coach said before the first leg of the semi-finals that they are getting closer.

The first goal, in just one minute

In the first of these three encounters, Romeu's team only took a minute to start the scoring. Graham Hansen's play led to a good finish by Salma, reaching the far post. Five minutes later, Ewa Pajor connected with a strong, tight shot that went just wide of the post of Misa, the goalkeeper who Cata Coll took over from as a starter for the Spanish national team during the last World Cup.

After Pajor, Patri Guijarro, another Barça player who, like Cata, particularly likes to play against their eternal rival, tried her luck. The midfielder was encouraged by a shot from almost the centre of the pitch that ended up going over the crossbar. Against a very soft Madrid, Aitana Bonmatí also threatened with a shot from the edge of the box that, like Patri's, went over the crossbar. The woodwork was again the protagonist shortly after: a shot hit the post from a mischievous Salma, and Pajor, attentive, collected the rebound to score the second.

The home fans had a brief moment of jubilation, which was soon interrupted when Weir's goal was ruled out for offside. The party in the rain was all for the Blaugrana. Pajor scored twice. The Pole shot from the heart of the area and Misa failed to block the ball, which, slowed down by the grass wet from the constant rain, slowly danced until it crossed the goal line.

It must be said that Madrid tried to react, because just after conceding the third, Brunn tried a shot from the edge of the area that was stopped by a good save from Cata Coll. The Mallorcan once again proved to be infallible with a stop to a long-range shot from Antônia. Despite trying to make a few attempts, the Whites were unable to do anything against a very serious Barça. Even before the break, Salma scored the double, which culminated with a delicious assist from Graham Hansen.

With everything resolved at half-time, the second half was a formality. Apart from some interventions by an attentive Cata Coll, the most positive note was that Pajor was able to seal a hat trick With just over ten minutes to go, Barça have made their eternal rivals dance in the rain.

Ready to overcome Wolfsburg

With this victory, the players and Pere Romeu have reaffirmed their self-confidence ahead of the Champions League quarter-final against German side Wolfsburg, which will also be decided this March.