Alexia guides Barça on their most desired path

Sant Joan DespíSurely while Alexia Putellas He was enjoying the European victory of the Barça men's team at the new Camp NouShe imagined playing in the Champions League quarterfinals. With today's victory against Benfica (3-1), Pere Romeu's team is now one step closer to fulfilling that dream. The Blaugrana are virtually qualified for the quarterfinals after a flawless group stage. With one match remaining in the European competition, the Catalan side has four wins and one draw, scoring eighteen goals and conceding only three.

Not even the last-minute withdrawal of Irene Paredes—due to a fever—could prevent another resounding victory for Barcelona, their third against Benfica at the Johan Cruyff Stadium. Laia Aleixandri played at center back—where she clashed with Martín-Prieto, her teammate on the Spanish national team and a former Barça player—and Clara Serrajordi enjoyed her first Champions League start. Aïcha Camara, who turns 19 this Thursday, also made her European competition debut in place of Ona Batlle. Undoubtedly, an early birthday present. With the Johan Cruyff Stadium barely half full, the Catalan side managed around twenty shots in the first half. However, the goalkeeper, the crossbar, and a lack of clinical finishing prevented them from securing the win. Pina hit the post twice, and Graham struck the woodwork in the final action before heading to the dressing rooms. Luckily, Barça has a new Pure, the kind of ball that, every touch, ends up in the back of the net. And that's exactly what happened again after a pass from Alexia. We'll have to keep our fingers crossed that Ewa Pajor doesn't get injured—again. In fact, the only defeat of the season (1-0 away to Real Sociedad) came in the month when the Polish striker—with no natural replacement in the first team—was injured.

From the initial scare to the rout

Barça were feeling very confident after taking the lead against the lowest-scoring team in the competition. They had only managed two goals in four matches before Johan Cruyff's arrival at Benfica, who capitalized on a defensive error by Mapi León to equalize. Barely a minute had passed since the restart when Davidson easily finished off a cross from Gasper. Thankfully, Alvez's subsequent shot missed the target after a poor clearance by Cata Coll. These lapses in defense forced them to get to work.

And so it was. It took Pere Romeu's team just eight minutes to regain the lead. Alexia—who provided the assist for the first goal—fired a shot from the edge of the box that found the back of the net after deflecting off Ucheibe. And with no more scares, Aleixandri capitalized on a poor clearance by the Benfica defense from a corner to give Johan a comfortable lead, even though Alexia missed a penalty. However, none of that prevented Carla Julià, Fenger, and Ainoa Gómez from making their European debuts. Barça wins, virtually qualifies for the quarterfinals, and continues to develop its young players. A perfect day.