Barça crushes Bayern and returns to Europe in style

Sant Joan DespíBarça came out determined to put the ghosts of last season's Champions League behind them. With a 7-1 thrashing of Bayern Munich, who had already conceded two goals in just over ten minutes, the Blaugrana confirmed they have turned the page on the painful defeat in the Lisbon final, in which they were defeated by a superior Arsenal side. The Bundesliga champions were no match for a Barça side that came onto Johan's pitch with a focused presence. Their intense pressing and, above all, their fast and fluid ball circulation turned the Bavarians into a broken toy in the hands of the Catalans. Alexia Putellas, with a stunning goal from the edge of the box, opened the scoring in a rout that serves as a great introduction to the team in the new format of the UEFA Women's Champions League, featuring a league phase with 18 teams, of which 12 qualify after six matches.

Although the squad has been weakened after a lean summer, with the only arrival being center-back Laia Aleixandri (a substitute against Bayern Munich), Pere Romeu retains the bulk of his star players, and Barça remains a strong contender to win the competition. Alexia Putellas, who was tempted to leave for PSG in the final stretch of the summer transfer window, not only opened the scoring with a superb goal in the fourth minute, but also performed brilliantly against the Germans and provided the assist for Esmee Brugts' third, who fired a stunning effort from the penalty spot before it had even been taken. Earlier, the second goal had come from Ewa Pajor, who collected Irene Parades' shot off the bar after a fine cross from Mapi León following a corner (conquered by Aitana Bonmatí) that had been taken short.

All the tricks seemed to be working for Barça, where Alexia was tasked with managing Bayern's players with heading, while Patri weaved herself between the center backs to initiate the play. The visitors were tired of chasing shadows, sometimes attacking with a harshness that angered the Blaugrana. Pere Romeu's team felt superior, and the scoreline reflected this, but for the Germans, an isolated moment was a picture of oil on canvas. With Barça's defense pushed forward, Kett—who had been instrumental in a couple of defensive actions—picked up a move down the right flank, reached the byline, and assisted Klara Bühl in the heart of the box. It was only a mirage, because before the break, Barça scored a fourth after a move between Aitana and Brugts at the edge of the box that ended with the Dutch player assisting Salma Paralluelo.

No chance for Bayern

The resumption began with rock'n'roll, with Bayern again sending the ball into the back of the net, but the effort was ruled out for an offside by Schüller, confirmed by VAR. This is also a new feature in this year's Champions League, where video refereeing is now in place for all matches in the league phase. The disallowed goal didn't faze Barça in the slightest, with Claudia Pina joining in the relevant Salma party. The Blaugrana continued to create chances, and shortly before the hour mark, Pajor collected an assist with Alexia's header to score the fifth and prevent any attempt by the Germans to react.

In fact, far from reacting, Bayern—who hadn't conceded a goal yet this season in five Bundesliga matches—came close to conceding the sixth, but the VAR review ruled that the ball went out of bounds after Aitana's assist to Pajor. But the sixth would eventually come: a counterattack led by Vicky López and finished with talent by Pina. The Montcada i Reixac native still had time to score twice with a goal in stoppage time. Barça returns to Europe in style.