Claudia Pina shines in Barcelona's victory over Atlético de Madrid
Barcelona clearly defeated Atlético de Madrid in Butarque (3-0) with two great goals from Claudia Pina and another from Graham in stoppage time. The azulgrana made their superiority count against a cautious Atlético de Madrid team that maintained their caution until the end despite the result.
The champion is already waiting for their opponent in the Sunday final: Real Madrid or Real Sociedad, who play on Thursday. Claudia Pina was the standout player of the match, scoring the first two goals for Barcelona against Atlético.
The game followed the expected script, with Barcelona dominating and having the ball against an Atlético team that defended deep and looked to surprise with the speed of Ajibade and Gio. Early on, Pajor found herself one-on-one with Patri Larqué, who was sensational in denying the opener.
The Aragonese goalkeeper held the colchonero team together against Barcelona’s attacks, which had more intent than effectiveness. The rojiblancas relied on counter-attacks and came close to scoring the opener. Ajibade found herself in the area after a through ball.
Alone, she hesitated between shooting or passing to Gio, who was unmarked. Inexplicably, she chose the former, but could have gone further. The ball went over the bar. Barcelona continued to press, claiming two penalties, one for a foul on Brugts and another for a foul on Alexia.
Neither the referee nor VAR considered them as infringements. After a couple of shots from outside the area, both saved by Larqué, Pina scored a stunning goal to close the first half. From the edge of the area, she fired a right-footed shot with curl that nestled in the top corner.
This was impossible for the Zaragoza goalkeeper. Atlético’s resistance lasted 44 minutes, despite having several corners. The colchoneras came out with more intensity after the break, forcing more corners.
A run from Gio almost caught the Catalan team off guard, but Cata Coll was very assured in all her actions. Then Tatiana tried her luck, but the ball went just over the bar. Good minutes from Atlético against a Barcelona team that had yet to come out of the dressing room and was saved by a disallowed goal to Ajibade for offside.
The Nigerian asked for a VAR review, but there was none. She was booked for protesting. And the champion woke up. They did so with a move from Salma Paralluelo, who cut inside and shot with her left foot, forcing Larqué into another save.
This was the last action of the Spanish international. Then Alexia tried her luck, but her shot went wide after hitting Lloris. Aitana was already on the pitch. Rolfo came on for Brugs shortly after. Víctor Martín still hadn’t made any substitutions.
And the second goal came. Again, it was Claudia Pina. Again, it was a stunning goal. From a free-kick, the rebound fell to the Barcelona player, who, although she was off balance, hit the ball first time to beat Larqué again and put the game beyond doubt.
It was then that the rojiblanco coach made his first changes, bringing on Ana Vitoria and Luany. The system remained the same, with five defenders, despite the team needing two goals to draw. Damage limitation was the order of the day.
Barth and Sheila came on in the 85th minute and Pere Romeu made his final changes with Marta and Kika. Lauren Leal prevented the third goal after a great combination from the azulgrana in the area and Patri came close with a powerful shot from 30 metres.
There were four minutes of stoppage time. Enough time for Barcelona to increase their lead. Graham finished off a good move from the Catalans in the area with a low cross-shot.
