Barcelona remain invincible in the classics. Regardless of the losses or the way the teams arrive, the women’s Barcelona-Madrid race is the exclusive property of the Catalans, who added their tenth straight win this Thursday. Los Blancos had their chance and clinched first overtime against the dominance of Spanish football, but not even the sacking of Irene Paredes in the second half helped them break the streak of Jonatan Giráldez’s men, who were already finalists in the Spanish Super are Cup , a trophy they will fight for against Real Sociedad.
Barça arrived at the stadium with two injured players (Jana Fernández and Cata Coll), while Alberto Toril’s men were encouraged after leaving good feelings at the beginning of the season, especially in defence. They’re the second worst-beaten team in the league. And they actually showed a good example of their defensive solidity in this Spanish Super Cup semi-final. Though it was of little use to them.
First, Barcelona gave the white team a few minutes of rest. In the last three duels between the two teams, Giráldez players have always opened the gate half an hour ago. And this Thursday they also repeated the same script. After Clàudia Pina dribbled from the edge of the box, the Catalan planted herself in the crescent to place the ball next to her opponent’s poster and scored the first goal of the afternoon. The ball spun as only the Montcada i Reixach player can and scored her tenth goal in all competitions after two games with one goal gap.
Barca’s superiority was obvious; The pressure on the spinal cord prevented Madrid from leaving their own field, but when they did they found themselves against the wall of Irene and Mapi León, who blocked any balls they tried to filter. If Barca dominated in the first half, the second started with Madrid retiring at the top. The chat in the dressing room helped those from Toril turn the game around. The Whites raised the offensive lines and jumped onto the green with more energy than in the first half. With Barcelona struggling to add more goals to the scoreboard, Madrid took advantage and leveled the game. It was a free kick and the goal was signed by Weir, who sent the ball over the barrier as Paños conceded his ninth goal of the season.
Barcelona had to cope with pressure from Madrid and Jonatan Giráldez found the game script difficult. Especially when Irene Paredes, who was booked from the first half, saw the second and had to be sent off. Barça had not played with ten since the last game in the league last season. But the Azulgranas kept attacking. Geyse’s attempts against Misa on the one hand and Esther’s counterattacks trying to take advantage of the numerical inferiority did not serve to break the tie. They went into extra time, an unusual affliction for the Catalans.
The game was penalties until Bronze committed a foul in the penalty area in the second half and the referee awarded the maximum penalty. Mariona Caldeneny waited for Misa to jump early to send the ball to the center of the net and break the tie in the semis. The tension was there on the green, with a player down and Madrid’s pressing, but Paralluelo ended up with Barça suffering in added time. After Oshoala stole the ball, the athlete received assistance from the Nigerian to seal the pass.
The victory puts Barcelona in the final of the Spanish Super Cup, which face Real Sociedad on Sunday. Both teams met in the first final of this tournament, where Barça emerged victorious 10-1. The Catalans are looking to win their third Super Cup after beating Real Madrid for the tenth straight year, all their ties since the team’s inception at the white club.
Follow EL PAÍS Deportes on Facebook and Twitteror sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.