Barcelona thrashes Real Madrid to reach Women’s Champions League semifinals
The home team went into halftime with a 4-0 lead after Pajor's seventh goal in the Champions League this season and career 40th in European club competitions.
Barcelona scored six goals again to outclass Real Madrid 6-0 and reach a record-extending eighth straight semifinal in the Women's Champions League yesterday (2 April).
Caroline Graham Hansen scored twice and Alexia Putellas, Irene Paredes, Ewa Pajor and Esmee Brugts all scored a goal apiece for the three-time champion in the second leg of their quarterfinal to advance on a 12-2 aggregate score.
Barcelona will face Bayern Munich for a spot in the May 23 final in Oslo.
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It was Barcelona's sixth win over Madrid in the women's clásico in all competitions this season and it was watched by 60,067 spectators in the women's first game at the newly revamped Camp Nou.
Later Thursday, OL Lyonnes needed extra time to beat Wolfsburg 4-0 and will take on defending champion Arsenal in the last four.
Barcelona didn't waste time in proving its superiority, giving Madrid no chance for an unprecedented quarterfinal turnaround after last week's 6-2 result in the Spanish capital.
In the eighth minute, Pajor's attempt from the left side of the box was saved by goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez. But Putellas scored off the rebound to mark the two-time Ballon d'Or winner's 500th Barcelona appearance.
With the goal, Putellas became the first Spanish player to have 30 goals in women's club competitions, according to UEFA.
Seven minutes later, Graham Hansen headed in the second from close range. Paredes made it 3-0 with another header off a corner from Graham Hansen in the 27th.
The home team went into halftime with a 4-0 lead after Pajor's seventh goal in the Champions League this season and career 40th in European club competitions.
Graham Hansen chipped the ball over Rodríguez 10 minutes into the second half for a 5-0 lead. Clara Serrajordi set up Brugts to tap in the sixth.
Barcelona seeks to reclaim the title it lost to Arsenal last season. The Catalan club topped the league phase with an unbeaten campaign that included 20 goals scored and three against.
Substitutes save Lyon
Substitutes Melchie Dumornay and Damaris Egurrola scored off corner kicks five minutes apart at the end of the first half of extra time, and another substitute — Tabitha Chawinga — sealed the win, 4-1 on aggregate, to send the record eight-time champions to the next round.
Leading 1-0 from the first leg, Wolfsburg relied on defense and some great saves by goalkeeper Stina Johannes.
Lily Yohannes, an 18-year-old United States international, erased the one-goal deficit with a deflected low shot in the first half.
It was the 13th meeting between Lyon and Wolfsburg in the Women's Champions League, a new record for the most played fixture.
Wolfsburg won the first meeting — the 2013 final — but Lyon has had the best of the rivalry since then. It won three finals against the German club: in 2016, 2018 and 2020.
