Barça Femení began their UEFA Women’s Champions League title defence in style, beating Paris FC 5–2 at the Estadi Johan Cruyff on Wednesday night.
The scoreline tells the story of a dominant Barça performance, although Paris FC managed to make the Catalans work for the three points after taking a surprise early lead.
Barcelona started the game on the front foot, but it was the visitors who struck first. Evelyne Viens took advantage of an opening in the Barça defence in the fourth minute, giving Paris FC an unexpected 1–0 lead.
The response from Barça, however, was immediate.
Kerolin Sparks the Comeback
Barça continued to move the ball quickly and patiently, and their pressure eventually paid off in the 17th minute.
Clàudia Pina found Kerolin with a superb pass, and the Brazilian forward kept her composure to beat Mylène Chavas and bring Barça level.
From that moment, the game began to look much more familiar.
Barcelona controlled possession and continued creating chances, with Paris FC increasingly forced deeper into their own half. The pressure eventually produced a second goal in the 27th minute.
Caroline Graham Hansen delivered a dangerous ball into the box, and Clara Serrajordi finished from close range to complete Barça’s comeback.
Seven minutes later, the lead was doubled.
Graham Hansen was involved again, setting up Ewa Pajor, who made no mistake from close range to put Barcelona 3–1 ahead.
And Barça were not finished.
Just before half-time, Graham Hansen got on the scoresheet herself. Pajor returned the favour by providing the assist, and the Norwegian winger produced a superb finish from outside the box to send Barça into the break with a commanding 4–1 advantage.
Pajor Adds Another
Paris FC needed a response after the break, but Barcelona continued to look dangerous whenever they moved forward.
The French side managed to create a few moments, but Barça remained in control and eventually found a fifth goal in the 70th minute.
Pajor was in the right place at the right time once again, finishing from close range to score her second of the night and make it 5–1.
Paris FC responded just three minutes later when Clara Mateo found the net following a fast break, reducing the deficit to 5–2.
There was no real comeback on the cards, though.
Barcelona managed the remainder of the match comfortably and saw out the victory to begin their European campaign with three points.
A Strong Start to the European Defence
There will be things for Pere Romeu to work on, particularly after Paris FC were able to score twice and expose Barça at moments during the game.
But there were plenty of positives as well.
Five different goalscoring moments, four different Barça scorers, two goals for Pajor and another influential performance from Graham Hansen underline the attacking quality available to Barcelona.
For a team beginning its defence of the European crown, the most important thing was getting off to a winning start — and Barça did exactly that.
The 5–2 victory gives Barcelona an ideal beginning to the league phase and another reminder that, despite several changes to the squad, this Barça side still has plenty of firepower.
The road to Warsaw has officially begun.
And Barça Femení have started it with a statement.
