Barcelona 5-1 Roma (Agg. 6-1): Player ratings as Catalans cruise into UWCL semis
Barcelona cruised into the Women’s Champions League semi-finals for the fifth success season thanks to a crushing 5-1 win over Roma in the second leg of their quarter-final tie at Camp Nou.
The Italian side had shown plenty of promise at Stadio Olimpico a week earlier, limiting their illustrious opponents to just a single goal and even threatening themselves.
But there was no repeat of that once Fridolina Rolfo set Barcelona on their way, doubling her personal tally after Mapi Leon had made it 2-0. Asisat Oshoala and Patri Guijarro continued the scoring in the second half, before Annamaria Serturini’s Roma consolation.
Roma had a clear plan to try and contain Barcelona and then spring their own attacks. And while the quality of the hosts was clear to see from the start, the visiting Giallorosse at least asked an early question when Sandra Panos needed to rush out of her goal to clear a dangerous through ball.
But it was only moments later when Rolfo lashed the Catalans into the lead. The Swede reacted quickest to an inadvertent knockdown from Oshoala.
Roma’s goal lived a bit of a charmed live after that, with Oshoala’s deflected effort just going the wrong side of the post and Elena Linari throwing herself in front of Aitana Bonmati’s goal-bound strike. Barça were prepared to hold onto the ball and wait for the gaps to open up, before trying to burst through them – Caroline Graham Hansen did just that without anyone getting in the middle.
But the second goal was less a perfectly manicured passing move and more a world class screamer out of nowhere. Leon received a pass from Keira Walsh and instead of looking for the next lay-off simply put her foot through it and watched the ball fly into the top corner from almost 30 yards.
Barça seemed like they could score every time they really turned it on and Rolfo’s second was exactly that as the lateral passes quickly switched to send Hansen in down the right. Her low cross across the face of goal proved to be an easy tap-in at the back post.
There was less than a minute on the clock when Bonmati set up Oshoala to make it four, racing clear down the and providing a simple finish for the Nigerian in the six-yard box. There was no let up for Roma there, with Guijarro getting the fifth only seven minutes after – she was completely unmarked to head in Hansen’s corner with a near post flick.
Roma did get a consolation when Serturini sensationally fired into the bottom corner on the counter, a moment for her to remember personally if nothing else.
Substitutions from both sides disrupted the momentum of the game, but the Barça replacements still wanted to make an impact and it took an outstanding save from Camelia Ceasar low to her right to stop Geyse from adding to the home side’s already substantial lead.
Barcelona player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Sandra Panos - 6/10 - Had to be sharp early on to mop up a dangerous through ball. But spent much of the rest of the night a spectator.
RB: Lucy Bronze - 6/10 - Great on the ball but not that solid defensively.
CB: Irene Paredes - 6/10 - Looked vulnerable once or twice but it didn't really matter because of how much Barcelona dominated the ball.
CB: Mapi Leon - 8/10 - Scored an outrageous goal and was again like a deep-lying playmaker.
LB: Fridolina Rolfo - 9/10 - Took both of her goals extremely well after netting the winner under pressure in Saturday's Clasico.
CM: Aitana Bonmati - 8/10 - Always looking for the incisive pass or run between the Roma lines, which was exactly how she made the fourth goal.
CM: Keira Walsh - 7/10 - Similar to the first leg, controlled the tempo with passing.
CM: Patri Guijarro - 8/10 - Worked really well in the left channel with Rolfo in particular. Rewarded for her efforts with a fine headed goal.
RW: Caroline Graham Hansen - 9/10 - A real threat both in open play and at set-pieces, clocking up two assists.
ST: Asisat Oshoala - 8/10 - Ended a mini-drought of hers with a poacher's finish and got a huge reception from the crowd as she went off.
LW: Salma Paralluelo - 5/10 - Far, far quieter than she had been in the first leg.
Substitutes
SUB: Geyse 966' for Paralluelo) - 7/10
SUB: Ingrid Engen (66' for Walsh) - 7/10
SUB: Bruna Vilamala (66' for Oshoala) - 6/10
SUB: Jana Fernandez (74' for Leon) - 6/10
Manager
Jonatan Giraldez - 8/10 - Took no chances by picking his strongest team and was rewarded. Made use of the bench to keep players fresh once the result was secure.
Roma player ratings (4-4-2)
GK: Camelia Ceasar - 5/10 - Could hardly be blamed for the goals that went in.
RB: Elisa Bartoli (c) - 6/10 - Put in a super shift and at least kept Paralluelo quiet.
CB: Carina Wenninger - 4/10 - A tough night all-round.
CB: Elena Linari - 7/10 - Did what she could and threw herself in front of multiple efforts. Without her defensive efforts, it would have been even more one-sided.
LB: Moeka Minami - 4/10 - Had her hands full with Hansen again as Barcelona attacked at will down their right flank. Couldn't keep the lid on this time.
RM: Annamaria Serturini - 6/10 - Didn't see very much of the ball but it was a very clinical finish.
CM: Manuela Giugliano - 6/10 - Showed an ability to pick a clever pass and was probably Roma's best chance of creating something through the middle.
CM: Vicky Losada - 4/10 - Finally got the chance to play at Camp Nou after missing out in 2021 due to Covid-19, albeit now for the away side. Lasted just 45 minutes.
LM: Emilie Haavi - 5/10 - Put more pressure on Bronze than might have been expected, but just 13 touches of the ball tells enough of a story.
ST: Andressa Alves - 5/10 - Fired the killer pass that made Serturini's goal but was on the periphery.
ST: Valentina Giacinti - 5/10 - Didn't get the kind of chances she had in the first leg.
Substitutes
SUB: Giada Greggi (46' for Losada) -65/10
SUB: Benedetta Glionna (54' for Haavi) - 6/10
SUB: Lucia Di Guglielmo (54' for Bartoli) - 6/10
SUB: Zara Kramzar (74' for Giacinti) - 5/10
SUB: Claudia Ciccotti (78' for Alves) - 5/10
Manager
Alessandro Spugna - 6/10 - This was always going to be a monumental task. His team started well, btu once Barcelona started to get ahead there was no way to get back into it.