That’s 45 wins in succession for Barcelona. Incredible.
Full-time: Barcelona 5-1 Wolfsburg
That may have been the first time Barcelona have ever beaten Wolfsburg but there was such a gulf in class on display at the Camp Nou. But for Schult in the German club’s goal it might have been ten. Barcelona are a winning machine, and that record crowd has been watching a vintage display from an all-time great team. The final looks like their destiny, even when there’s a second leg to come.
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90+4 min: Barcelona want more more more - mes mes mes? Wolfsburg must be dog tired, they have chased shadows all night.
90+2 min: That crowd by the way, is bigger than that record Real Madrid crowd of 91, 553. What a night, and what a display by the home team.
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90 min: Graham Hansen also went off, on comes a defender Ouahabi. Five minutes are added on.
89 min: The attendance is in 91, 648, and Graham Hansen claps the scoreboard revealing that number - and the fans. Off goes Putellas, on comes Engen.
87 min: A lull in play as Graham Hansen seems to have taken a knock. Though she is fine to continue.
Goal! Barcelona 5-1 Wolfsburg (Putellas, 85)
It was taken well, to the right of Schult who this time had no answer. That was quality play that forced the penalty, and the world’s best player was never going to miss.
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Penalty to Barcelona!
Putellas is pulled down by Janssen, having shifted the ball from foot to foot and gets knocked over.
82 min: Another fine save from Schult as Putellas plays in Oshoala, and the angle is again closed down. Then another from Putellas.
81 min: Barca sub as Caldentey comes on to huge applause and Bonmati goes off. Oshoala, another sub, goes close and might have done better though Schult narrows the angle well. The Wolfsburg goalie has been a contender for player of the match.
79 min: There’s a Mexican wave on in the stadium, which suggests the crowd is bored. Not sure why, the football continues to be of high quality.
77 min: Off goes the Wolfsburg goalscorer Roord, and on comes Blomqvist.
76 min: Barcelona want to restore that four-goal margin. Oshoala is very quick and it takes some desperate defending to stop her.
74 min: Barca make those changes. Pina and Oshoala on, and off go Hermoso and Crnogorcevic, Pina almost making an instant impact by hitting the woodwork as she comes on.
Goal! Barcelona 4-1 Wolfsburg (Roord, 73)
Jill Roord has the ball in the net, Waßmuth’s pass sends her through and she converts. There’s a VAR flag on the play, and it looks very close. It takes some time, too. A wait approaching 90 seconds, maybe more. Actually, make that way more. And it stands after all that. Wolfsburg have a lifeline.
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70 min: Wolfsburg defending doggedly now, and Barcelona are going to bring on a couple of subs to further cement their control of the tie.
68 min: Barcelona also showing off their mettle defensively by hassling Wolfsburg out of possession whenever they dare try to mount an attack.
67 min: Barcelona keeping control now as their fans sing Allez Allez Allez.
65 min: Pajor comes on and almost instantly gets a yellow card for hacking down Leon.
62 min: This half feels far more even but it can’t be taken in isolation from the first half. Wolfsburg make their first change in taking off Popp, who was cruising for a booking, and Ewa Pajor, a forward, comes on.
60 min: Putellas laid on a plate from Rolfo, to pass the ball into the net but her pass is misplaced.
59 min: Bonmati cuts into the box, bobs and weaves and fires wide. Barcelona want another and it will surely come soon.
57 min: Close for Wolfsburg. Popp squeezes the play and Huth misses the target with a lob over the posts. It was also perhaps offside.
55 min: Rough challenge from Popp smashes in then one from Jill Roord. Are Wolfsburg resorting to the dark arts to try and escapes without an absolute pounding?
53 min: Good save from Schult after Wolfsburg are carved open. Torrejón blazes in and it comes off the goalie’s shoulder. Such saves all count.
51 min: Barcelona corner, and Paredes flicks and Crnogorcevic taps in after Schult drops the ball. Barca’s celebrations are halted by the VAR signal and the finding that Crnogorcevic had stepped a millimetre offside. That was tight.
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50 min: Barcelona continue to look for the long ball, passing it around short and then hitting Wolfsburg where it hurts most. Have Wolfsburg found more of a measure following the break? It’s probably too early to tell in this half.
49 min: Huth is down for Wolfsburg, having taken one to the kneecap. That’s gotta hurt.
47 min: Barcelona go on the attack once more, and Rolfo tries one from distance as Graham Hansen sets her up.
46 min: We go again, though Wolfsburg will hope there is no more of the same. They do at least begin on the attack. No subs made at half-time.
Half-time: Barcelona 4-0 Wolfsburg
That was devastating from Barcelona, and they went from the start, blowing Wolfsburg away with their speed of attack, the deluge started by those strikes from Bonmatí and Graham Hansen.
44 min: Barcelona looking to make it five as they push on for another. Wolfsburg clinging on for dear life.
42 min: Jonatan Giráldez, the Barcelona coach, looks annoyed about something. Who knows what, since his team are striding to victory in this tie, and probably this competition.
40 min: This is devastating, and Wolfsburg look shell-shocked. They’ve been picked apart at will by Barcelona who are now queueing up to score.
Goal! Barcelona 4-0 Wolfsburg (Putellas, 38)
The captain surges on from midfield, and beats the offside trap to slot in, the ball bouncing off Schult and into the net.
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36 min: This is getting cruel on Wolfsburg, who haven’t been able to cope with anything that’s been thrown at them. They haven’t even played that badly.
Goal! Barcelona 3-0 Wolfsburg (Hermoso, 33)
Too easy, and Hermoso, coming off the flank, cuts in from the right and scores. This tie is done, just about.
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30 min: Some reader interaction:
First up, Adam: “I hope you’re well! I know it’s not exactly a new piece of analysis, but I still think it bears repeating: bloody hell Barcelona are good. Clearly well-coached and with well-formed relationships on the pitch. A joy to watch. Take care and enjoy!”
And Charles Antaki: “Ten minutes in, and I think I’ve seen about three square or backwards passes from Barcelona. They probably think that’s too many, as well.”
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28 min: Wasted free-kick from Wolfsburg. Instead of putting Barcelona under, the ball is pumped into the stands.
26 min: Barcelona doing plenty of resting on the ball, the tempo is fully within their control.
24 min: Barcelona’s chance count already frightening, though Wolfsburg have had four shots on goal to Barca’s eight so far. And the balance of possession is 54/46 percent while Barca are so much more dangerous.
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22 min: Rolfo again finds loads of space but Crnogorcevic can’t reach the ball at the opposite post. Then Guijarro steps up from midfield to smash over.
20 min: Rolfo, down the flank, is causing huge problems down the left. There’s a break in play as Schult, the Wolfsburg keeper receives treatment. There’s a huddle of lime green shirts on the sidelines as they try to come up with a quick plan to stop the deluge.
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18 min: Barcelona sitting a further deeper, lending their attackers greater space to launch those deadly counters with.
16 min: Of course, Barcelona go down the other end and nearly score as Graham Hansen is robbed just as she shaped to slot home.
14 min: Well. Barcelona having to do some serious defending. Huth suddenly finds herself in space, and seems to have an open net. Across comes Paredes to quell the danger and then Paños makes the save. There are celebrations between defender and goalkeeper once the ball is cleared.
12 min: The truth is that there is no more unstoppable team in football than Barcelona’s women’s team. They are phenomenal.
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Goal! Barcelona 2-0 Wolfsburg (Graham Hansen, 10)
Barcelona decide to take the sting out of their opponent by passing the ball around and then Graham Hansen sets off with real pace and power, then checks back in the box and switches feet from right to left to smash home. Great goal but is this tie already lost?
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7 min: Wolfsburg on the attack with Jonsdottir, Huth and Popp involved. Barca get it clear after a short time but at least Wolfburg’s defence isn’t being tested while they are on the attack.
6 min: Close! Again! Crnogorcevic given so much space in the Wolfsburg box and shoots wide. It counts as a bad miss but Barcelona will surely get another chance soon enough.
4 min: Wolfsburg have been caught cold but Barcelona have also been highly direct, an an approach you would not associate with the club. Rolfo this time cuts in from the flank and thwacks a shot wide. The chances stacking up already.
Goal! Barcelona 1-0 Wolfsburg (Bonmatí, 3)
Long ball over the top and Bonmatí holds off Janssen and strokes calmly into the goal. Only three minutes of play but it had already been coming.
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1 min: Barcelona get us underway as they chase a first ever win over Wolfsburg. They start with one hell of a jolt as Putellas cuts in from the right and shoots on goal. The ball is claimed at the second time of asking but that was a warning sign for the German team.
The handshakes are done as the noise rings out from the stands. Wolfsburg’s lime green kits make them unmissable, just about.
Looks to be a breeze in the Barcelona air as the sound of Guns N’ Roses rings out. Sweet Child O’ Mine, as opposed to Deep Purple’s Child In Time, where Ian Gillan’s vocal histrionics possibly outdo Waxl Rose...anyway, on the with show and the Barca anthem.
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The teams have been through their warmups and the Camp Nou is filling right up. What we do know is the victors of this tie will be facing a French team in the final. PSG take on Lyon in the other semi on Sunday.
Suzy Wrack on the excellence of the Arsenal defender, Lotte Wubben-Moy.
Our latest Moving The Goalposts. Make sure to sign up now to our free weekly women’s football newsletter.
PSG beat Däbritz’s former team, Bayern Munich, in the quarter-finals and are now looking to reach the club’s first Champions League final since 2017. Däbritz believes there is a real love for football in Paris with the women’s team playing some of their games at Parc des Princes. “It is already the third game at Parc des Princes and it is always around 20,000 fans there. It’s just amazing. I think we have the best supporters in all of Europe. We’re proud of having them supporting us.”
Three changes to the German team from the weekend’s cup defeat of Bayern, Wedemeyer, Popp and Women’s Champions League leading scorer Tabea Wassmuth slot come in.
For all their current dominance, Barcelona have never beaten Wolfsburg in the women’s game. They make four changes from the weekend’s 2-0 victory over Valencia with María León, Graham Hansen, Putellas and Guijarro (pictured) all coming in. Graham Hansen had a fine game against Real Madrid.
It’s hotting up in Catalunya, and a repeat of the noise and colour of the Real Madrid game looks likely.
𝙊𝙝 𝙡𝙚 𝙡𝙚
— FC Barcelona Femení (@FCBfemeni) April 22, 2022
𝙊𝙝 𝙡𝙖 𝙡𝙖
𝙎𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙡 𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙘̧𝙖 𝙚́𝙨
𝙀𝙡 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙧 𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙝𝙞 𝙝𝙖
🔵🔴 #BarçaWolfsburg pic.twitter.com/qFZNJlErox
Here are the teams
Barcelona: Paños, Torrejón, Paredes, León, Rolfö, Bonmatí, Guijarro Gutiérrez, Putellas, Hansen, Hermoso, Crnogorcevic. Subs: Serrano, Pina, Caldentey Oliver, Ouahabi, Pereira, Oshoala, Engen, Font, Pérez, Muñoz
1️⃣1️⃣ #FCBFemeni OFICIAL #BarçaWolfsburg
— FC Barcelona Femení (@FCBfemeni) April 22, 2022
👌 @stanleytools
🔵🔴 #MésQueGènere pic.twitter.com/1gDauTqZXd
Wolfsburg: Schulz, Wedemeyer, Hendrich, Janssen, Rauch, Lattwein, Roord, Jónsdóttir, Huth, Popp, Waßmuth. Subs: Wilms, Bremer, Blässe, Kassen, Starke, Pajor, Smits, Blomqvist, van de Sanden, Wagner, Knaak
So starten die Wölfinnen ins 👑-Halbfinal-Hinspiel!
— VfL Wolfsburg Frauen (@VfL_Frauen) April 22, 2022
📺➡ @DAZNFootball und YouTube (https://t.co/JxYamG1rBF)#BARWOB #UWCL #VfLWolfsburg pic.twitter.com/5Ya8qDageb
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Preamble
Barcelona are the best and biggest in the women’s game. That much was proved in that quarter-final Clasico defeat of Real Madrid in front of a world-record crowd. And the Camp Nou is sold out once more for the visit of the crack German side, who won this tournament in 2013 and 2014. Like Barca, Wolfsburg are chasing a treble, and wish to extend their unbeaten run to 18 matches in all competitions and a fifth consecutive victory. Barcelona have meanwhile won every match this season, and in La Liga have scored 144 goals in 26 matches. They represent an awesome challenge for Wolfsburg.
Kick-off is at 5.45pm BST. Join me.
