Match report: Wolfsburg 1-0 Barcelona
Sid Lowe was at the Anoeta Stadium for the Guardian and here’s how he saw the game unfold.
In other bad news for Barcelona ... Sid Lowe reveals that Lionel Messi has told the club he wishes to leave for pastures new. Read on ...
So, Wolfsburg are through to the final: They’ll play PSG or the favourites Lyon in Sunday’s decider. You can catch tomorrow’s semi-final here on Guardian sport, same bat-time, same bat-time channel. Don’t touch that dial.
Fridolino Rolfo speaks: “Of course it’s amazing,” says the scorer of Wolfsburg’s winner in an interview with BT Sport. “We’re really happy with the result. We’ve made it to the final. It was tough game today but I’m proud and happy we’ve made it to the final. We didn’t play our best game today but we still won the game. We were a little bit lucky but I’m still so proud we did it.”
Caroline Graham Hansen speaks: “The goals were the difference today,” says the Barcelona midfielder, who played very well. “We played a good game and we had enough big goal chances to score at least three goals. But we scored zero and they had one goal out of nothing so, for me, it feels very hard .. this defeat. But we have to congratulate them and wish them all the best for the final.”
On BT Sport: They’re’ve cobbled together a montage of Barcelona’s terrible misses. Oh my! How did they lose?!?!?
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Full-time in San Sebastian: Wolfsburg 1-0 Barcelona
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeep! It is all over and Wolfsburg are through to the final, where they will meet Lyon or Paris Saint-Germain. They were lucky - Fridolino Rolfo scored the only goal of the game for the German side in a match Barcelona should have won pulling a cart were it not for their astonishing profligacy in front of goal. The Spanish side had 16 attempts on goal, but only one on target.
90+4 min: Wolfsburg surge forward on the counter-attack and get the ball down toward the Barcelona goal-line.
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90+2 min: Barcelona sub Aitana Bontami shoots wide of an empty goal but it wouldn’t have counted if she had hit the target. Woflsburg goalkeeper Frieerike Abt dashed off her line, ran into some traffic and won a free-kick in the build-up.
90+1 min: Four minutes. Barcelona really deserve an equaliser here. They came into this game as underdogs but have been the better team.
89 min: Wolfsburg win a throw-in deep in Barcelona territory, which they are in not a huge hurry to take. They play the ball down to the corner flag and try to keep it there. I’m not expecting much added time here - these ladies don’t really do time-wasting or injury-feigning.
86 min: Barcelona substituions: Vicky Tosada and Lieke Martens on for Ouahabi and Hamarout. Wolfsburg substitution: Lena Oberdorf on for skippper Alexandra Popp, who is injured.
84 min: Barcelona continue to pile on the pressure. Ouahabi finds herself in a shooting position on the edge of the box but elects to play the ball wide instead. Another chance goes etc, and so on.
80 min: Terrific defending from as Jenny Hermosa is unable to turn home an inch-perfect Hansen cross from the right from close range. Kathrin Hendrich was stuck to her like glue. Hermosa appeals for a corner but doesn’t get one. How on earth have Barcelona not scored?
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79 min: Pernille Harder beats Jenny Hermosa for pace down the left flank, cuts inside Hamraoui and shoots feebly at Sandra Panos. A good chance for Wolfsburg goes to waste.
77 min: Barcelona substitution: Patricia Guijarro on for Alexia. Wolfsburg substitution: Pauline Bremer on for Ewa Pajor.
74 min: A neat passing move from Barca on the counter results in Jennifer Hermosa shooting wide from a great position in the penalty area. Brilliant work by Barca right-back Torrejon in the buildup.
72 min: Barcelona’s Marta Torrejon is booked for what looked like an excellent, perfectly timed tackle to me. Wolfsburg free-kick in the area between touchline and left side of the penalty area. The free-kick comes in and Barcelona’s Hamraoui heads a goal-bound header off the line.
70 min: With a goal in the bag, Wolfsburg have dropped a little deeper. Bonmati, the recently introduced substitute, shoots high over the bar after a decent gallop forward. Barcelona, the underdogs, have been the better team tonight but are losing. They’ve squandered so many chances ...
67 min: Wolfsburg substitution: Goalscorer Fridolino Rolfo off, Pia Sophie Wolter on.
65 min: Barca substitution: Asisat Oshoala off, Aitana Bonmati on.
64 min: Barcelona’s Mariona Caldente gets on the end of a wonderful, inch-perfect Jennifer Hermoso pullback from the byline and somehow shoots over with the goal gaping. Another wonderful chance for Barca goes to waste.
63 min: Barcelona win a corner. The ball’s sent into the mixer and drops for a Hamraoui, who shoots on the turn. Her effort is put out for another corner. Nothing comes of it. Wolfsburg lead but are very much on the back foot.
60 min: Barcelona come close to restoring parity, with Asisat Oshoala meeting a cross from the left and heading just over the bar. In fact, replays show her header was tipped over the bar by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Abt, but neither the ref nor the lineswoman saw it. Oshoala protests, but to no avail.
GOAL! Wolfsburg 1-0 Barcelona (Rolfo 58)
Wolfsburg lead! Fridolino Rolfo stabs home from point-blank range after Barcelona fail to clear an attempted Pernille Harder overhead kick.
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55 min: The lord giveth and the lord taketh away - now Caldente wins a free-kick, drawing a foul from Sara Doorsoun.
53 min: Barcelona’s Mariona Caldente is booked for dragging Svenja Huth to the ground as the Wolfsburg right-winger galloped into the Barcelona half on the break. She’s taken one for the team, there, has Senorita Caldente.
52 min: Chance! Caroline Graham Hansen runs on to a through ball from Hansen and tries and fails to square the ball for Oshoala when she appeared to have the goal at her mercy. Wolfsburg clear and a wonderful chance for Barcelona goes begging.
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50 min: Barca keeper Sandra Panos adjusts her feet and claws the ball wide after a cross from the right takes a deflection. From the corner, Wolfsburg skippper Alexandra Popp heads over.
49 min: After a poor enough first half, Wolfsburg are dominating the very early stages of this second period. Fridolina Rolfo is fouled and Wolfsburg have a free-kick just inside their own half.
47 min: Sandra Panos rushes to the edge of the box to clutch the ball to her chest, as Wolfsburg’s Polish striker Ewa Pajor stretches to get on the end of a through ball from Dominique Janssen.
Second half: Wolfsburg 0-0 Barcelona
46 min: Barcelona get the ball rolling for the second half in San Sebastian. There are no changes in personnel on either side.
Half-time: Wolfsburg 0-0 Barcelona
It’s all square at half-time: It’s been an absorbing encounter and the deadlock remains unbroken at the interval. Barcelona have been the better team but will be ruing their inability to trouble the scoreboard operator. Wolfsburg, the hot favourites, will be concerned.
45 min: Barcelona win a free-kick, in line with the right side of the Wolfsburg penalty area, about 30 yards from goal. Hansen whips the ball straight into the arms of Wolfsburg goalkeeper Friederike Abt. Barcelona are bossing this game at the moment.
43 min: Barcelona’s Kheira Hamraoui hooks the ball over the bar from the edge of the Wolfsburg penalty area.
42 min: Quickfire chances at either end, as Huth heads feebly at Barcelona keeper Panos, moments after an unmarked Rolfo had fired narrowly wide for Wolfsburg from insdie the penalty area.
40 min: I don’t have the exact figures to hand (apologies - I did earlier but can’t find them!) I can tell you that Pernille Harder has scored over 100 goals in about 110 games for Wolfsburg. You wouldn’t get this kind of statistical slovenliness from Clive Tyldeseley.
39 min: Pernille Harder, Wolfsburg’s goalscoring superstar, wins a corner for her team. Nothing comes of it.
37 min: Oshoala nearly puts Barcelona ahead. She runs on to an excellent through ball in behind from Hansen. With the goalkeeper racing out from her line along with Wolfsburg defender Kathrin Hendrich, the Nigerian international is first to the ball but hooks her effort wide. All three players are left lying on the ground injured but are soon fit to resume.
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33 min: Barcelona winger Graham Hansen takes down a cross-field pass, rampages into the right side of the Wolfsburg penalty area and tries to pull the ball back for Jennifer Hermoso. The pass is wayward and Wolfsburg clear. The German side are hot favourites tonight but they’re not having it all their own way by any stretch of the imagination.
33 min: A minor scare for Wolfsburg goalkeeper Abt, as Oshoala darts in to put her under pressure on the ball. she clears. With over half an hour gone, there’s been one foul in this game so far. One!
31 min: Barcelona enjoy a spell of sustained possession, spreading the ball far and wide, hither and yon across their backline as they search for an opening.
29 min: No goals yet, but Barcelona manager Lluis Cortes has just blown a big chance to impress by trapping a wayward ball dropping into his technical area about 10 yards in front of him. I’ve seen street-muggers with a more deft first touch.
24 min: Fridolino Wolfo blazes over the bar for Wolfsburg from about 15 yards out after receiving a wonderful pass from Sara Doorsoun.
22 min: Wolfsburg left-back Joelle Wedemeyer tries a snap-shot from distance which takes a wicked deflection. The ball threatens to sneak in at the far post, but Barcelona goalkeeper Sandra Panos is alert to the danger.
21 min: Andrea Pereira hacks the ball clear as Pernillle Harder tries her luck with a shot from distance.
18 min: Barcelona goalkeeper Sandra Panos comes for a corner, flaps and misses it completely. Her team-mates get her out of jail by scrambling the ball clear.
14 min: Wolfsburg goalkeeper Friederike Abt claims the ball confidently from the ensuing corner.
13 min: Barcelona’s Oshoala flicks on at the near post from a corner. Her downward header hits the hand of Kathrin Hendrich and Wolfsburg goalkeeper Friederike Abt parries the bouncing ball over the bar. There’s no VAR in this game, but if there was I suspect Barcelona would have won a penalty.
12 min: Hats off to Leo Messi, who has stolen the thunder of Barcelona’s women’s team by – if news reports are to be believed – telling the men’s team he wants to leave the club.
10 min: For Wolfsburg, Fridolina Rolfo picks up a cross-field pass on the left touchline, but is unable to get a cross in due to diligent marking from Barcelona right-back Marta Torrejon. Good defending. Advantage Wolfsburg in these early stages, but not by much.
8 min: Barcelona striker Asisat Oshoala plays a neat one-two with Jennifer Hermosa and fires high and wide from a tight angle.
7 min: Wolfsburg’s Ingrid Engen overhits a cross towards the far post, sending the ball out for a goal kick.
5 min: A fairly frenetic start, with both teams attempting to find their rhythm. Distinctive with her long, peroxide blonde mane tied up in a ponytail, Barcelona No10 Kheira Hamraoui is very conspicuous so far, trying to get her foot on the ball and dictate the play for her team.
3 min: Wolfsburg right-back Sara Doorsoun makes a good overlapping run, takes a pass from Svenja Huth and has her attempted cross blocked. A corner for Wolfsburg, from which nothing comes.
Wolfsburg v Barcelona is go ...
1 min: The game kicks off in San Sebastian, in the second ever meeting of these two clubs. Wolfsburg prevailed in the previous one. Graham Hansen gets forward for Barcelona, galloping into the Wolfsburg penalty area and shooting over the bar from a fairly tight angle.
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Not long now: The teams are out, going through the last of the pre-match formalities. Barcelona’s players wear ... the colours of Barcelona. The players of Wolfsburg wear green shirts, shorts and socks. The big news of the night is that Barcelona’s star Dutch midfielder Lieke Martens has been dropped in favour of Mariona Caldentex.
Wolfsburg v Barcelona line-ups
Wolfsburg: Abt, Doorsoun, Hendrich, Janssen, Wedemeyer; Huth, Syrstad Engen, Popp, Rolfo; Harder, Pajor
Barcelona: Panos, Torrejon, Leon, Pereira, Ouahabi,; Hamraoui; Hansen, Hermoso, Alexia, Mariona; Oshoala
Referee: Katalin Kulcsar (Hungary)
This, from our man in Spain ...
Wolfsburg go in to tonight’s match as heavy favourites, but Barcelona’s manager Lluis Cortes is confident is team can cause an upset, writes Sid Lowe from San Sebastian.
Barcelona’s manager speaks
“We hope that the game will be entertaining,” said Lluis Cortes. “There are good players among us, and Wolfsburg we are prepared for in all areas of the pitch. We have seen that the defence and goalkeepers are very important for us. We are prepared ourselves not to concede against any opponent, we are well-drilled.”
Wolfsburg’s manager speaks ...
“Our focus has been to recharge the batteries and be more fresh,” said Stephan Lerch. “We’ve taken advantage of the time being outside a bit, fresh air, taking a walk and training, and the team and the players are good, all available, and I think that we have benefitted from the time in recent days to recharge the batteries, now we will take time to focus on the match.”
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Women’s Champions League semi-final: Wolfsburg v Barcelona
The Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastian is the venue for the first of the mid-week semi-finals in the Women’s Champions League, with the winners advancing to Sunday’s final.
Two-times winners Wolfsburg smashed Glasgow City 9-1 in the last round, while Barcelona booked their place in the last four with a narrow win over Atletico Madrid.
The winners of tonight’s game will face French opposition in the final, with Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon preparing to duke it out in tomorrow’s other semi-final. Kick-off in the Basque Country is at 7pm (BST), but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
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