Barça once again demonstrated one more night that when they switch to steamroller mode, no one can stop them. Atlético de Madrid had no chance against Barça on the big occasions, overwhelming the rojiblanco team in the first half to claim their twelfth Copa de la Reina. The third title of the season, after the Supercup and the League, aiming to become a poker next Saturday in Oslo. The blaugrana team will arrive fired up for the final against Jonatan Giráldez’s Lyonnes.
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The classic cup match had no story. Although Atlético was on an upward trend after a poor start to the season, having won eight of the last nine matches, they faced an unstoppable Barça that reaffirmed their hegemony in the tournament. A hegemony only broken twice since 2017, in the 2018-19 season, when Atlético precisely eliminated them in the quarterfinals, and in the 2022-23 season, when the blaugrana team was disqualified from the tournament due to the improper alignment of Geyse,
Blaugrana hegemony
Since 2017 they have only missed two titles
Despite the proximity to the Champions final, Pere Romeu lined up his star eleven with only two absences. Without Irene Paredes, due to last-minute muscle discomfort, and without the also injured Caroline Graham Hansen, who is following a specific plan to arrive in top form for the continental final. Aitana Bonmatí, who has not yet enjoyed any starts since her return, again began the match on the bench. She came on in the 74th minute and continued to add minutes after her serious injury.
At Atlético, however, the main doubt was the presence of Lola Gallardo, who arrived with physical problems but was able to recover in time to occupy the Atlético goal and prevent a bigger thrashing with great interventions.
The match started with the honorary kickoff by Carmen Arce ‘Kubalita’, a pioneer of Spanish women’s football, who shared an emotional hug with Alexia and Lola Gallardo, two players who have always highlighted the importance of all those who fought before them to grow this sport. There was a great atmosphere in the stands of the Gran Canaria Stadium, with 26,093 spectators breaking the attendance record in the Copa de la Reina.
As expected, Barça controlled the match, often trapping their rival. Atlético read their chances to hurt Barcelona well, quickly counterattacking when forcing a loss from the opponent, but Amaiur Sarriegi or Jensen arrived too alone, making their incursions into the rival area not very dangerous.
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The match started with an electric Claudia Pina. Stealing balls, distributing assists, and collecting dangerous shots on the rojiblanco goal, the Montcada player was one of the main protagonists of the first minutes of the final. And her insistence was rewarded in the 23rd minute, when after several rebounds she received the ball at the edge of the area and with a brilliant shot, impossible for Gallardo, put FC Barcelona ahead.
The goal gave even more confidence to the blaugranas who quickly extended the lead with two more goals before halftime. Vicky López sent a masterful pass to Esmee Brugts, who shot too comfortably to make it 2-0, and the third, by Salma Paralluelo, confirmed that Atlético had dropped out of the match. A very poorly defended corner by Atlético that the Aragonese took advantage of to finish the job in just over half an hour.
José Herrera had no choice but to make changes at halftime and brought on Gio Garbelini and Luany. And it worked, as the rojiblanco team quickly cut the distance with Boe Risa’s 3-1 goal, to whom Aïcha had gifted the ball in a bad clearance. The Norwegian’s cannon shot injected strength into an Atlético that had been wounded until then.
Despite the goal, Pere Romeu stuck to his plan and rested Alexia and Salma for the last half hour of the match and gave some minutes to Aitana Bonmatí to continue gaining experience. The second half was again the team’s pending subject, but they had the score under control and faced an Atlético that ran out of gas. They needed no more to seal a new and well-deserved title to arrive fired up in Oslo in search of European reconquest.
