Kheira Hamraoui helps Barcelona end Atlético Madrid's stubborn resistance
Barcelona will play Wolfsburg in the last four of the Champions League, though this quarter-final was nothing like the one-sided rout in San Sebastian. The hot favourites were kept waiting until the 80th minute for the single goal that sealed victory, Kheira Hamraoui finding the net from close range to finally see off a determined challenge from the patched-up underdogs.
This should have been a mismatch. Barcelona won the Spanish league, have not lost a game since being beaten by Lyon in last season’s Champions League final, and have not been troubled by Atlético in three earlier meetings during this campaign. Their opponents found themselves severely compromised by Covid-19 – five players had to withdraw after testing positive – as well as injuries and player departures, yet Atlético showed all their determination and spirit in keeping the game tight for well over an hour.
As expected, Barcelona played with an attacking front four, though not even the power of numbers could find a way through a solid Atléti defence. The numerical disparity was even more marked on the bench, where Barca named their full complement of 12 substitutes, while the hosts could only stretch to half a dozen. Atlético had considered forfeiting this game because they did not believe they would be able to raise a team, but even with a handful of debutants pressed into action they managed to give a good account of themselves.
Barcelona had the best chance of breaking the first-half deadlock, when Asisat Oshoala chased down a half-cleared corner and Lieke Martens stabbed a shot goalwards, only to find
Aïssatou Tounkara in position to clear off the line. The Spanish champions had the upper hand before the interval but were unable to convert their possession into clear-cut chances.
Toni Duggan and Angelo Sosa, by contrast, were feeding off scraps playing up front for Atlético, yet in addition to frustrating the Barcelona attack the underdogs did create a couple of opportunities, with Kylie Strom narrowly failing to convert a difficult chance that reached her at the far post, and Sosa shooting too high with teammates waiting for a cross.
Oshoala managed to escape Tounkara to reach a couple of crosses early in the second half, without managing to get any power or direction into her headers. More worrying for Barca was what happened when Oshoala finally got in behind Tounkara with the ball at her feet. While Hedvig Lindahl was quickly off her line it was still a chance the Nigerian striker would normally bury, yet she snatched at the shot and put the ball wide of the target. Caroline Hansen did no better with Barcelona’s next chance, hammering a shot at Lindahl with Oshoala an unused option in the middle. As the game entered the final quarter of normal time Barcelona looked the more likely to score but their finishing was still indecisive.
The winning goal, when it came, was a tad scruffy, but Barcelona were not complaining. In what turned out to be her last action of the game, Oshoala
showed her frustration by attempting an overhead kick near the penalty spot when Hansen crossed from the right. She was unable to make a clean connection, though she did succeed in sending the ball towards Hamraoui, who just needed to keep her composure to slide a low shot into the bottom-left corner. The same player could have added a second before the end – this time Lindahl
was equal to her effort – though a two-goal margin would have flattered Barceona and been unnecessarily cruel on the losers.