Barça Femení now 21 and 2 Following Clásico Disappointment

To say that today was a disappointment would be an undersell. The match kept slipping away, inch by inch, until there was nothing left. The team looked dysfunctional, communication poor, and the result, a huge blow on the club’s and supporters’ pride. How did it all go down?

Poor start

Even the weather begged to differ with the high hopes of culers gathered to cheer the girls as they faced Real Madrid Femenino for the fifth and last time this season (assuming they don’t meet in the UWCL). There was hail at the Montjuïc to seal the worst performance by Barça Femení in a Clásico.

The first half was a game of chances missed and poor coordination within the team. It was becoming clear that starting Schertenleib in wing was a bad idea from the coach. Four midfielders has been tried and retried this season and it is yet to work. First it was against City. We all know how that went.

The glitches in the performance allowed the opponents to perfectly execute their playbook. Less than 5 minutes to the half-time whistle, Real Madrid saw the fruits of their labor, and Barça was trailing.

Caroline Graham Hansen was notably having a bad day in office, failing to put away quite a few chances and generally having a slow output rate. This would go on going into the break, with the team trailing and options looking narrow. The hope was the team was coming back stronger.

The call that decided the game

Second half, Barça came out well. Pere Romeu substituted Marta Torrejon with Jana Fernandez and Sydney Schertenleib with Salma Paralluelo. Later on, the latter would turn out to be a gross miscalculation because by final whistle, the midfield was virtually non-existent in the game.

It dragged on without much in the way of output and the players were growing weary by the millisecond. In the 64th minute, Esmee Brugts came on for Fridolina Rolfö, who to be fair was having a decent game. Esmee was involved in the play that would bring Barça level in the 67th minute with a Graham Hansen header. Hope was alive and well.

Jana Fernandez then scored the supposed winner, but it was ruled offside. A swarm of Barça players surrounded the referee, shocked as was everyone, by the call. The referee nonetheless dismissed the complaints summarily and the score remained 1-1. This call was strange but owing to lack of VAR, the referee’s word was law.

It was as if they let Barça and by extension culers smell the win and then immediately took it all away. It was back to regular, for the game at least.

Between hope and despair

After the annulment, Barça continued to press on but the skills on the day did not match the ambition. Execution was lacking. Late changes included Claudia Pina and Ingrid Engen coming on for Alexia and Paredes.

In the 86th minute, Real Madrid went ahead to make it 2-1. At this point, Pere Romeu must have folded his notebook and called it. In these minutes, there is not much anyone can do except hope for a miracle.

The miracle never came. Weir would go on to score the third in added time to make it 3-1. For culers, it was like living a nightmare. One of those things one tells oneself would never happen, but not only happens, but in exactly the time they can’t be happening.

Montjuïc has yet to give Barça Femení a reason to smile and for the superstitious, it can be argued that the grounds are bad luck. Either way, the performance was lacklustre and the result, never seen before. This loss means the league goes down to the wire, assuming no more stumbles.

The only hope to carry away from today would be the expectation of a ruthless bounce-back campaign that culminates into a repeat of last season. If precedents are any indication, Barça should come out of today stronger and vigilant.

I for one will be looking forward to that. Between hope and despair, I choose hope.