Barça put 7 past Bayern in emphatic start to UWCL
Ewa Pajor and Clàudia Pina each scored twice as Barcelona’s bid to reclaim the UEFA Women’s Champions League began with a 7-1 thrashing of Bayern Munich.
Barca, who were beaten by Arsenal in last season’s final in Lisbon after lifting the trophy in the two previous campaigns, edged ahead in the fourth minute thanks to a delightful curling finish from captain Alexia Putellas.
“This kind of night is what the Champions League demands of you,” Putellas said. “We know the level we were at in Lisbon; we know the damage that defeat did us. But you learn and benefit from defeats, not just victories.
“We arrived at our conclusions after Lisbon and our intention is to play like this all the time.”
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Poland international Pajor quickly doubled the advantage with an acrobatic close-range effort. Esmee Brugts lashed home the hosts’ third in the 27th minute and then assisted Salma Paralluelo to make it 4-1 in first-half added time after Bayern forward Klara Bühl pulled a goal back.
Prolific striker Pajor clinically slotted past visiting goalkeeper Ena Mahmutovic 11 minutes into the second period to claim her second of the evening.
Substitute Pina, who was top scorer in last season’s Champions League with 10 goals, added to Bayern’s misery in the 88th minute before doubling her tally in added time to complete the scoring.
“I’d say yes, it was [the perfect night],” said Barcelona coach Pere Romeu. “I didn’t really expect a result as emphatic as that. But what makes me most happy, even more than the result, is the quality of the play. That made me most happy.”
Earlier, Juventus defender Cecilia Salvai marked the 10th anniversary of her debut in the Women’s Champions League with her first two goals in the competition as her team came from behind to beat Benfica 2-1 on Tuesday in the first match of the new-look tournament.
Salvai scored the winner four minutes from time to add to her first-half goal, which canceled out Lucia Alves’ early opener.
After the men switched from a group phase to a league-based format last season, the women’s tournament made the move, too.
Alves scored the first goal of the revamped competition in the sixth minute, finishing off Nycole Raysla‘s cross with an emphatic close-range strike.
However, Juventus took control of the match from that point, driven by a lively performance from Barbara Bonansea down the right.
And the veteran Italy international was key to Juve’s equaliser in the 22nd minute, beating two players in the area before lifting the ball across for Salvai to head past Lena Pauels.
It was Salvai’s first goal in the competition — 10 years to the day after making her Women’s Champions League debut for Verona.
Juventus had numerous chances to take the lead and Bonansea also had a goal ruled out for offside shortly before halftime.
The Bianconere snatched the win in the 86th minute when a corner was flicked on and Salvai stuck out a leg to volley it into the back of the net.
The 18-team league phase ends in December. Teams that finish first to fourth in the standings advance directly to the quarterfinals. Those ranked Nos. 5 to 12 go to a knockout playoff round. The bottom six teams are eliminated.
Elsewhere, Belgian side OH Leuven battled back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Paris FC.
Daphne Corboz and Clara Mateo put the French side in control at the break but second-half goals from Kim Everaerts and Sara Pusztai salvaged a point for the visitors.
Information from The Associated Press, PA and ESPN’s Sam Marsden was used in this report.