The female FC Barcelona, ??with goals from Caroline Graham, Bruna Vilamala, Lenzini (pp), Vicky López and Mapi León, beat Juventus Turin in the match corresponding to the Joan Gamper Trophy, an atypical clash marked, on the one hand, by the absence of several World Cup players, including the nine Barça world champions, and the usual presentation of the squad. And on the other, the chants “Rubiales, resign” and “Rubiales, go now” by the fans throughout the game directed at the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, for his attitude once the Women’s World Cup final won by Spain.
The Catalan team’s third pre-season match was the first for the blaugranas after what happened at the World Cup awards ceremony for the Spanish team and did not feature the nine world champions of Barça, still on vacation after winning the title.
The match corresponding to the third edition of the women’s Joan Gamper Trophy started with the usual trend of Jonatan Giráldez’s team, with possession of the ball and insistence on the rival goal. Already in the second minute of the game, Claudia Pina, with a pass from Patri, was looking to put the first on the scoreboard with a shot that went wide.
But the first goal was not long in coming, after an action by Bruna, the rejection of the Italian defense was left at the mercy of Hansen’s left-footed boot, who in the fifth minute of the clash adjusted the shot to the post and signed his first personal goal in preseason. The Italian team tried to take advantage of the counterattacks behind their rival, constantly in the opposite field, but Mapi León was attentive to defensive vigilance and frustrated the attack of the ‘bianconero’ box.
Just after the hydration break, a new double chance by Bruna -who hit the post twice- ended up piercing the rival net with an own goal by the Italians on 33′ of the game. The young footballer from Borgonya, who was looking for her redemption after the snatched goal, got her goal two minutes later, the third of the game, the result of a powerful shot from the corner of the area.
The most outstanding action of the second half in the Johan was the combined action between Patri and Claudia Pina that the one from Montcada failed to transform and sent over the rival goal. Finally, it was Mapi León, the MVP of the clash, who hunted the ball in the small area of ??the Italian team to put the fifth goal (76′) on the scoreboard and seal the match.
With this victory, Barça, whose trophy was lifted by captain Marta Torrejón, manages to keep a new Gamper in its showcases, the third in three editions, two days before traveling to Mexico on tour to play the last two friendlies of the preseason. When it will already have all the World Cup players who were not part of the clash; Cata Coll, Irene Paredes, Maria Pérez, Laia Codina, Ona Batlle, Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmatí, Salma Paralluelo, Mariona Caldentey, Ana-Maria Cronogorcevic, Keira Walsh, Lucy Bronze and Fridolina Rolfö.
