With a team depleted by casualties, Barca needed an hour to find their footing, but when they got the game going, their usual pace of play swept away an Eibar who defended as best they could in the first hour, until the goals came. The Catalan side cruised to victory with four goals in nine minutes, including a hat-trick from Brugts, who made her debut as a goalscorer in a Barça shirt. Graham Hansen, with a goal and an assist, shone again for another day, and Ari Arias completed the scoring with his first goal for the first team.
Jonatan Giráldez had to invent an eleven that was very conditioned by the significant losses the team is suffering, especially in the defensive line, where he lost this week Paredes, who returned from the concentration with Spain with a rectal injury, and Mapi León, who tore his meniscus in training on Friday and will have to go through surgery. The Aragonese, who will miss practically the entire season, was given a standing ovation when she entered the Johan Cruyff, on crutches and wearing a retro club shirt.
The infirmary is full to overflowing (Alexia, Oshoala, Jana Fernàndez, Rolfö and Bruna Vilamala) and Giráldez had to use the subsidiary to complete a call-up with only 15 first team footballers available. In addition, also thinking about the two Champions League commitments that the team has against Rosengård in the next two weeks, the Barcelona coach opted for rotations in the eleven and gave Cata Coll a rest at the start, in the goal, Paralluelo, Bronze, Walsh and Ona Batlle.
With all these handicaps, Barça did not start with their best version. He dominated against a very closed Eibar, but he lacked rhythm and was unable to surprise the defensive line of six that the armed group proposed. In the second half, the team switched gears and began to flow. After an hour of the game, it started to rage. Graham Hansen opened the can and Brugts hit a hat-trick to make it 4-0 in less than ten minutes. Ari Arias rounded off the party with the fifth, just five minutes after entering the field of play. A new triumph for a Barça who remain unbeaten leaders in the League and who now travel to Sweden to face Rosengård on Wednesday (6:45 p.m.) in the Champions League.
