Khaberni - Barcelona positioned itself one step closer to the semi-final of the Women's UEFA Champions League with a sweeping win over their host, Real Madrid, by a score of 6-2 in the first leg of the quarterfinals, on Wednesday.
Barcelona took an early lead with goals by Aitana Bonmatí and Mariona Caldentey in the 6th and 13th minutes of the match, which took place at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, the stronghold of the Madrid club.
Real Madrid reduced the gap with a goal by Linda Caicedo in the 30th minute but Barcelona quickly widened the gap again with a goal by Irene Paredes in the 32nd minute, ending the first half leading by 3-1.
In the second half, the Catalan team reinforced its superiority with the fourth and fifth goals by Aitana Bonmatí and Marta Torrejón in the 57th and 64th minutes.
While Linda Caicedo scored her and her team's second goal in the 66th minute, Alexia Putellas finalized the six-goal haul with a penalty kick in the 89th minute.
This significant victory brings Barcelona closer to qualifying for the semi-finals before hosting Real Madrid in the second leg on April 3rd at Spotify Camp Nou.
It is worth mentioning that Barcelona directly qualified for the quarterfinals after finishing top of the league stage consisting of 18 teams, where the top teams advance directly, while teams from fifth to twelfth place go through the round of 16.
In the round of 16, Real Madrid, which finished seventh in the league championship, won both homes and away against Paris FC from France, which qualified by finishing tenth in the league stage.
