Barça were slow to appear, once again, but they arrived in time to win the classic and leave Real Madrid 13 points behind. The League title is almost in the pocket, but Jonatan Giráldez will have to study the problems of his team in the first parts, which are already becoming too common. If in Rome it was Salma Paralluelo who had to come to the team's rescue, at the Johan Cruyff it was Fridolina Rolfö, from a penalty, who unblocked the classic, the first time Barça failed to score more than one goal.
The fans once again responded to the call of the club, which turned to the classic by organizing musical performances and activities in the hours before it on the Johan Cruyff esplanade, which registered its best entry in history with 5,569 spectators, among those who were the president of the blaugrana, Joan Laporta, the mayoress of Barcelona, Ada Colau, and, in the absence of Florentino Pérez, the head of women's football at Real Madrid, Ana Rossell.
It was not a vibrant classic. In fact, only the curiosity of the name and the shield of the rival gave a bit of spice to an insipid game with a Barça that seemed to think more about the Champions League quarterfinal against Roma on Wednesday. Giráldez gave rest to players like Paredes, Walsh or Graham Hansen and, despite dominating the rival without difficulty, he was not able to shoot between the three sticks more than on a handful of occasions.
The first time the blaugrana reached Misa's goal was six minutes into the game, with Aitana taking advantage of a rebound that she ran into Ivana Andrés. Madrid were very aggressive in their pressure, but despite all their efforts, Barça had no trouble taking control of the game. Toril's team hardly set foot in the rival area and had to wait until the 36th minute to score the first shot between the three sticks, a long shot from Weir that was safely saved by Sandra Paños.
Barça did not see their superiority threatened at any time, but they did not know how to convert their dominance on occasions. In addition to Aitana's shot, Giráldez's men only had two more chances in the first 45 minutes, a long shot from Mapi León that went wide by very little and another from Crnogorcevic that was saved by the Madrid goalkeeper.
The second half started with a controversial foul on Geyse that could well have been a penalty, but Olatz Rivero Olmedo pointed it out. Mapi León, the one in charge of serving the dangerous free kick, was about to surprise with a powerful cannon shot that Misa, with problems, would end up stopping in two stages.
The occasion seemed to awaken the team and encouraged the fans and Patri Guijarro responded with a shot from three quarters of the field trying to surprise a Misa that this time neutralized the danger without complications.
After an hour of play and without displaying great football, Giráldez decided to bring on Walsh, Graham Hansen and Oshoala, which gave Barça a mobility that it had not had until then. Patri tried his luck again, taking advantage of a bad rebound from the white goalkeeper, but his shot went wide. And shortly after the first dangerous action would arrive in which Barça would deploy its recognizable association football with a great assist from Patri Guijarro towards Graham Hansen, who narrowly avoided Mass.
The team was different with the entry of the cambos and the last half hour of the game the blaugrana monopoly also became a constant siege on the white goal. Until the goal came. Athenea del Castillo, who had entered shortly before, brought down Salma Paralluelo in the area in a clear penalty that, now, the Basque referee would point out. Fridolina Rolfö was in charge of transforming it, unleashing madness in Johan. Madrid responded with a counter in which Toletti put Paños's reflexes to the test, but the Alicante goalkeeper's hands did not tremble. It would be the last opportunity that Alberto Toril's men would have against a Barça that did not see their advantage in danger until the final whistle. A victory with which the Blaugrana leave the League almost in sight, with a 13-point advantage over the whites, second classified. Next challenge, celebrate their move to the Champions League semifinals by beating Roma at the Camp Nou (Wednesday, 6:45 p.m.).
