(Football news) Reigning European champions FC Barcelona Women cruised past Arsenal with a 4-0 scoreline at the Emirates Stadium. Having already defeated the Gunners 4-1 in the reverse fixture, Barcelona showed their superiority once again by controlling possession and capitalizing on Arsenal’s mistakes. Aitana Bonmati opened the scoring in the 22nd minute after intercepting Jennifer Beattie’s pass and worked her way into a good position to slot the ball past Zinsberger and into the back of the net.
The Blaugrana doubled their lead six minutes later when Jennifer Hermoso guided a cross by Rolfo past Zinsberger. The 31 year old was unmarked and despite Zinsberger getting a touch, the Arsenal goalkeeper failed to stop the ball from going over the goal line. Barcelona then scored their third goal just before the half-time whistle when Fridolina Rolfo won the ball back at the edge of the box and fired a right footed shot into the back of the net.
The visitors were so dominant in the first half that they had 74% possession and Arsenal failed to restrict them in the second half as well when Zinsberger made double saves to deny Caroline Graham Hansen and Hermoso but the 31 year old managed to scuff the ball over the line in the 75th minute to ensure that Barcelona scored their fourth goal of the night to secure qualification to the knockout stage with a comfortable win.
Arsenal women head coach Jonas Eidevall: "Of course, the defeat is down to many things including the team selection. One thing we must have is a defensive structure with regards to the roles and responsibilities that need to be performed. Another one is in the offense, to try to get more possession and to play out under high pressure.
"We need to think about the qualities we have in the squad and work out whether it's best to use them from the start of games or towards the end. Obviously, it's hard to argue when you lose 4-0 that you made the right choices but the idea was very clear. The players worked very hard to try to execute it."
The Gunners will next host Leicester City in the Women’s Super League on Sunday.
