FC Barcelona defeated Austria’s SKN St. Pölten (1-4) with ease, bringing their record to 9 points after 4 rounds of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. With two goals from Francisca Nazareth and Vicky López, as well as a historic goal from Alexia Putellas, Pere Romeu’s team triumphed once more and ended the game in the first half hour.
The Portuguese forward was without a doubt the game’s MVP in Vienna, making the most of her time in the Barça starting lineup. Along with her two goals, ‘Kika’ completed the victory by helping Alexia Putellas in the second half. After the Ballon d’Or winner’s goal, the home team quickly cut the deficit, although the outcome of the match had been settled for some time.
With her goal in the second half, the ’11’ culé extended her lead as the club’s all-time leading scorer and reached 200 goals while wearing the Barça shirt. In her first season, 2012–13, Alexia scored her maiden goal. She achieved 50 goals in 2015–16, three years later, and 100 goals in 2018–19. She went on to score her 150th goal in 2021–2022.
In the first thirty minutes, Barça had two corners that troubled the opposition’s area. St. Pölten had a very well-organized start, with slightly higher lines than anticipated, but following Nazareth’s 0-1 goal in the 21st minute, their defense crumbled. Taking advantage of the home defender’s mistake in coming out, Kika raced past of Dubcova and finished easily in front of Schlüter.
The Portuguese strikers once again wreaked havoc on the opposition’s defense as Barça expanded their lead in the 29th minute without giving the Austrians a chance to respond. The ‘pass of death’ was filtered by a run by Brugts on the left, and Francisca arrived on the edge of the area, unmarked, to finish with a half-turn and a low shot.
The third, Vicky Lopez’s creation, would arrive two minutes later. The midfielder was able to recover the ball thanks to Barça’s intense pressure, and following a strong team effort including Kika and Patri Guijarro, the Barça ’19’ exploited Patri’s back heel to defeat Schlüter in a one-on-one match.
After the interval, Barça once again made the difference on the scoreboard despite three substitutions from St. Pölten. Alexia and Kika Nazareth performed a one-two in the 59th minute, which gave her the opportunity to enter the box, send an opponent to the ground with a “crack” feint, and finish against a helpless Schlüter once more.
A few minutes later, the home team equalized, although it did not significantly alter the course of the game. That amounts to 200 goals for Putellas in 439 official games. With Barça, the 30-year-old attacker has won 26 recognized trophies, including three Champions Leagues and eight Leagues.
