BARCELONA, Spain -- What was supposed to be a heavyweight contest between the champions of Spain and Germany at the Estadi Johan Cruyff on Tuesday quickly descended into a battering as Barcelona thumped Bayern Munich 7-1 to lay down an early marker in the UEFA Women's Champions League.
It took just four minutes for Alexia Putellas to score a brilliant opener, and it was mostly downhill from there for Bayern. Ewa Pajor and Cludia Pina helped themselves to braces, with Esmee Brugts and Salma Paralluelo also on target as Bara began to make amends for last season's final defeat to Arsenal.
Bayern did briefly look to make a game of it in the first half. Klara Bhl got them back into the match at 3-1. Lea Schller also had a goal ruled out after the break which would have made it 4-2, but overall this was a night to forget for the German giants. The scoreline did not flatter Bara.
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"The disappointing part is we were not surprised today," Bayern coach Jos Barcala told ESPN. "Bara are a relatively easy team to analyse; they have very specific patterns they repeat all the time. But they exposed us to a tempo and a speed we were not able to cope with."
The victory margin may come as a slight surprise to the rest of Europe, though. Bara came into the game as favourites, but few would have expected them to rack up so many goals against last season's quarterfinalists, who are unbeaten domestically at the start of the new campaign. Arsenal's surprise 1-0 win over Bara in Lisbon was supposed to serve as motivation to the rest of the chasing pack as well -- instead it seems to have added fire to Bara bellies.
Defender Irene Paredes spoke before the match about being unable to forget that damaging loss -- which denied three-time winners Bara a three-peat in their fifth successive final appearance -- but harnessing that disappointment to ensure it did not happen again this season.
The hosts started strongly against Bayern. They could have led inside two minutes. Aitana Bonmat somehow wiggled away from the grasp of Georgia Stanway and her cross looked destined to be turned in by Paralluelo only for Franziska Kett to appear and poke the ball behind for a corner. It didn't matter. Bara were on song and two minutes later two-time Ballon d'Or winner Putellas curled home superbly from the edge of the box.
Only an excellent stop from Ena Mahmutovic kept Bonmat, who herself won her third successive Ballon d'Or last month, out. From the resulting corner, Paredes headed against the bar and Poland poacher Pajor turned home the rebound.
This performance may also have been in response to some of the doubts that have emerged this summer. Bara have trimmed their squad, with Fridolina Rolf, Ingrid Engen and Jana Fernndez among the departures, prompting questions about their direction at a time when other teams are chucking money at expensive new signings.
However, while they have stripped their depth, what Bara do have is talented youngsters ready to take on bigger roles. Dutch international Brugts, perhaps the reason for Rlfo's exit to Manchester United, is one of them. She starred against Bayern, scoring the third goal with a smart finish from inside the box.
That she was in the box in itself was interesting. While she is nominally listed as a left-back, when Bara have the ball, coach Pere Romeu gives her licence to come inside as an attacking midfielder almost. Bayern did not know what to do with her. It's a tactical tweak which could help elevate Bara this season.
Bhl pulled one back for Bayern after good work from Arianna Caruso, but it was not the start of an unlikely comeback. Paralluelo restored Bara's three-goal lead before the break and the second half quickly because a foregone conclusion, albeit an entertaining one.
Pajor made it five with her second of the night and after Schller and Paredes had exchanged disallowed goals, last season's Champions League top scorer Pina came off the bench to make her mark.
Her first goal was pure Pina, coming onto her right foot after a superb Vicky Lpez run and whipping the ball into top corner. Her second, Bara's seventh, completed the rout in stoppage time.
What Bara may lack in depth, then, they make up for in quality. They may not have the biggest squad but they have probably 15 players -- the starting XI here and Pina, Lpez ,Kika Nazareth and Laia Aleixandri -- who would get in most sides in this competition. They are then supported by even younger players, such as Clara Serrajordi and Sydney Schertenleib, who were both introduced late on.
Obviously OL Lyonnes, Chelsea and Arsenal are among the teams who may represent tougher challenges later, and we should be wary of getting carried away on day one of a new competition, but Bara wanted to stress their candidacy on the opening night of the new format -- with the Swiss model introduced this season, mirroring the men's competition with an 18-team league phase.
"They are one of the three or four big favourites to win the Champions League, but we knew that from the beginning," Barcala added.
