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Barcelona thump Real Madrid 6-0 to reach women’s Champions League semifinal
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Barcelona reach the last four of the women’s Champions League, beating fierce football rivals Real Madrid 12-2 on aggregate. Save Share Barcelona demolished rivals Real Madrid 6-0 to progress to the women’s Champions League semifinals 12-2 on aggregate. Alexia Putellas shone for the Catalan football giants in their first game at the rebuilt Camp Nou, building on their 6-2 quarterfinal first leg victory. Three-time winners Barca reached an eighth consecutive semifinal, with winger Caroline Graham Hansen netting twice and Putellas also on the scoresheet in Thursday’s rout. Pere Romeu’s dominant side, runners-up to Arsenal last year, will face Bayern Munich in the semifinals after the German side knocked out Manchester United on Wednesday. Despite missing key player and long-term absentee Aitana Bonmati, Barca put on a tour de force to entertain a 60,000-strong crowd, the fourth-highest attendance in the competition’s history. Two-time Ballon d’Or winner Putellas put Barca ahead on her 500th appearance for the club early on, turning home a rebound after Misa Rodriguez saved from Ewa Pajor. That set Barca on their way to beating Clasico rivals Madrid for a sixth time this season. They have scored 25 goals in the process against only two conceded. Graham Hansen swiftly added the second for the Liga F leaders with a header from a Putellas cross. Irene Paredes headed home from a corner for Barca’s third, just as she had done in the first leg, as Madrid crumbled. Polish striker Pajor grabbed the fourth with a close-range finish after Rodriguez struggled to push away a header. Athenea del Castillo poked wide for Madrid shortly before half-time, spurning her team’s best chance. Norwegian winger Graham Hansen netted Barca’s fifth early in the second half, turning away from her marker and producing a fine lofted finish. Pajor and Graham Hansen wasted further openings as Barca continued to dominate, with Esmee Brugts notching the sixth with a tap-in after a neat move involving Patri Guijarro and Clara Serrajordi. Barca’s jubilant fans gave Putellas a deserved ovation as she was replaced late on. The 32-year-old star is out of contract at the end of the season, but there will be much clamour for her to stay with displays like this.