Hoffenheim 0 - 5 Barça: Cruising to the quarter finals with yet another win

It's a procession of wins, and this latest WCL Group Stage match win guarantees Barça's place in the quarterfinals. Jonatan Giráldez' team went away to Hoffenheim and kept up their fine goalscoring form to run out 5-0 winners. 

Alexia the difference-maker in the first half

Pretty much a game of two halves, the first half began as a bit of a war of attrition between Barça's attack and the home side's defence, who restricted them to few good clear-cut chances. The pressure from the away side was building, though, and towards the end of the first half, Alexia Putellas carried the ball inside the box before being upended for a penalty that she subsequently scored. The 1-0 scoreline at half-time was fair given Barça's dominance of the ball and attacking intent.

Second half superiority

Barça came out on a mission after the break. First, Irene Paredes powered in a header from a Mapi León corner, just a sign of the growing influence of the central defensive pair in the game in an attacking sense. This was quickly followed by Aitana Bonmatí finishing from inside the box to round off a superb team goal to follow the cracker she scored against Levante. Only Hoffenheim keeper Tufekovic was showing some sort of resistance to keep them in the game, proving a constant nemesis for Rolfö who was playing more centrally. Giráldez made five changes in the second half, with Marta Torrejón coming off the substitutes bench to score a header from a fine cross from the right, before Crnogorčević made the final score 5-0, again from inside the box.

Barça have now qualified for the Champions League quarterfinal stage for the seventh consecutive time, and turn their attention to the Liga with an away trip to Sevilla on Saturday November 20. 

MATCH STATS 

Hoffenheim, 0
Barça, 5

Hoffenheim: Tufekovic, Wienroither (Steinert, min. 65), Bühler (Leimenstoll, min. 78), Specht, Naschenweng, Dongus (Harsch, min. 71), Feldkamp, Hagel, Corley (Linder, min. 65), Billa (De Caigny, min. 65), Brand
Barça: Sandra Paños, Leila (Melanie, min. 73), Mapi León (Marta Torrejón, min. 73), Paredes (Pereira, min. 65), Jana, Alexia, Engen, Aitana (Claudia Pina, min. 58), Rolfö, Jennifer Hermoso (Mariona, min. 58), Crnogorčević

Goals: 0-1, Alexia (pen) (min. 41); 0-2, Irene Paredes (min. 54); 0-3, Aitana (min. 57); 0-4, Marta Torrejón, (min. 89); 0-5, Crnogorčević (min. 91)

Referee: Ivana Martinčić