FC Barcelona v Levante: Into the Copa de la Reina final! (3-0)

A 3-0 defeat of Levante in the semi-final of the Copa de la Reina means the Barça women will be getting a crack at their fifth title in the national cup competition next Sunday at 12.00pm CET. They’ll face the winner of the other semi between Atlético Madrid and Valencia.

A first-half goal from Míriam was extended upon by strikes from Jenni Hermoso and Patri in the second, thus ending the participation of the Valencia based club that sprung a surprise in the previous round by putting out league champions Athletic Bilbao.

At the Ciudad del Fútbol at Las Rozas in Madrid, it was Alexia Putellas who set up Míriam to open the scoring after 16 minutes. After already coming close through Olga, the lead was a more than merited one.

Levante struggled to put up much of a response, and their cause was not helped when their liveliest player, Andrea, hobbled off injured shortly after the half hour mark. Instead, it was Barça who created most of the attacking play, and Alexia and Bárbara Latorre had had especially great chances before the half time whistle blew.

Beating the heat

On a scorching hot afternoon, the second half was played at a plodding pace, and constant interruptions did little to get the game flowing. Charlyn really should have converted Levante’s best chance of the half, and as the game went into the last ten minutes, Barça still hadn’t managed to get their superiority reflected properly on the scoreboard.

All that changed in the 81st minute when a great run from Alexia set Jenni Hermoso up to make it 2-0. Two minutes later, Patri Guijarro made it three and it was game over. After great campaigns in the Liga and Champions League, Barça have the chance to finally get their hands on a trophy this season in what promises to be a tremendous final next weekend.