Brilliant Barcelona: How Spanish champions “suffocated” Man City in Champions League crunch

The Women’s Champions League has reached the quarter-final stage, with some mouth-watering ties taking place, including Chelsea Women against German giants Wolfsburg, whilst Paris Saint-Germain Feminines are facing domestic rivals and defending champions Lyon Feminin. However, one of the ones that caught the eye was Barcelona Femeni against Manchester City Women. Both sides have been in great form recently, so it was likely that the game, held in Monza, Italy, for COVID reasons, would give us some high quality football to enjoy. With that in mind, this tactical analysis will look at the tactics Barcelona used to win the game, whilst we will also look in this analysis at how Manchester City struggled to get into it, as well as the alterations they made in the second half.

Lineups

Barcelona Femeni named a strong side for this first leg, with many international players featuring. Club captain Vicky Losada was on the bench, so influential midfielder Alexia Putellas had the armband. She was joined in the midfield by fellow Spain international Patri Guijarro, whilst Norway forward Caroline Graham Hansen and Mariona Caldentey played on the wings. Jennifer Hermoso was on the bench, with Nigeria’s former Liverpool Women and Arsenal Women striker Asisat Oshoala leading the line. As well as Hermoso, their bench also included 2017 UEFA Women’s Player of the Year Lieke Martens, with the Netherlands international a key player for the side over the last few seasons.

Manchester City Women, meanwhile, made just one change from their last game, a 3-0 win against struggling Bristol City Women last week in the WSL. England right-back Lucy Bronze returned from injury to replace Georgia Stanway, who dropped to the bench. Alex Greenwood continued as a centre-back, with captain Steph Houghton still out with an Achilles injury, and young star Esme Morgan kept her place at left-back. In-form USA international Sam Mewis played alongside England’s Keira Walsh and Scotland’s Caroline Weir, whilst the now familiar forward trio of former Everton Women striker Chloe Kelly, Ellen White and Lauren Hemp started together once again. Left-back Demi Stokes also made a return from a long-term injury, being named on the bench.