Alexia Putellas leads the way as Barcelona produce champagne football

When you look up the weekend results and you see that FC Barcelona have recorded yet another dominant win, you might be tempted to dismiss not only the strength of the Primera Iberdrola but also the brilliance that Barcelona have in their ranks. An 8-0 win (or 5-0 win, 4-0 win, 7-0 win, etc.) isn’t that uncommon for the Blaugrana especially over the last few seasons but their performance against Valencia was not only professional, it was aesthetically pleasing to watch.

Asisat Oshoala found the first goal of the game when she blocked goalkeeper Enith Salón’s kick and spun away in celebration as the ball bounced into an empty net. Alexia Putellas scored the first of her three four minutes later in the 27th minute as she knocked it past Salón from a tight angle. Putellas wasn’t done as one minute later with Salón off her line, the Barcelona captain picked up her head and chipped the ball over the goalkeeper for Barca’s third of the match. Putellas then got her third as she nodded home Caroline Graham Hansen’s inch perfect cross in the 31st minute. Salón was at fault for Barca’s fourth as she somehow allowed Mariona Caldentey’s effort to squirm underneath her and into the net.

Oshoala then added her second of the day when she found the back of the net right after half time, substitute Lieke Martens added the seventh in the 71st minute and Graham Hansen got the goal her performance deserved in the 84th minute.

Photo by Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images

It’s hard to overstate just how good this Barcelona team is and just how clear their tactical awareness is with each other. They always know where each teammate is and they make snap decisions on how to use their teammates positioning to exploit whatever opponent they’re up against. Three match days into the season and it definitely looks like the champions are on their way to another title at a canter.

Around the league

• Matching Barcelona right now result for result are Atlético de Madrid. After seeing off their city rivals last time out, Atlético put in a strong performance to win 3-0 against Sporting Club de Huelva. Ludmila sent Atléti on their way with a goal in the sixth minute, Maitane López made it two in the 18th minute and Mayra Ramírez unfortunately scored an own goal in the 28th minute. The rest of the game was spent with Atlético dominating possession and creating further chances but ultimately not able to add to the scoreline.
• Real Sociedad have also had a perfect start to their season, putting two past Sevilla FC to make it three wins out of three. The hosts had to wait until the second half to open the scoring and it came in the 62nd minute when Paula Nicart put the ball into her own net. Sanni Franssi then made sure of the points for Sociedad in the 75th minute.
• The other team making a surprising start to their campaign is Deportivo Alavés. Osinachi Ohale and Naime Garcia found the back of the net in the 24th and 88th minutes respectively to seal all three points for Alavés against Villareal CF. The team from the Basque region find themselves in fourth and will look to keep the momentum going for as long as possible.
• Athletic Club picked up a 2-1 win away at SD Eibar thanks to goals by Ainize Barea and Yulema Corres. Barea had put the visitors ahead in the 27th minute but Arola Aparicio tied the game up again in the 39th minute. Corres then popped up in the 89th minute to give Athletic all three points and push them into fifth.
• In sixth and level on points with Athletic, are Madrid CFF who put four past Rayo Vallecano this past weekend. In what proved to be a roller-coaster of a game, Geyse, Kerolin and Paula Sancho all scored braces for their respective teams. Geyse kicked things off in the fourth minute and Sancho immediately drew the two sided level again in the sixth minute. Kerolin then allowed Madrid CFF to pull away with goals in the 11th and 42nd minutes of the game before Geyse sealed the victory in the 84th minute. Sancho found another goal a minute later but it wasn’t enough for Rayo to get something from this game.
• After a statement win in their first game of the season, Levante UD have now slipped to two draws in a row. In fact, if it hadn’t been for a red card to Real Betis’ Paula Perea in the 48th minute, Levante could’ve lost this game. Mari Paz Vilas gave the away side the lead in the 27th minute and it took until the 76th minute for Levante to find the back of the net. Betis fought hard to keep their lead but a scramble in the box allowed Núria Mendoza to put the ball in from close range. Neither side will be happy with the draw but in context, Betis will leave Valencia slightly more satisfied than their opponents.
• Real Madrid CF, who started off their season with two losses in a row, almost lost again away at UDG Tenerife. Tenerife are always a difficult side to play against and are even harder to beat at home so when they went up by a goal thanks to Ange N’Guessan in the 24th minute, you feared the worst for Madrid. In fact, the home side were by far the better side and honestly should have put the game to bed but Real Madrid hung on and found the equaliser in the 85th minute through an own goal by Patricia Gavira. Both teams are still rooted near the bottom of the table but this will feel like a loss for Tenerife considering how dominant they were for large portions of the game.