Fans showed up and showed out for Barcelona, filling Camp Nou for the club’s 5-1 win against Wolfsburg in the UEFA Champions League semifinals.
Friday’s match drew a historic crowd of 91,648, breaking the world record for the most-attended women’s soccer match ever — which the team had set in its March quarterfinal against Real Madrid.
The first-leg semifinal contest against the German team sold out in just 24 hours, according to the club.
Manchester City star Lucy Bronze addressed Barcelona’s sold-out crowds in an op-ed for GiveMeSport Women, saying the Camp Nou matches “showed that women’s football is evolving.”
“There is a fan base,” she wrote. “And if things are done in the right places at the right time, these are the kinds of things that can come from it – selling out Nou Camp in the Champions League, back to back.”
The same atmosphere that led Barcelona to an emphatic and euphoric win against Real Madrid in the quarterfinal was on full display again Friday, with fans welcoming the team in droves as they entered the Camp Nou campus.
A heroes' welcome for @FCBFemeni 🙌🇬🇧 🎙 👉 https://t.co/f55E1HYOtj🇪🇸 🎙 👉 https://t.co/iSzTkUdJVK🇩🇪 🎙 👉 https://t.co/mclc7LRHib pic.twitter.com/N0SLX1DuW2— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) April 22, 2022
A heroes' welcome for @FCBFemeni 🙌🇬🇧 🎙 👉 https://t.co/f55E1HYOtj🇪🇸 🎙 👉 https://t.co/iSzTkUdJVK🇩🇪 🎙 👉 https://t.co/mclc7LRHib pic.twitter.com/N0SLX1DuW2
Camp Nou’s palpable support for Barcelona lifted the team to an early, commanding lead over Wolfsburg, with Aitana Bonmatí opening up scoring in the game’s third minute.
Barcelona Femeni's first ever goal vs. Wolfsburg is scored by @AitanaBonmati 💥 pic.twitter.com/AifZnoFGrW— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) April 22, 2022
Barcelona Femeni's first ever goal vs. Wolfsburg is scored by @AitanaBonmati 💥 pic.twitter.com/AifZnoFGrW
A trio of goals from Caroline Graham Hansen, Jennifer Hermoso and Alexia Putella followed to expand Barcelona’s first-half lead, electrifying the Camp Nou crowd.
OH WHAT A FINISH BY @CarolineGrahamH 😍AGAINST HER FORMER CLUB 👀🇬🇧 🎙 👉 https://t.co/f55E1IgpkR🇪🇸 🎙 👉 https://t.co/iSzTkUvkNi🇩🇪 🎙 👉 https://t.co/mclc7M9i9J pic.twitter.com/Bjsf93AOQi— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) April 22, 2022
OH WHAT A FINISH BY @CarolineGrahamH 😍AGAINST HER FORMER CLUB 👀🇬🇧 🎙 👉 https://t.co/f55E1IgpkR🇪🇸 🎙 👉 https://t.co/iSzTkUvkNi🇩🇪 🎙 👉 https://t.co/mclc7M9i9J pic.twitter.com/Bjsf93AOQi
Barcelona’s unrelenting pressure silenced Wolfsburg and sent the home team into halftime with a 4-0 lead. The German side needed to regroup at the break for any chance at redemption.
Wolfsburg, while slightly more organized in the second half, still appeared stunned following the opening 45-minute thrashing.
Denying Barcelona the shutout, Jill Roord put the visitors on the board in the 70th minute after a long VAR review.
Jill Roord is the first player to score in the #UWCL on her birthday this season 🎉🇬🇧 🎙 👉 https://t.co/f55E1IgpkR🇪🇸 🎙 👉 https://t.co/iSzTkUvkNi🇩🇪 🎙 👉 https://t.co/mclc7M9i9J pic.twitter.com/O0PgeUi9o3— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) April 22, 2022
Jill Roord is the first player to score in the #UWCL on her birthday this season 🎉🇬🇧 🎙 👉 https://t.co/f55E1IgpkR🇪🇸 🎙 👉 https://t.co/iSzTkUvkNi🇩🇪 🎙 👉 https://t.co/mclc7M9i9J pic.twitter.com/O0PgeUi9o3
Not to be outdone, Barcelona added to its four-goal tally, with Putellas slotting in a PK from the spot in the 80th minute for her second goal of the match.
PUTELLAS PENALTY 🎯🇬🇧 🎙 👉 https://t.co/f55E1IgpkR🇪🇸 🎙 👉 https://t.co/iSzTkUvkNi🇩🇪 🎙 👉 https://t.co/mclc7M9i9J pic.twitter.com/D92UP7fCre— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) April 22, 2022
PUTELLAS PENALTY 🎯🇬🇧 🎙 👉 https://t.co/f55E1IgpkR🇪🇸 🎙 👉 https://t.co/iSzTkUvkNi🇩🇪 🎙 👉 https://t.co/mclc7M9i9J pic.twitter.com/D92UP7fCre
Barcelona’s back-to-back record-breaking crowds at Camp Nou show March’s El Clásico was not a fluke but rather a sign of what’s to come.
Next Up: Wolfsburg and Barcelona will face off in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals on Saturday, April 30, at Volkswagen Arena in Germany.