Key events
GOAL! Manchester City 2-0 Barcelona (Shaw 77)
Shaw delivers. It’s quite simple, really: Layzell dinks a ball forward from the right, Shaw gets to it, evades a sliding challenge, and tries to go around the keeper. Coll doesn’t go down easily, squeezing the angle, but Shaw’s finish from the right squeezes through, beating the keeper and the defender sliding into the net. A historic victory beckons.
75 min: Putellas and Greenwood have a back and forth after the Barcelona forward goes down in the area.
74 min: Bonmatí tries a curling effort with her left foot, with the deflected shot looping high to challenge Yamashita … it clips the bar and goes out for a Barcelona corner.
73 min: Barcelona make another tweak, with Rolfö replaced by Esmee Brugts on the left-hand side.
70 min: City have calmed down with their high press, beginning a game of resistance. Walsh has a hit inside the area, but it’s straight at Yamashita. It’s all about hanging in there now for City.
67 min: Barcelona have a free-kick out on the right, with Graham Hansen’s ball in headed away.
66 min: Pina is straight into the action, picking up in a central position outside the area before trying to locate the top right corner. Her strike is not far away at all.
64 min: The Barcelona corner doesn’t cause any bother. Clàudia Pina replaces Engen for Barcelona. The No 9 replaces the centre-half.
63 min: Yamashita nearly gets in trouble playing out from the back as Barcelona break into a press … the visitors win a corner.
61 min: Hemp sprints back on the wing to defend for City; she remains relentless even as City begin to tire.
59 min: Shaw is also back to do the dirty defensive work, heading out the corner. Bonmati gets a shot off from the edge of the box, trying to find the bottom left corner … but Yamashita cleans up.
58 min: Putellas wins Barcelona a corner after Fowler works back for City to intervene.
57 min: And right after my previous entry, a Barcelona free-kick on the left is wasted, sent out for a goalkick.
56 min: Yamashita punches away a curling, inviting ball in from the right by León. Barcelona are getting rid of their rust now.
54 min: Barcelona finally get going, with Graham Hansen playing the ball into the box from the right … the shot comes in … and Aleixandri pulls off a goal-saving block for City.
54 min: Hemp delivers a teasing ball … but there’s no City header on the end of it.
53 min: The game is being played largely in the Barcelona half. Park’s cross from the right is cleared out for a corner by Engen.
50 min: City’s high press continues. Have they, like my Saturday league team, passed around some Haribo at half-time to stay buzzed? Probably not. But they continue to run hard.
48 min: The ball in is excellent from Greenwood, and Miedema has a free header … she glances it wide of the far post. A huge chance.
47 min: City work it nicely from right to left before Hemp plays a lovely ball down the channel for Casparij to latch on to … Graham Hansen brings the left-back down to get a yellow. City have a free-kick.
Peeeep again!
And we’re back.
Now to see if City can keep their high-octane style going for another 45 minutes. Barcelona will surely find their rhythm at some point, right? These lot don’t do losing; they lost one match last season.
Some half-time reading for you:
HALF-TIME: Manchester City 1-0 Barcelona
León sends in a free-kick by the halfway line to the edge of the box … but there’s no damage done to City. The whistle goes and the Barcelona players quickly jog to the tunnel, leaving the City shirts trailing; the visitors know there’s much to discuss during the break. City have been excellent.
45+2 min: Fowler launches a hit from outside the box … but it flies high and over.
45 min: Two minutes are added on.
43 min: Nearly a goal against the run of play, with Graham Hansen played through on goal … she strikes low but straight at Yamashita.
42 min: City continue to rattle Barcelona with their high press; the defending champions really need that half-time whistle.
38 min: Miedema nearly slots in a second for City but is met by a fine block inside the Barcelona area. Gareth Taylor’s side are thriving.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Barcelona (Layzell 36)
There it is! Moments after producing a brilliant save, Coll errs. She tries to get to a corner to the far post, but Miedema heads it back into the middle where Naomi Layzell is, ready to hook in the opener. It’s just reward for City’s first-half excellence.
35 min: Coll pulls off a stunner in goal! Miedema lays off for Park inside the area, whose first-time hit looks to be heading into the net … Coll leaps to her right to deny City. Corner.
35 min: Coll races out of her area to deny Shaw from getting on the end of a long ball from Greenwood.
33 min: It’s been a terrific first 30 for City, continuing to win the ball high up the pitch. But a clinical touch evades them … Greenwood crosses into the hands of Coll.
