Barcelona cruises into 5th straight Women’s Champions League semifinal

Barcelona advanced 6-1 on an aggregate and will face defending champion Lyon or Chelsea in April’s semifinals.

Barcelona forward Caroline Graham vies for the ball with Roma defender Moeka Minami during the UEFA Women’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg at the Camp Nou stadium on March 29, 2023.

Barcelona cruised into the last four of the Women’s Champions League for the fifth straight year by routing Roma 5-1 in the second leg of the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Barcelona advanced 6-1 on an aggregate and will face defending champion Lyon or Chelsea in April’s semifinals.

Lyon beat Barcelona 3-1 in last year’s final.

Fridolina Rolfo scored twice in the first half and Mapi Leon added another to make it 3-0 by the break. Asisat Oshoala and Patri Guijarro scored two more shortly after the interval before Annamaria Serturini netted a consolation goal for Roma.

After winning the opening leg 1-0 at Stadio Olimpico in Rome in front of a record-setting crowd of 39,454, Barcelona dominated from the start at Camp Nou.

Oshoala knocked down a cross for unmarked Rolfo in the 11th minute to fire home a low shot from 10 meters (yards) to double the aggregate lead.

Some 20 minutes later, Leon unleashed an unstoppable left-foot drive from well outside the area that gave diving Roma goalkeeper Camelia Ceasar no chance.

In first-half stoppage time, Caroline Graham Hansen broke down the right to provide a precise cross for Rolfö at the far post to tap in her second.

Just seconds into the second half, Aitana Bonmati presented another perfectly timed cross from the right for Oshoala to make it 4-0 from close range. And minutes later, Guijarro headed in Hansen’s corner for the fifth.