GiveMeSport
·25 September 2022
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·25 September 2022
Mapi León and Asisat Oshoala were on the scoresheet as Barcelona thrashed Villarreal 4-1 in Liga F.
Barcelona are now top of the table due to their superior goal difference, having won both of their matches so far this season.
They triumphed in style at the Ciudad Deportiva Villarreal CF, with goals from León and Oshoala particularly catching the eye.
It was León that started the scoring in the 26th minute, slamming home a free-kick from around 25 yards out.
The ball was struck with such power and precision that Villarreal goalkeeper Elena de Toro had no chance of saving it.
Oshoala then doubled the lead in the 48th minute with a sublime chip from outside the penalty box.
De Toro was once again left helpless after running out to try and block the shot.
Clàudia Pina scored Barcelona’s third goal in the 75th minute, just 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute. She tapped in the ball after Caroline Graham Hansen crossed it in from the wing.
Barcelona’s fourth, an own goal from Villarreal defender Lara Mata, came in the 85th minute.
It was a more dominant performance from Barcelona than their 2-0 victory against Granadilla Tenerife last weekend.
León and Pina are among the 15 Spanish players currently boycotting the national team.
They emailed the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to claim that coach Jorge Vilda was impacting their “emotional state”.
The RFEF claimed the players had threatened to resign from the national team if Vilda was not dismissed.
But the players later protested this was not the case, and they were disappointed the RFEF had made their “private communication” public.
“In no case have we resigned from the Spanish national team as the RFEF points out in their official statement,” they said.
But they admitted they had asked not to be called up because of “situations that affect our emotional and personal state, our performance, and consequently the results of the national team”.
Patri Guijarro, Mariona Caldentey, Aitana Bonmatí and Sandra Paños are the other Barcelona players involved in the boycott.
They have been by Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, two of the most successful football stars from the US.