Copa de la Reina Final: Levante UD Femenino v Barcelona Femení
Levante face Barcelona on Sunday evening in the Copa de la Reina final. The game will take place at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque. The competition has seen sixteen teams whittled down to two.
Road to the Final: Levante
Levante faced Granadilla Tenerife in the quarter finals. Maria Mendez opened the scoring for Levante in the 11th minute, but Granadilla Tenerife equalised in the 60th minute through Patricia Gavira. Levante managed to grab a late winner in the 92nd minute, with Maria Mendez grabbing her second goal of the game.
Levante face Atlético Madrid in the semi-finals. The game was goalless heading into stoppage time. Then in the 93rd minute, Levante had a deep free kick, left of centre. A long high ball was chipped into the box and the Atléti goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin failed to deal with it and could only punch the ball down onto Rocio Gálvez foot. The Levante defender managed to poke the ball through a congregation of Atleti players to score and send her team to the final.
Road to the Final: Barcelona
Barcelona eased through the quarter final with a 4-1 victory over Sevilla. Goals from Mariona Caldentey, Victoria Losada, Alexia Putellas and Caroline Hansen help set up a semi-final with Madrid CFF.
Barcelona went one goal up in the 16th minute, when Mariona Caldentey cut the ball back for Alexia Putellas to place the ball into the Madrid net. In the 51st minute, Barcelona grabbed their second when a long range shot from distance was not dealt with by Paola Ulloa in the Madrid goal and Bruna Vilamala managed to follow up the rebound to tap the ball home. The third goal came for Barcelona in the 66th minute, when a cross was chipped into the box to Putellas, who laid the ball back to Caldentey. Barcelona’s number nine shifted the ball out of the vicinity of the opposition defenders with her first touch and sent the ball into the corner of the net with her second touch. Putellas completed the win when she passed the ball home from the edge of the box to send Barcelona to the final.
Head-to-Head
The two games between the sides this season have seen comfortable Barcelona wins. Barcelona won away 3-0, then won at home with a resounding 7-1 victory.
Form
Barcelona: WWWWW
Levante: WWDDW
Final Thoughts:
Levante have won the competition six times and will be looking to equal Barcelona’s tally of seven Copa de la Reina titles. Barcelona are the most successful side in the competition with seven trophies to their name and are looking to defend the title they currently hold. Barcelona are also looking to win a treble and the cup would add to their league win and their Champions League victory.
