Montpellier v FC Barcelona: Confident draw to start (1-1)

Irene Del Río puts Barça into the lead in first preseason friendly but the French side equalise four minutes from the end

All eyes on Nyon

On Thursday at 1.30pm CET, Barça will find out who they are playing in the round of 32 of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

The Barça women’s team were in Montpellier on Wednesday for the first friendly of the preseason. Against one of the strongest sides in the French championship, Irene Del Río capped a fine first half by putting the Catalans in the lead, but the home side pulled level with just four minutes left on the clock. Former Barça player Virginia played all ninety minutes for Montpellier and was especially active in the second half.

Great debut for ‘Ille’

Manager Xavi Llorens played completely different elevens in each half and made several changes towards the end as well to make sure all of his squad got a game. And that was despite seven players being out through injury. His side started strong, and the game was just seven minutes old when Irene Del Río, in her first game for the team, beat the Montpellier keeper with a fine left-footed shot. Thanks to some fine defending from the visitors and an inspired performance from Jenni, that was how things remained until the break.

Late draw

After the restart, the French side started pushing harder in search of a goal, with internationals Alves and Jakobsson looking especially dangerous, but Barça managed to keep them at bay until there were just four minutes remaining. Jakobsson pounced on the rebound after a free kick from the wing, and tapped the ball into an empty net. It was frustrating to concede a late goal but that took nothing away from a very impressive performance from the women in their first outing after the summer break.

On Sunday at the Ciutat Esportiva they will play another French club, Albi.

Source: http://ift.tt/1EEop0e