Barcelona Femeni are looking for their first win of this year's Champions League when they take on Hammarby at the Estadi Johan Cruyff.
The reigning European champions saw their defense kick off on the wrong foot following a comprehensive 2-0 loss in the opener against Manchester City.
While Barcelona are off to a perfect start in Liga F and are two points ahead of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, respectively, the performances, particularly in the first half, have left a lot to be desired. It's something manager Pere Romeu is keenly aware of.
"The most important thing is to win while leaving a good impression. Whether we concede or not, I always focus on defensive details," Romeu said in his pre-match press conference. "The team's main goal is to keep creating chances and pressing for 90 minutes, and we're getting closer to that every day."
Barcelona had a handful of opportunities against Manchester City, including when they were down only one, but they did lack in the pressing area. It was a lackluster approach, bested by Manchester City.
One of the concerns for Barcelona is they seem unable to click when the starters aren't on the pitch. Looking at their results in the league, there are scorelines where Barcelona have clearly been the dominant side. But those scorelines don't tell the whole story.
For example, in their last match against Espanyol, it was the visitors who pulled ahead. Prior to conceding it was Barcelona who had three opportunities to open the score in the opening 10 minutes but failed to do so.
Having rested a number of players, Romeu brought on Alexia Putellas, Ewa Pajor and Caroline Graham Hansen in the second half. The trio ended up proving to be the difference but the fact Barcelona needed to resort to them has sounded the alarm, albeit quietly.
Hammarby won't be an easy opponent either. The Swedish side won their opening fixture and are atop the standings, tied with City.
"Hammarby is a good team that plays direct in attack, with forwards active between the lines and sends many players into the box," Romeu said. "They are aggressive in defense and press high. It's a day to show our best version and aim for 90 minutes of high-level football."
Barcelona aren't used to teams attacking them. This season, while they still maintain the lion's share of possession, it seems whenever a team does get even the slightest of opportunities, they convert. So far, it's only cost them against City but it's something the team knows it needs to correct. Especially in the Champions League.
🗣️ Pere Romeu via @MauricioPriale: "I’m not proud of conceding goals, and the players aren’t happy about it either. Sometimes it’s due to our mistakes, and other times it’s credit to the opponent. We’re working hard to avoid it and hope it won’t continue." pic.twitter.com/FKp0EcEYsE
— Barça Femení (@BarcaFem) October 15, 2024
The opening defeat to City has put Barcelona under some pressure now, making the game against Hammerby almost a must win should they not want to make qualifying out of the group a difficult task.
"We are aware that if we want first place in the Champions League, we have no room for error," Barcelona defender Mapi Leon said.
On paper, Barcelona Femeni are the favorites. A team with such high standards, winning won't be enough for either the supporters or themselves. They need to win and do so convincingly, if nothing else to get the sensations back on the positive side.