Barça show Tacon a clean pair of heels in nine-goal rout
Barcelona Femení vs CD Tacon: second half
And that's the whistle! Quite the learning curve for Tacon, who ship nine in their opening Primera Iberdrola fixture of the season. There are 29 to go though and Tacon can only really improve from here.
Goooooooooooool! Hermoso seals a second half hat-trick with an incredible curling effort from outside the area, very similar to her goal for Spain at the World Cup.
Four minutes more for Tacon to endure....
Yohana, for her faults in getting the ball out of the danger areas, has made some fine saves this afternoon and denies Aitana a hat-trick. It would be double figures by now if not for the Tacon stopper.
Almost! Jakobsson draws a fine save from Paños - her first of the game? - to force a corner. Tacon down but not out, although we wouldn't necessarily stick a fiver on a comeback at this stage.
It's worth noting that Barça subs Andrea Falcón and Hermoso were both brought in from Atlético this summer and didn't make the starting XI today. That's quite a squad Barça have assembled, as Tacon are finding out rather uncomfortably.
Goooooooooooool! Hermoso again! A great run from Aitana and she looks up to see her international teammate unmarked. A tap-in for Jenni, who's on a hat-trick already.
Goooooooooooool! Jenni Hermoso! That's unfortunate for Yohana, who makes a good save from the Spain striker's first effort but sees it drop right onto her boot a yard out a Hermoso does not miss from there.
Goooooooooool! Great work from Mariona on the right and she tees up Hansen for a tap-in on the far side. The Dane deserves a goal, that's for sure.
Two things stand out about Tacon keeper Yohana... she's a fine shot stopper and reads crosses well, but has a lot of room for improvement clearing the ball with her feet. That was the fourth or fifth time she'd played one short to a Barça player.
Tacon follow suit, Lucia Suárez off, Marina on. A veteran of last season, the defender is making her Primera debut.
Another change for Barça, Alexia Putellas off, France international Kheira Hamraoui on.
Alexia is extremely lucky to remain on the pitch after a stamp on the ankle of Tacon captain Malena Ortiz. Under the new Liga regulations for men's games, that's a straight red. Here, it doesn't even warrant a yellow. It wasn't malicious but it was certainly dangerous.
Gooooooooooooool! What a strike from Aitana! The Spaniard is put in behind the Tacon defence again and takes a couple of touches, dummies Lucia Suárez, waits for Yohana to commit and then strokes it into the open goal.
Tacon have been completely unable to stop the maurauding of Hansen down the right throughout the game and the Dane almost creates another. She's having a fine debut.
Goooooooooooool! Tacon pull one back! Jakobsson whips in a lovely cross and Jessica Martínez places a fine header past Paños.
Double change for Barça, who are brining on Jenni Hermoso and Andrea Falcón, both Spain internationals.
Looks as though Tacon have switched to a 4-3-3 in the second half to mirror Barça's formation...
We're about to get underway for the second half...
Tough first half there for Tacon... how will they react in the second 45?
And that's the half! A bit of a one-sided affair so far, Barça showing complete superiority across the board.
Caution for Leila as she hauls down Asllani on the run through midfield. There was probably no need to as the Sweden striker had nbody in front of her but better safe than sorry.
Goooooooooooool! More great work from Hansen, who looks like the signing of the summer already, and Mariona turns it in. We could have a rout on our hands at this rate.
Post! A cracking effort from Oshoala and it looks like Yohana got her fingertips to that to keep the score at 3-0. Tacon on the ropes now....
Gooooooooooool! Unfortunate for Lucía Suárez, who turns the ball past her own keeper after an excellent run and cross from Denmark winger Caroline Hansen.
Tacon are playing a very high defensive line, which is costing them dearly at the moment. The visitors have hardly bothered Paños in the Barça goal but Yohana has done well to keep the score down to two so far with a couple of decent interventions.
Goooooooooooool! Aitana! The Spain midfielder is played through the middle and makes no mistake, leaving Yohana no chance at all. Expert finish from the number 14.
Barça in almost complete control at the moment, three minutes or so of possession leading to a corner. Tacon are attempting to keep their shape at the back but the home side are experts at picking defences apart.
First caution of the game as Esther goes in the book for clipping Oshoala after another mistake from Yohana, who came out of her area to cover the danger but found herself in no-man's land.
Tacon are betting plenty on the international pair of Jakobsson and Asllani, but they haven't managed to link up much as yet.
An uncertain start from Tacon, who understandably are going to need a few games to find their feet, but they do look dangerous attacking on the flanks through Chioma and Sofia Jakobsson.
Aurélie Kaci was signed by Tacon precisely to prevent that kind of defesive lapse. The France defender has won 10 league titles and four Champions Leagues in her career. Barça made that one look too easy though.
Gooooooooooooool! Alexia! Mariona Caldentey plays in the Spain international and she makes no mistake from close range to open the scoring.
A mistake from Tacon keeper Yohana gives Barça forward Asisat Oshoala her first sniff of goal and she sends a decent hit just wide from the edge of the area.
The teams are coming out on to the pitch now, pretty decent turn-out for Barça's first home game of the season.
Looks like a back three and a pretty attacking line up...
Ah, here we go. Tacon XI: Yohana Gómez; Samara, Lucía Suárez, Esther; Jéssica Martínez, Kaci, Malena, Ainoa Campo, Jakobsson; Ubogagu, Asllani.
Still no official starting XI from Tacon but here are the Primera newbies arriving at the Estadi Johan Cruyff...
While we wait for Tacon's team, here's the story of how this all came about, after Real Madrid finally decided to get involved in Spanish women's football.
And here's Barça's first line-up of the season! Caroline Hansen gets the nod up front after signing in May.
With little time to gel, Barcelona will prove a stern opening test. Last season, Lluis Cortés’ side became the first Spanish club to reach the Champions League final and ran Atlético close domestically. The amount of experience in Barça’s ranks is staggering and the squad practically a Spain Hall of Fame, containing Vicky Losada, Mapi León, Jenni Hermoso, Alexia Putellas, Patricia Guijarro, Marta Torrejón and Cládia Pina. 2017 UEFA Women's Player of the Year and FIFA Women's Player of The Year Lieke Martens wears the number 22 with her international teammate Stefanie van der Gragt in defence. Both players won Euro 2017 and were runners-up in France last summer. Add to that the extra firepower of Caroline Hansen, signed ahead of the new season, and Tacon have plenty of work to do on the tactics board ahead of Saturday’s opener.
In short, Tacon need to hit the floor running. Far from challenging for honours, staying in the division is the primary goal while a finish anywhere within the top six would be quite a surprise. While many of last season’s promotion-winners remain, notably captain Malena Ortiz and her twin sister Samara, it is no coincidence that the current Spain squad is dominated by Barcelona and Atlético players. Hence, Tacon made some big-name signings to complement the existing squad, including Brazil internationals Daiane and Thaisa, France defender Aurélie Kaci, Sweden internationals Kosovare Asllani and Sofia Jakobsson, Paraguay forward Jessica Martínez and England striker Chioma Ubogagu.
However, for Tacon, it will be a baptism of fire ahead of a testing season. Barcelona, like many other Primera Iberdrola sides, have been around for a long while and are packed with experienced internationals. A glance at last season’s top 10 gives an idea of the quality the league already possesses: Atlético, Barcelona, Levante, Granadilla, Athletic Club, Real Betis, Real Sociedad, Valencia, Espanyol, Sevilla.
While Saturday’s game is not officially a clásico – and Barça keeper Sandra Paños pointed out that the match between reigning champions Atlético and Champions League runners-up Barcelona should be considered the genuine article – it has generated considerable interest due to the Real Madrid connection.
A full and detailed explanation of that deal can be read here but the short version is this: CD Tacon remain CD Tacon, but the draw of Real Madrid has allowed the newly promoted side to attract star names over the summer and the fixture computer threw out Barcelona Femení as their first opponents of the 2019-20 season, leading to inevitable “clásico” conclusions.
In the context of Spain, what the top flight has been lacking – in the opinion of most if not all commentators – is the involvement of Real Madrid. The Liga giants have consistently resisted calls to launch a women’s team but recently acquired an existing team, CD Tacon, with a view to officially launching Real Madrid Femenino in the 2010-21 season.
The Primera Iberdrola kicks off on Saturday with interest in the women’s game having enjoyed a significant boost both in Spain and abroad due to the success of the France World Cup and a record attendance for a women’s league game, Atlético vs Barcelona last season, drawing a crowd of 60,739 spectators to the Metropolitano.