PARIS: A five-goal blitz in the space of 12 minutes sent Barcelona on their way to a 7-0 romp over St Poelten in the Women’s Champions League on Tuesday, while Manchester City stayed top of Group D with a win. Arsenal beat Juventus 4-0 in Italy but remain second in Group C after Bayern Munich extended their 100 percent record with a 3-0 victory over Valerenga. For Barcelona, Ewa Pajor, Francisca Nazareth, Aitana Bonmati, Keira Walsh and Claudia Pina all scored between the 32nd and 45th minutes, before Pina and Caroline Graham Hansen added goals in the second half.

Despite scoring 16 goals and conceding none in their last two European outings, holders Barca sit second in Group D after they lost their opening fixture at Manchester City. “Objective met - yes, absolutely,” Barca coach Pere Romeu said after his side’s second emphatic victory in three games. “Even when we couldn’t score in the first half an hour, we were getting in behind them. And I knew once we got the first goal, more would follow.” Austria’s St Poelten stay bottom of the group with three losses from three. The floodgates opened at the Johan Cruyff Stadium shortly after the half-hour when Pajor slid onto full-back Ona Batlle’s cross at the near post and directed the ball into the far corner.

Stand-in captain Marta Torrejon nearly doubled the score soon after she rose highest from a set-piece, but her looping header clipped the top of the crossbar. Fresh from picking up her second Ballon d’Or last month, Aitana Bonmati nearly caught Carina Schlueter out with a chip but the goalkeeper just managed to claw out the ball. Barca were all over the Austrians. When Bonmati got in behind the defence on the right, her cross was parried to Nazareth who made no mistake on 38 minutes.

Bonmati opened her account in the Champions League this season two minutes later, before Walsh fizzed home a side-footed strike from outside the box in the 42nd minute. On the stroke of half-time, Pina flitted in at the back post to guide home an outside-of-the-foot volley as Barca ran riot. The Spanish forward then completed her brace from 12 yards seven minutes after the interval following a foul on the rampaging Batlle. Substitute Graham added a seventh in the 87th minute. Man City stayed three points ahead of Barca after second-half goals by Laura Brown and Aoba Fujino overcame Sweden’s Hammarby 2-0.

‘Difficult challenges ahead’

Goals by Frida Maanum, Stina Blackstenius, Mariona Caldentey and Caitlin Foord handed Arsenal a 4-0 win in Piedmont against Juventus. The Gunners are second in Group C on six points while Juve sit third with one win and two losses. A superb team passing move unlocked the Italians’ defense with Maanum deftly applying the finish on 38 minutes. Blackstenius, Caldentey and Foord stuck inside the final quarter of an hour to make the game safe for Renee Slegers’ side. “We are happy with the win, but in a few days we will face Juventus again and we will have to start from scratch. We have to think about that game and not look at the table, because it is still early and there are many difficult challenges ahead of us,” Arsenal interim manager Slegers said.

Group C leaders Bayern Munich increased their tally to nine points with a 3-0 win at home to Norway’s Valerenga. Pernille Harder put the German champions into the lead on 10 minutes, before Giulia Gwinn added a second from the spot seven minutes later. Sarah Zadrazil powered home a third two minutes into stoppage time. On Wednesday, eight-time Champions League winners Lyon visit Roma and Galatasaray host two-time victors Wolfsburg in Group A. In Group B, Real Madrid play Dutch side Twente and Chelsea travel to Scotland to take on Celtic. — AFP