A world record was shattered on Wednesday night after 91,553 fans packed into the Camp Nou to watch the Uefa Women’s Champions League quarter-final second leg clash between Spanish rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid. The attendance is the highest ever for a women’s football match, surpassing the previous record of 90,185 who watched the 1999 Fifa Women’s World Cup final between the United States and China at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
It was a “day of celebration” for Barcelona fans and for women’s football fans in general, said Spanish newspaper Marca. When the Blaugrana arrived at the stadium thousands of people, “including a considerable number of women and children”, waved their flags and scarves. The Barça supporters encouraged their players with chants and created a “real atmosphere”. Real Madrid were greeted with “deafening whistles”.
Defending champions Barça took a 3-1 aggregate lead into the second leg of the quarter-final. And at the Camp Nou they produced a “sensational Clasico display” to thrash Real 5-2 on the night to reach the semi-finals, the BBC reported. After their 8-3 aggregate victory over Real, Barça will now face Arsenal or Wolfsburg in the last four.
This was an “extraordinary, historic occasion”, said Sid Lowe in The Guardian. “They haven’t had a night quite like this here for a long time, maybe ever” and when the full-time whistle went “no one wanted to go home”. The lap of honour “had been long; the night would be even longer. Noisy, too”.
Barcelona captain Alexia Putellas was left “speechless” after playing in front of the record 91,553 crowd. “This has been utterly magical,” the Ballon d’Or winner said. “When the match finished the fans simply didn’t want to go home, there was such a connection between them and us while we celebrated. I saw a lot of girls, children with that spark in their eyes. It’s amazing to be part of history.”
