The Barça player sits down with GOAL before the first leg of the women’s Champions League semi-final.
Readers want to know how the player rates her season and how Barcelona has fared as a team this year.
She believes it has been a great season. Only one defeat, against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, marks the chart. She describes Barça as an ambitious squad that wants to improve every year and aims to be better than the year before. On a personal level, she is equally driven, intent on becoming the best version of herself and growing each season.
Asked how Barça has progressed this year, she points to the staff and depth of the squad. There is a large, capable team, with many high-quality players and a variety of tactical options. The coaches can pivot between lineups, and substitutes can alter the game when needed. Different roles in various positions give Barça real flexibility, making this year’s side more complete than last season.
The talk turns to players like Salma and Geyse who add unique qualities, along with Lucy and Keira. She notes the squad’s fresh start this year due to several transfers, which presented challenges at first because Barça trains and plays with a different style. After nine months together, the newcomers have adapted, and the team now looks really strong.
Is there a role she plays to help new teammates settle in, given her long history with Barça?
[Laughter] She is happy to help. She chats frequently with Keira, who doesn’t speak Spanish, and with Lucy, who understands more thanks to her Portuguese-speaking father. Early on she tried to assist Keira a lot, and now occasionally steps in when something isn’t understood. With Geyse, she has a special connection, having been at Barça since she was 13 and improving alongside the club for over a decade, so she knows the system and the playing style well.
Turning to the defeat against Bayern Munich, she explains why that result stood out for Barça, a team that rarely loses. Football brings surprises. She recalls losses in the past to Wolfsburg in their stadium and to Lyon in the Turin final. These defeats, she says, are necessary for ongoing improvement. The Bayern match highlighted defensive transition and pressing after turnover, where the team didn’t press quickly enough and Bayern exploited long balls. She emphasizes that Bayern is a strong side with excellent players.
When asked about keeping focus after last year’s Turin final, she says every season brings new goals. Barça starts the year with clear objectives: win the league, the cup, and the Champions League. This season presents a fresh opportunity, with a semi-final against Chelsea as the next milestone. It marks a fifth consecutive semi-final, and the team travels to Stamford Bridge hoping to secure a good result and then see what unfolds at Camp Nou.
The absence of a key midfielder, Alexia, is noted. The player acknowledges the long partnership with Alexia and Patri, explaining that the absence required adjustments. Keira Walsh has arrived, and other players can operate in central roles, such as Claudia Pina and Mariona Caldentey. The sense is that Barça’s strength lies in depth and collective effort rather than reliance on a single star. The interviewee reiterates that the club’s success stems from the whole squad.
Her thoughts on the Ballon d’Or winner highlight the broader conversation about recognition for Spanish players. She declines to focus on awards, preferring to concentrate on daily improvement and winning titles. The ultimate goal remains winning as a team — the Champions League, the league, and everything else that comes with it. If individual honors come, so be it, but the priority is collective glory.
Regarding her own evolutions, she reflects on a shift in responsibility this season. Previously, she helped build play from the deeper positions, but this year Keira and Patri have taken on those duties, leaving her in a more forward, attacking role. She is not purely a box-to-box presence; she defends when needed but now operates closer to goal, increasing scoring and assisting opportunities. This change has broadened her contribution to the game and the team’s attacking dynamics.
She explains how she is learning to capitalize on her new role, especially finishing with both feet and contributing defensively across the pitch. Her early career was defined by different duties, but the last few years have shown a push toward becoming a complete player who can help in every facet of the game.
Her fondest memories come from Chelsea, the Champions League final victory that planted a lasting mark on her career. Winning the trophy for the first time with Barça, scoring in the final after a sequence of patient moves, stands out as a dream fulfilled — a defining moment that underscored the difficulty and beauty of lifting Europe’s top prize.
Looking ahead, she expects Chelsea to be a different challenge this season, with new players and evolving tactics. Every match is a new test, and Chelsea are a strong opponent with talents like Lauren James and Sam Kerr. The football landscape shifts as teams refine their strategies, so Barça must stay adaptable while preserving their own style.
When asked what Barça must do to reach the final again, she emphasizes possession and deliberate, purposeful build-up. The team should create chances while staying disciplined against counter-attacks. Chelsea’s threats involve dynamic attacking players who can influence the tie, so focus centers on neutralizing those threats while exploiting spaces on the break. Stamford Bridge, a venue filled with memories, is viewed as a fantastic stage to showcase the club’s football and chase a historic run at the Camp Nou as well.
On the topic of Lauren James, she expands the discussion to other Chelsea attackers who pose problems. She highlights Sam Kerr, Guro Reiten, and Erin Cuthbert as players capable of changing games, noting the need to study and adapt to each opponent’s strengths as the tie approaches.
Her ambition for a successful journey to the final remains clear. The plan is simple: perform at Stamford Bridge and at Camp Nou, controlling the tempo and creating chances. The aim is to reach the final and leave everything on the pitch this weekend and on Thursday, with the ultimate objective in sight.