Unión Vecinal Trinidad 4-8 Barça: Big win and into the final!

A 4-8 victory for Barça against Unión Vecinal Trinidad to assure a place in the 2023 Intercontinental Cup final. Edu Castro's side controlled the game after scoring three quick goals in the first half and will now face Porto (1.00am CET 19 February).

Lively start

Barça came out of the blocks quickly, João Rodrigues hitting the bar with the first chance. Carles Grau also showed his worth at the other end, standing tall to save a Carlitos López direct free hit after a blue card for Xavi Barroso.

The breakthrough came after a penalty on Marc Grau, scored by João Rodrigues (0-1, min. 15). This seemed to stun the Argentinians and the blaugranes took advantage, Eloi Cervera scoring the second (0-2, min. 19), before a good one-two with Ignacio Alabart saw Pau Bargalló grab the third (0-3, min. 22). No further score before halftime and a good advantage for Barça.

More goals and through to the final

More of the same from Barça after the break, Ignacio Alabart with a great pass from behind the goal led to João Rodrigues scoring the fourth (0-4, min. 28). However, UVT started to redress the balance through a counterattack and Emmanuel Rodríguez (1-4, min. 29), before a penalty saw Carles Grau get a blue card, but his replacement Sergi Fernández saved twice.

The home side's errors were proving very detrimental, first Pau Bargalló powered through from his own half to score to quell any thoughts of a comeback (1-5, min. 32) and then Eloi Cervera scored his second with some superb individual skill (1-6, min 39). Again UVT attempted to come back, former blaugrana Carlitos López scoring his farewell goal, before Matías Aciar scored from a direct free hit after a tenth blaugrana foul (2-5, 2-6, min 43).

The Argentinians also reached ten fouls on the next play, Pau Bargalló scoring to complete his hat-trick, before assisting João Rodrigues for his own (3-8, min 48). Still time for a late penalty for UVT, scored by Mariano Ortiz (4-8, min. 48), but the cushion was ample enough to see the blaugranes through the final against Porto in a repeat of the 2018 final, also played in San Juan.

GAME STATS

Unión Vecinal Trinidad 4
Barça 8

Unión Vecinal Trinidad: Martin Álvarez, Emmanuel Rodríguez, Victor Nuñez, Mariano Ortiz, Carlitos López - starting five - Matías Aciar, Facundo Peralta, Leandro Castro, Matías Silleros, Brian Galante

Barça: Carles Grau, Ignacio Alabart, Pau Bargalló, Xavi Barroso, João Rodrigues - starting five - Sergi Fernández, Sergi Panadero, Marc Grau, Sergi Llorca, Eloi Cervera

Goals: João Rodrigues (0-1, min. 15), Eloi Cervera (0-2, min. 19), Pau Bargallo (0-3, min. 22), João Rodrigues (0-4, min. 28), Emmanuel Rodríguez (1-4, min. 29), Pau Bargalló (1-5, min. 32), Eloi Cervera (1-6, min. 39), Carlitos López (2-6, min. 43), Matías Aciar (3-6, min. 43), Pau Bargalló (3-7, min. 44), João Rodrigues (3-8, min. 48), Mariano Ortiz (4-8, min. 48)

Referees: Franco Ferrari and Silvia Coelho. Blue cards for Xavi Barroso and Carles Grau (Barça). Fouls: 11-11