/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/JFA2SLZ7WFEXLKEZWS2UNF3F6U.jpg "The long-awaited return of Alexia Putellas, crowned with a goal against Real Sociedad | Soccer | Sports")
The rain and fog in Zubieta were not, a priori, the best scenario, neither for Real Sociedad nor for FC Barcelona. It poured harder as the match progressed, and the goals of the azulgranas fell at the rhythm of the downpour: Salma Paralluelo repeated poker, the young Vicky López demonstrated with a goal a well-deserved ownership and Graham Hansen scored another goal for his personal counter. But someone was still missing: Alexia Putellas. 117 days of agonizing wait, 20 games without stepping on the pitch, an arthroscopy that restored his smile, almost four months under a media storm in which the buzz of his renewal and his complicity with Barça when he left for the training camp echoed. Spanish selection. Alexia waited in the eye of the hurricane, and this Sunday she went out to get wet once morest Real Sociedad and score her team’s seventh goal in the 81st minute. “I hope that from now on everything will be much more happy than what she has had until now . Because of the bad luck she had,” veteran Irene Paredes said smiling regarding Alexia following the match once morest Natalia Arroyo’s team. It continued to rain in Zubieta, but the storm around Alexia is already beginning to subside. And the way he likes the most: playing football.
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Elene Lete, Ana Tejada, Manuela Vanegas, Ane Etxezarreta, Izarne Sarasola, Jacqueline Owusu, Haizea Uranga, Elene Guridi, Iris Arnaiz, Cecilia Marcos and Mirari Uria
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Cata Coll, Lucy Bronze, Martina Fernández, Ona Batlle, Irene Paredes, Vicky López, Keira Walsh, Mariona Caldentey, Caroline Graham Hansen, Salma Paralluelo and Esmee Brugts
Goals 0-1 min. 14: Vicky López. 0-2 min. 21: Salma Paralluelo. 0-3 min. 24: Salma Paralluelo. 0-4 min. 43: Salma Paralluelo. 0-5 min. 51: Salma Paralluelo. 0-6 min. 56: Caroline Graham Hansen. 0-7 min. 80: Alexia Putellas. 1-7 min. 82: Amaiur Sarriegi.
Referee Andrea Firvida Fernandez
Yellow cards Irene Paredes (min. 8)
“I am very happy and content. Finally I can do what I like most, which is play, compete and win. I really want to continue adding, to enjoy the field with my teammates and to continue winning everything,” Putellas explained following the game. The two-time Ballon d’Or winner highlighted that the goal had been “anecdotal.” “I have seen her around, she has fallen on me and inside. It’s more for the good feelings, feeling good and the connections with my teammates. “It’s as if three months haven’t passed,” Putellas added.
In the penultimate game for Jonatan Giráldez’s team, echoes of Alexia’s name were heard throughout San Mamés: it was her first call-up with Barcelona almost four months following her discomfort. A fateful blow to his well-known left knee – the one that suffered a cruciate ligament tear – on November 14 in a Champions League group stage match once morest Benfica forced the 11 of Barcelona to stop. All the tests ruled out a serious injury, but the physical discomfort did not subside despite the progress of the days. At Christmas he underwent surgery, and then the countdown began. “He seems like a different person,” said voices close to the Mollet del Vallès player at that time. Alexia was already smiling, and her recovery began to meet the expected deadlines, although she never wanted to fight once morest the schedule. The most important thing was to play once more.
And he has done it with Barcelona. Despite traveling with the Spanish National Team and being in the squad for the Nations League final, Alexia watched the game from the bench. In the first leg of the Queen’s Cup semi-final on March 7 once morest Athletic Club, the captain waited under a blanket for the entire match. Although she did not debut, Fridolina Rolfö did, who had missed the entire season following meniscus surgery in September. “It will give us rotations, rest, it will allow all the players to participate in the same way they are doing now,” said Jonatan Giráldez before the match in San Mamés. The return of both is key at the current moment of the season. This month FC Barcelona faces a stretch full of matches – eight in total -: two Queen’s Cup matches, another two in the Champions League – quarter-final round trip – and a league classic. The infirmary is beginning to heal, although Mapi León and Jana Fernández are still injured.
“Having injuries come back is always nice. The more people available, the more performance the team will have,” Paredes assessed following the match once morest Real Sociedad. However, Giráldez faces a puzzle: where to place Alexia Putellas on the field. Although before his loss, during the first part of the season, Alexia played mostly as a false nine, upon his return she occupied her natural interior position. But with Patri Guijarro, Aitana Bonmatí and Keira Walsh well established in the midfield, and with a forward line at full capacity with Salma, Mariona Caldentey and Graham, it will be Giráldez’s responsibility to find the perfect space and make all the pieces fit together.
Putellas will have to gain pace to reconcile with his highest level, while doubt remains regarding his continuity and renewal with FC Barcelona. Between his last game and his return, separated by 117 days, there is a coincidence. The day his left knee gave out once more, he scored two goals once morest Benfica, and kissed his shield. In his debut, it only took him 14 minutes to score another goal once morest Real Sociedad and reconnect with the goal. And although for her her goal is an anecdote, it was enough to crown her debut.