Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati named Women's Champions League player of the season
Aitana Bonmati (centre)contributed five assists and four goals to Barca's European campaign. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
BARCELONA - Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati was named the Women's Champions League player of the season on May 25 after the Spanish champions reached their fifth consecutive final of the competition.
Bonmati, recognised for the third year in a row, contributed five assists and four goals to Barca's European campaign but they were unable to lift the trophy for a third straight year, losing the final 1-0 to Arsenal on May 24.
The 27-year-old Spanish international also topped the list of the season's best goals with her outstanding solo effort in the second leg of the semi-final against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Bonmati evaded a challenge from Niamh Charles and steamed through the Chelsea half before lashing the ball into the top corner to give Barcelona the lead that paved the way for another 4-1 win and saw them book a spot in the final.
Five Arsenal players were named in the competition's team of the season: goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar, defenders Emily Fox and Leah Williamson and forwards Mariona Caldentey and Alessia Russo.
Barcelona's Bonmati, Maria Leon, Patricia Guijarro and Claudia Pina also made the list, alongside Chelsea's Sandy Baltimore and Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Melchie Dumornay, 21, who was also recognised as best young player of the season. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Ronaldo says he does not plan to play at Club World Cup
Ronaldo says he does not plan to play at Club World Cup Al-Nassr and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo said on Saturday he did not plan to play at the Club World Cup in the United States, despite being courted by clubs participating in the expanded 32-team tournament. Speculation over the 40-year-old's future intensified last month when FIFA President Gianni Infantino said discussions were underway about Ronaldo playing in the Club World Cup, despite Al-Nassr failing to qualify. Al-Nassr's sporting director Fernando Hierro said last month they were negotiating with Ronaldo over a contract extension but faced competition from a host of clubs eager to sign the five-times Ballon d'Or winner. Ronaldo himself added to the uncertainty after Al-Nassr's season-ending match at Al-Fateh, posting on social media: "This chapter is over. The story? Still being written." Asked about the possibility of signing for another club in the coming days in order to play at the Club World Cup later this month, Ronaldo told reporters: "It's irrelevant, at the moment it doesn't make sense to talk about things other than the national team. "There has been plenty of contact (from clubs), I see things that make sense, others that don't. You can't go to all of them (clubs), you have to think short, medium and long term. "It's something that's practically decided on my part, which is not to go to the Club World Cup, but I've had plenty of invitations." On Wednesday, Ronaldo scored the winner as Portugal beat Germany 2-1 to go into the Nations League final, where they will face Spain. Many have labelled Sunday's final as a face-off between Ronaldo and 17-year-old Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal but the Portuguese forward said he did not see it as such. "It's always been like that, whenever I've played football, whenever I've played a big game it's always been Cristiano against this one, against that one," he said. "It's been 20-something years and it's still the same, it doesn't keep me up at night anymore, it's a normal thing. They're completely different generations, a generation that's starting out, another that's finishing, which is my case. "In reality it's not like that, it's a team against a team. It will always be like that... What I want most is for Portugal to be at a good level, confident that things can go well, that we can play a great game and win against a very good team, possibly the best in the world." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Marc Marquez fastest in Aragon Grand Prix qualifying for 99th career pole
Ducati's Marc Marquez broke the lap record at the Aragon Grand Prix on Saturday to clinch the 99th pole position of his career and fifth of the season, pipping his brother Alex of Gresini Racing to top spot. Championship leader Marc set the early pace when he became the first rider to go under a minute and 46 seconds but the Spaniard was soon pushed down to third when Alex went fastest, followed by VR46 Racing's Franco Morbidelli. But Marc put his head down and produced an aggressive lap, with his red Ducati sliding around some of the curves as he clocked one minute and 45.704 seconds at the MotorLand circuit. "The first lap with the first tyre was clean. I just did one lap and then I stopped because I was already (one minute and) 45.9 without exaggerating, but then I exaggerated too much (on my next attempt)," Marc said. "(I was) trying to be too fast, even lost time. Of course, the riding style for the main race and the sprint is different, but the lap was not the smoothest lap of my life." Marc's fifth pole of the season put him in prime position to claim a record-extending seventh MotoGP victory at Aragon. His team mate Francesco Bagnaia also struggled with stability on his bike but managed to go fourth fastest while Red Bull KTM's factory team riders Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder will join him on the second row on Sunday. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Belgium coach shows faith in shaky defence
SKOPJE - Belgium's defence came in for criticism after giving away a late equaliser to North Macedonia in their World Cup qualifier on Friday but coach Rudi Garcia said he had to show faith in them ahead of their next clash against Wales on Monday. Belgian media and commentators said the team were fortunate to come away with a point from their opening Group J fixture, even though they led for most of the game in Skopje. Hosts North Macedonia twice struck the woodwork and had a strike ruled out by VAR before grabbing an 86th-minute goal to draw 1-1. Garcia, in only his third match in charge, said he wanted to show trust in his defenders for the clash against Wales in Brussels. 'It's a matter of trust. Our defenders need that. I don't want to point fingers at them because we also have to be able to bring more offensively. We have the qualities for that,' he told reporters. Garcia said he did not feel he needed to adjust his defence, which in March conceded three goals to Ukraine in the Nations League promotion-relegation playoff. 'That's not necessary. Like I said it's a matter of trust for our defence. You can't solve that by adjusting the system.' Belgium are heavily fancied to take the automatic qualification berth for the group winners but Wales have taken the early lead in the group with seven points from their opening three matches. Garcia said there were several reasons for Belgium's mediocre showing in Skopje. 'The heat was one of them. But when you're 1-0 up, you can't give it up. It didn't go well. We made the wrong decision far too often with the last pass.' There were also questions about Garcia's changes, after he took out captain Thomas Meunier and talisman Kevin De Bruyne early in the second half. 'It's also a physical issue. And there's also quality on the bench. I substituted Meunier because he already had a yellow card and I need him on Monday against Wales because I only have one right back. 'As for De Bruyne, I also thought about Monday's match. Playing 90 minutes twice in three days is a lot at this stage of the competition. Incidentally, I thought that we regained control after the substitutions due to our physical superiority,' Garcia added. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
