After two defeats from two possible – Eintracht Frankfurt (1-2) and Benfica (0-1) – the toughest possible opposition awaited Rosengård in the Champions League in the form of Barcelona.

The defending champion team. The best female player in the world in the form of Spain's Aitana Bonmatí. A plethora of national team players and several World Championship gold medalists.

Then the match in front of 4,122 spectators at Malmö IP ended in a 0-6 defeat for Rosengård.

“It sucks”

– I'm proud of the work effort and proud of a lot of our defensive play, but it sucks losing 6-0, said forward Olivia Schough.

However, for just over half an hour, the home team resisted well and was able to repeatedly threaten the big Catalan club, which was missing the long-injured Swedish national team star Fridolina Rolfö.

– I still think we get along pretty well in defensive play, especially in the first half. Then it's sad that we were down 3-0 after the first one anyway, a bit of a pointless goal, says defender Jessica Wik.

It was Wik who, in the 16th minute, unfortunately responded with an own goal by heading home a low cross from Bonmatí, who was one of the main players when Spain won the gold at the World Cup this summer.

– It's unfortunate and sad that this happens in a match like this. Even if this is precisely the first goal, otherwise you might have been able to live a little longer with this zero, explains Jessica Wik.

Almost immediately after the kick-off, Rosengård almost equalized, but Barcelona goalkeeper Sandra Paños managed to head Hanna Andersson's long-range shot into the crossbar.

Instead, Barcelona made it 2-0 in the 37th minute and, just before the break, went 3-0 behind Angel Mukasa in the home goal. In the end, the defeat figures were written between 0 and 6 after three away goals in the second half as well.

– It's a shame. They are competent. It's hard to resist that long. We have a lot to take with us, but not much to work on anyway, says Jessica Wik.

Face Barcelona again

Barcelona could broadcast their squad, but Rosengård has a long injury list. Compared to the Benfica game at the end of November, it was packed with players like Mai Kadowaki and Caroline Seger, who recently announced the end of her 18-year national team career.

– The whole season was very affected by injuries. It's sad not to be able to put together a team and play with the same eleven, says Wik.

Barcelona have a maximum of nine points and an impressive goal difference of 14-1. Rosengård is a giant of the group with zero points. Next week – four days before Christmas Eve – Barcelona will be away from home again. The last two matches are played in January.