Barcelona and Real Madrid in thriller as women's attendance record smashed

Barcelona reached the Women's Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday night in front of a packed-out Nou Camp in a historic night for the club. Barcelona beat Real Madrid 8-3 on aggregate to reach the semi-finals, and set a new world record in the process.

A record attendance of 91,553 fans watched the game at the Nou Camp, with Barca running riot over their arch rivals. A flurry of second-half goals saw the hosts secure a 5-2 win on the night.

Barca, the reigning champions, went into the game with a comfortable 3-1 aggregate lead, and completely dominated proceedings in what was a fairly one-sided display. Club president Joan Laporta was in attendance for the game.

Barcelona fans, as they do for most home games, produced a gigantic tifo message before the game, which on this occasion read: "More than Empowerment". The game was highly-anticipated after a thrilling first leg, and certainly lived up to the hype.

The home side took the lead early on and looked to have put the tie to bed after Maria Pilar Leon scored after just eight minutes, but less than ten minutes later they gave away a penalty and Madrid were level on the night.

After a back-and-forth first 45 minutes, Madrid star Claudia Zornoza spotted Barca goalkeeper Sandra Panos off her line and launched an audacious effort from 45 yards which flew into the net.

Just when it seemed Madrid were going to get back into the tie, however, Barca went all-out attack and bagged three goals in the space of ten minutes. First, Aitana Bonmati slotted home after a neat team move, then Claudia Pina added a third with a beautiful lob from the edge of the area.

Alexia Putellas made it 4-2 by firing home after a solo run, and Graham Hansen tapped home from close range after Fridolina Rolfö put a delicate cross in to the back post to finish the rout with 20 minutes left.

As Barcelona closed the game out, the attendance was read aloud for fans in attendance, and all those inside the stadium collectively rose to their feet to applaud the broken world record.

Speaking after the game, Hansen told DAZN she had never dreamed she'd play in front of a packed-out Nou Camp, and said she hoped the event would be a "game-changer" for the sport.

"I'll have to hold my tears back because this is just too crazy," she said. "It's one thing to play in Camp Nou when it's full and you're winning 5-2 in the Champions League, but the fans aren't going home, they're staying here to celebrate with us. I've never seen anything like it, I've got goosebumps all over the place.

"It's not only 91,500 here tonight, it's 91,500 Barca fans here. They've been singing all game, they've been amazing, it's something I never dreamed of happening and here today we did it. Hopefully it isn't the last time this happens.

"Women's football is more than just women's football, you can absolutely make money on it, look at this tonight. It's not just 91,000 here, it's 91,000 having fun. If you're having fun, people will want to repeat it. This is going to be a game-changer, not just for our team but for the women's game."