Lucy Bronze & Keira Walsh: Barcelona pushing England duo to greater heights

Bronze (left) and Walsh joined Barcelona successful 2022 aft leaving Manchester City

"Having the champion players successful the satellite makes it easier to triumph games."

The duo - portion of Sarina Wiegman's Euro 2022-winning broadside - had already placed themselves among the world's champion players earlier they moved to Barcelona.

Bronze agreed to articulation the Catalan club successful June aft her declaration with Manchester City expired portion Walsh signed from City successful a women's world-record £400,000 deal successful September.

Both players are present thriving for the Spanish side, who are 10 points wide astatine the apical of the Primera Division and connected people for a 4th consecutive league title.

The nine are besides hoping to adhd a 2nd Champions League trophy to the silverware postulation arsenic they hole to instrumentality connected Roma successful the archetypal limb of the quarter-finals connected Tuesday.

'Massive improvement'

Bronze, 31, had acquisition of playing shot overseas with Lyon betwixt 2017 and 2020, but it was a caller acquisition for Walsh, who near her puerility nine successful England 8 years aft making her debut.

As good arsenic seeing improvements successful her footballing ability, Walsh believes she has go a amended squad subordinate since her determination to Spain.

"Attempting to larn a caller connection and experiencing a caller civilization and seeing things differently, it has made maine a amended team-mate," the 25-year-old said.

"Then connected the pitch, I'm decidedly seeing monolithic improvement. The mode I determination and however accelerated I deliberation and that is from playing with the champion players successful the world."

For Man City, Walsh played successful the accepted fig six role, screening the defence and spraying passes retired wide for the wingers to attack.

However, for Barcelona, her responsibilities arsenic a antiaircraft midfielder person changed dramatically.

"The biggest alteration betwixt present and City is the fig six would beryllium told to basal inactive and conscionable clasp abstraction and fto different players travel into the game," Walsh said.

"In England, it's astir getting the shot wide and letting the wingers spell 1 versus one, whereas present it is abbreviated passes and trying to find pockets of space.

"It's a batch much method and you are ever connected the move."

Bronze, who joined the Catalan broadside 2 months earlier Walsh, besides said she had to "learn a batch of things" erstwhile she arrived astatine Barcelona but being uncomfortable successful a caller situation has made her a amended footballer.

"I'm comfy being uncomfortable and I privation to beryllium pushed and challenged," Bronze said.

"You consciousness uncomfortable a small spot but erstwhile you larn and recognize the styles of play, your crippled goes to different level."

'Champions League is the pinnacle'

Barcelona are among the favourites to triumph this year's Champions League, being the lone squad different than Lyon to triumph the tourney successful the past 7 years.

The Spanish broadside lifted the trophy successful 2021 erstwhile they thrashed Emma Hayes' Chelsea broadside 4-0 successful the final.

Bronze believes the Champions League is the "pinnacle" for Barcelona.

"We are 1 of the favourites successful the contention and we cognize we are susceptible of winning it and beating the teams near successful it," she said.

"There are a mates teams who volition deliberation the aforesaid and rightly so.

"We are doing good successful the league and we are coming into the concern extremity of the play and we volition beryllium afloat focused connected the Roma crippled erstwhile it comes and getting done to the semi-final."

'No fanbase similar it'

The further Barcelona get successful the Champions League, the much opportunities Bronze and Walsh volition person to play astatine the Nou Camp.

In November, the England brace got their archetypal sensation of Champions League nights astatine the iconic stadium erstwhile they bushed Bayern Munich 3-0 successful beforehand of 46,967 fans.

They became the archetypal English players to correspond Barcelona astatine the Nou Camp since Gary Lineker successful 1989.

"I person ne'er played successful beforehand of a fanbase similar Barca's," Walsh said.

"It's not conscionable astir women's football, it's astir bully shot and Barca fans admit that. It's not promoting it arsenic 2 abstracted sports but conscionable pistillate players who are method and tactical."