Soccer-Spain cruise to 4-0 first-leg win over Sweden in Nations League semi

MALAGA, Spain, Oct 24 (Reuters) – Alexia Putellas and Claudia Pina netted two goals apiece as Spain cruised to an easy 4-0 victory over Sweden in the first leg of their Women's Nations League semi-final on Friday, taking a commanding lead ahead of the return in Gothenburg next week. Putellas fired a rocket of a free kick into the top corner in the 11th minute and Pina doubled the home side's advantage in the 32nd minute with a well-placed finish. Three minutes later Pina hit the crossbar and Putellas was on hand to tap in the rebound as the home side completely out-classed the Swedes in the first half. Although the visitors did better after the break, Pina struck her second late on to complete the rout. Earlier in the evening, Germany beat France 1-0 in Duesseldorf to take a slender lead into Tuesday's second leg, with the victorious semi-finalists set to contest the two-legged final on Nov 28 and Dec 2. (Reporting by Philip O'Connor, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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