Bonmati goal helps Barcelona qualify as group winner in Women's Champions League along with Arsenal

Fresh off capturing her latest global award, Spain playmaker Aitana Bonmati scored a goal that helped to send defending champion Barcelona into the Women's Champions League quarterfinals as the winner of its group.

Bonmati raced through and poked a finish between the goalkeeper's legs for Barcelona's second goal in a 3-0 victory over Manchester City in their Group D closer on Wednesday.

The score matched City's win in the reverse fixture between the teams in Manchester in October and meant they finished group play tied on 15 points. Barca progressed in first place courtesy of a superior goal difference.

Bonmati, who has won the last two Ballon d'Or awards in women's soccer, was named the women's player of the year at the FIFA’s “The Best” awards on Tuesday — the second straight year she earned that prize.

Arsenal became the fourth group winner — and the second from England — after beating Bayern Munich 3-2 thanks to a match-clinching penalty by Spain striker Mariona Caldentey in the 86th minute.

The other group winners were record eight-time winner Lyon and Chelsea.

Man City and Bayern had already secured qualification to the knockout stage and will advance as second-place finishers.

Clàudia Pina drove a low finish into the corner to put Barcelona ahead in the 44th against City, and Bonmati doubled the lead in the 57th.

Alexia Putellas scored from outside the area in the 67th to make it 3-0 as the Spanish champions made a strong statement of intent with a dominant performance.

Barcelona — filled with players from Spain's World Cup-winning squad — has won the last two Champions League titles, and three of the last four.

In the other Group D match, Swedish club Hammarby beat St. Polten 2-1 in Vienna and finished in third place.

Juventus beat Valerenga 3-0 to place third in Group C behind Arsenal and Bayern.

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Arsenal's Mariona Caldentey, left,celebrates scoring their side's third goal of the game from the penalty spot against Bayern Munich during a UEFA Women's Champions League soccer match at Meadow Park, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, in Borehamwood, England. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Arsenal's Mariona Caldentey scores from the penalty spot against Bayern Munich during a UEFA Women's Champions League soccer match at Meadow Park, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, in Borehamwood, England. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati scores her side's second goal past Manchester City's Leila Ouahabi, left, during the women's Champions League group D soccer match between FC Barcelona and Manchester City at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati, center, celebrates after scoring her side's second goal during the women's Champions League group D soccer match between FC Barcelona and Manchester City at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati, left, celebrates after scoring her side's second goal during the women's Champions League group D soccer match between FC Barcelona and Manchester City at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Health officials on Wednesday confirmed the first known severe illness in the U.S. caused by bird flu, and California's governor declared a state of emergency as the virus rampages through dairy cattle in that state.

A person in Louisiana is hospitalized in critical condition with severe respiratory symptoms caused by a bird flu infection, state health officials said. The person, who is over 65 and has underlying medical problems, had been in contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock.

It's the first human case in the U.S. linked to exposure to backyard birds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since March, more than 60 bird flu infections in people have been reported in the U.S., but previous illnesses have been mild and most have been detected among farmworkers exposed to sick poultry or dairy cows. In two cases — and adult in Missouri and a child in California — health officials have not determined how they caught it.

CDC officials said that bird flu is still mainly an animal health issues and that the risk to the general public remains low. There has been no documented spread of the virus from person to person, said the CDC's Dr. Demetre Daskalakis.

The Louisiana illness comes weeks after Canadian officials reported that a teen in British Columbia was hospitalized with a severe case of bird flu. In both instances, the illnesses were caused by a strain of the virus found in wild birds, not in cattle, officials said.

On a call with reporters, CDC officials did not answer a question about whether the new U.S. case and the Canada case had any similarities or differences.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared the state of emergency as cases of the virus were detected in dairy cows on Southern California farms. Previously, the virus had been detected in state's Central Valley.

“This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak,” Newsom said in a statement.

The virus has been detected in 865 dairy herds in 16 states, with nearly 650 of them in California. Raw milk from infected cattle was recalled late last month after the virus was found in samples sold in California stores.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles County health officials confirmed the deaths of two cats from bird flu infections after drinking the recalled raw milk.

Flu experts said the trajectory of the virus in people remains unclear, but they urged people who have contact with sick or dead birds to take precautions, including wearing respiratory and eye protection and gloves when handling poultry.

“We may see more cases of severe disease in the U.S. since cases seem to be growing more frequent,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virus expert at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

FILE -This colorized electron microscope image released by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on March 26, 2024, shows avian influenza A H5N1 virus particles (yellow), grown in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells (blue). (CDC/NIAID via AP, File)