Madrid’s superiority swallowed up Celtic this afternoon at the Alfredo di Stéfano. White could not fail after last week’s defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and they did not. Madrid added their first victory in this Champions League thanks to a great goal from Caroline Weir and goals from Bruun, Moller and Linda Caicedo in a match in which they overwhelmed the Scots, with many difficulties in overcoming the midfield and almost unable to worry the goal of Misa Rodríguez, who was off the list of Montse Tomé, the coach today. The dominance was so overwhelming that Alberto Toril’s team finished the first half with 19 shots, eight on target, but the lack of aim prevented a major victory. At times, the match seemed almost like a handball match in which only Madrid attacked, with the Glasgow team sunk around their area.
4
Misa, María Méndez, Olga Carmona, Maëlle Lakrar, Oihane Hernández (Antônia, min. 75), Filippa Angeldahl (Teresa Abelleira, min. 65), Caroline Weir (Caroline Møller, min. 66), Linda Caicedo, Melanie Leupolz, Athenea del Castillo (Eva Navarro, min. 59) and Alba Redondo (Signe Bruun, min. 59)
0
Kelsey Daugherty, Kelly Clark, Caitlin Hayes, Célya Barclais, Bruna Lourenço (Maria McAneny, min. 87), Colette Cavanagh (Shannon McGregor, min. 45), Amy Gallacher (Saoirse Noonan, min. 69), Lucy Ashworth-Clifford ( Jenny Smith, min. 69), Natalie Ross, Emma Lawton and Murphy Agnew (Morgan Cross, min. 62)
Goals
1-0 min. 6: Caroline Weir. 2-0 min. 71: Signe Bruun. 3-0 min. 79: Caroline Moller. 4-0 min. 82: Linda Caicedo
Referee Silvia Gasperotti
Natalie Ross (min. 14), Maëlle Lakrar (min. 63)
Real’s monologue began in the first seconds. Leupolz, starting today in the double pivot with Angeldahl, filtered a deep ball for Athenea del Castillo. The winger got rid of Costa Lourenço, her marker, and put the pass back to Alba Redondo, but the Albacete native’s bitten shot was deflected by the goalkeeper. Athenea was a pain in the neck for the Portuguese defense, from which she left again and again with great ease. Another action of hers with Angeldahl ended in Redondo’s second attempt rejected for a corner. On that corner kick, the ball ended up falling to Linda Caicedo. The Colombian, a footballer with a sensational ability, dribbled past two rivals and mixed with Caroline Weir four meters from the left zone of the front. The white midfielder gave two touches with her good leg to control and launch a left-footed shot into Daugherty’s right corner. The talented Scot already had the play in her head as soon as she saw that she was going to receive near the area without the Celtic players overtaking her.
Madrid’s voracity completely nullified Celtic, who on the first day of the Champions League had lost at home to Twente (0-2), the champion of the Dutch League. The Toril team launched high and intense pressure with which they stole the ball from their rival. The first half was so peaceful for Misa that the Scots did not even step into their area while Real missed all the chances they created one after another. Linda Caicedo, Leupolz, Lakrar and especially Redondo tested the American goalkeeper again and again without success. Just a breath away from half-time, Oihane, who started today ahead of Sheila García on the right side, hooked an early volley with his left foot that hit the post after touching Gallacher.
Real went to the locker room with the feeling that they had forgiven a rout due to a lack of aim and entered the second half in the same way after Caicedo hit the ball against the woodwork again. Toril refreshed the team with Bruun, Eva Navarro, Tere Abelleira and Moller and recalled Athenea, Redondo, Angeldahl and Weir after Celtic were encouraged by several counterattacks with two deflected shots. With fresher legs, Real once again cut off Celtic’s transitions and finally found the reward in their superiority – 29 shots to three of the rival – in a team action in which Leupolz got rid of several rivals with fantastic control. The midfielder then created a one-two with Bruun and opened the ball to the right for Eva Navarro, who put in a great cross for the Danish forward to head straight in.
With the peace of mind that gave them a comfortable lead, Madrid completed the rout in the final stretch. Moller nailed a long shot over Daugherty after a recovery by Bruun at the ball’s exit and Caicedo converted a penalty that she herself had forced after breaking Barclais in the area with a fabulous change of leg. Real signed a much-needed victory after the defeat against Chelsea, their first in the Champions League for two years, which leaves them with all their options intact in the fight to reach the quarterfinals for the second time in their history.
