Real Madrid F lost for the second time in a week to their arch-rivals, Barcelona F, this time in a match played in round 24 of the Women’s F League. The Catalans added three points to the current domestic championship standings after winning with a final score of 3-0, in a match in which Caroline Graham contributed significantly in the offensive phase, and Alexia Putellas scored against the team from the Spanish capital. As a result of this triumph, the students trained by Pau Quesada are 13 lengths behind the team from Catalonia.
A few days after they faced off in the first leg of the UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-finals, Real Madrid F and Barcelona F “came to blows” in the 24th round of the Women’s League F, at the same arena, “Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano”. Before this new episode of “El-Clasico”, the Catalans were in first place in the general standings, accumulating 66 points so far, while the team from the Capital was in second place, 10 lengths behind their rivals from Catalonia.
In terms of goal difference, the players coached by Pau Quesada could boast, before the start of this duel, a total of 53 goals scored, conceding, at the same time, 14 times during this season, while the players trained by Pere Romeu had scored 103 times in the domestic competition in the matches in which they were involved, conceding six goals throughout this season in the domestic championship. In the most recent round of the Liga F Feminin, Real Madrid F had narrowly beaten Eibar away, with a final score of 1-0, in a match in which Galvez Luna scored the goal that decided the fate of the three points.
In the Catalan camp, the last match that took place in the domestic championship had ended with a 7-1 “score” success, on home soil, in the company of the Basques from Athletic Bilbao F, in a match in which Claudia Pina and Kika Nazareth each scored a “double” to keep all the points in Catalonia. On home soil, Real Madrid F, before this derby, had won the last two confrontations, in the domestic competition, against those from Costa Adeje Tenerife F and Espanyol F, another team from the Barcelona F region.
On the other hand, the footballers led from the field by Alexia Putellas, among other crucial milestones in the team’s gear, had not lost, away, in the Liga F Feminin, since a match that would be played in November of last year, when Real Sociedad would record a triumph with a single goal difference. Looking at the head-to-head record of the matches between Real Madrid F and Barcelona F, the most recent such confrontation would take place in the middle of last week, on a European level, in a duel that would end with the victory of the visitors, with a final score of 6-2.
Before that derby, at the “Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano”, the two groups would meet again in the quarter-finals of the “Copa de la Reina”, when Barcelona F would prevail in a comfortable manner, scoring four goals and managing to keep the goal intact. In the round duel of the current season in the domestic competition in Spain, the Catalans would win in the same way, with a final score of 4-0, on their own field. The first attempt to score in this game appeared at the end of the first 10 minutes, when Alexia Putellas finished with a shot sent from a long distance, but the ball went over the crossbar.
In the next phase, Maelle Lakrar entered, dangerously, by slipping, and Sydney Schertenleib fell to the pitch, accusing severe pain, but the referee of the match sanctioned the home player with a yellow card. On the counterattack, Barcelona F missed the chance to unblock the scoreboard, when Caroline Graham escaped alone towards the home team’s goal, but the Norwegian player’s execution was easily rejected by Misa. The opening of the score came after an extremely well-placed shot that was sent from approximately 25 meters by the defensive central midfielder, Ona Batlle, the right full-back being also helped by a deflection by one of her opponents.
Alexia Putellas came close to extending the Catalans’ lead when the away team captain fired a shot from the edge of the box, and from the goal line, a Real Madrid F centre-back saved the team led by Pau Quesada in the nick of time. Patricia Guijarro came close to scoring with a long-range shot when she was left alone in the area, but her shot went just wide of the Spanish capital team’s goal. The first time Real Madrid F appeared in the Catalans’ penalty area was about 10 minutes before the end of the first half, when Athenea del Castillo fired wide.
The second half of the match started with a stronger pressing display by Real Madrid F, but the first chance to score belonged to the Catalans, when Alexia Putellas shot from outside the penalty area, but the ball went parallel to the goal area. The visitors’ second goal was scored a few moments later, when a run by Caroline Graham was followed by a pass in front of goal for Alexia Putellas, the Barcelona F captain calmly finishing from a few meters, with the width of his right foot.
The third success of this derby was recorded in the 55th minute, when a cross from Caroline Graham was intercepted into her own goal by the home team’s central defender, Maelle Lakrar, and, despite Misa’s efforts, the ball bounced off the net of the posts defended by the Spanish goalkeeper of Real Madrid F. A new goal opportunity for the Catalans appeared when there were approximately 15 minutes left in this derby, and Vicky Lopez’s cross was intercepted from a volley by Ewa Pajor, the Polish player’s shot being blocked by Misa.
Vicky Lopez tried her luck from a tricky angle, and the footballer who entered during the confrontation shot strongly, to the far corner, the ball being blocked by Misa. At the moment, as a result of this result, the Catalans are 13 points ahead of their rivals from the Spanish capital, and the title fight is becoming increasingly complicated for the team coached by Pau Quesada with six rounds left to play in the domestic competition. In the upcoming matches for both clubs, Real Madrid F and Barcelona F will face each other again, in the second leg of the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, this time in Catalonia.