Chelsea came from beating Real Madrid 2-1 and finishing the Women’s Champions League qualification with a record of one hundred percent.
Two consequences from Catarina Macario in the second half gave victory to the WSL leaders in the Spanish capital.
Just like in the WSL draw against Leicester on Saturday, the Blues had to come from behind to secure their position as winners of Group B. Real Madrid knew it all, but a win would leave them in second place.
The hosts also got off to a good start when Hannah Hampton, making her first Champions League appearance of the season, failed to contain Caroline Weir’s (8) shot. try to push him away.
Both teams may have scored the next goal in the first half: Guro Reiten forced a smart save from Misa Rodríguez, while Olga Carmona shot wide.
The Real Madrid captain had a nightmare start to the second half, giving away two consequences in the first ten minutes of the end of the match.
The first saw Carmona trip half-time substitute Macario, who took the spot kick. She sent it high into the net (51), sending Rodriguez the wrong way.
Minutes later, Carmona was penalised for a harsh handball, and with no VAR in women’s club football, the decision could not be reviewed. Macario scored in an almost identical manner to see Chelsea ahead (56).
Despite Real Madrid’s plethora of chances – the best coming from Naomie Feller as she flashed an effort past the far post – they were unable to find the goals needed to leapfrog the Blues.
They ended up in organization B with 12 numbers. Meanwhile, Chelsea has accumulated 18 numbers from its organizational campaign and closes 2024 with a victory.
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor told UEFA. com:
“We weren’t very satisfied with our functionality in the first half. We all sat down together at half-time and told the others that we had nothing to lose. We have a strong mentality and that is vital to win games.
“Macario is a world-class player, she has replaced the game. He showed a lot of confidence by scoring two penalties. “
Real Madrid coach Alberto Toril told UEFA. com:
“These 10 minutes condemned us. There are two consequences that we avoid, they are part of the game. The team then finished well, creating chances. If you look at the statistics, we had more possession, more shots on goal. We are growing. .
“The feeling after those first 8 games, because we also faced Sporting CP before the organization phase, is very good. We have been very competitive and consistent in our performances, and now we will reach the quarterfinals. “
Real Madrid midfielder Caroline Weir on UEFA. com:
“We lost the game in the second half. I think we were very smart, but Chelsea are a wonderful team, it was a very intense game and I think we played well overall.
“It was very difficult to the point of the first half for 90 minutes, but in the end we created a lot of chances and we didn’t take them. I think it was a really fun game to watch. “
Celtic’s debut campaign in the Women’s Champions League group stage concluded with another loss as they were beaten 3-0 at Twente.
A festival in which both teams showed up with the hope of reaching the quarter-finals already over, saw the hosts take the lead thanks to the arrival of Kayleigh van Dooren in the 20th minute.
Celtic then scored two own goals before the break, via 18-year-old goalkeeper Lisa Rodgers and Natalie Ross as they fell to a sixth defeat from as many games in Group B.
While Elena Sadiku’s Ghirls finished bottom of the pool, third-placed Twente ended up with six points, having also defeated Celtic 2-0 in their opener.