Real Madrid Femenino picked up a big win in the fight for the UEFA Women’s Champions League positions. Las Blancas won 2-1 against Levante in Valencia with goals from Marta Cardona and Olga Carmona. Thanks to this result, Real Madrid jump to second place provisionally, leap-frogging Atlético Madrid.

Player Ratings:

Misa — 8: Misa was not called upon often during the match, but when she was forced into action she produced big moments. Early in the match, Misa kept Real Madrid’s lead intact. She made a diving save to tip the ball over the bar. Soon after, the ball was in the back of the net but Misa had no chance to save Esther’s header. Misa also came off her line to prevent a 1v1 opportunity, made a good save against Banini, and fisted away a dangerous set-piece service toward the end of the match.

Kenti Robles — 6.5: Overall, Robles was solid defensively. She struggled in isolation versus Banini but that was down to the Argentine’s individual quality rather than poor defending. Robles had good moments going forward. She linked well with Marta Cardona but her final pass was lacking a little.

Ivana Andrés — 7.5: Ivana Andrés put in a good performance like she almost always does. Ivana dealt well with the danger of Eva Navarro and Esther and also noticed that Maite Oroz was struggling in possession in the first half and occupied her role, taking the ball into midfield and starting play from the back.

Claudia Florentino — 8.5: Florentino was immense today. She was a rock at the back and paired perfectly with Ivana Andrés. Claudia was excellent in possession as she dribbled forward through pressure and was also calm and collected when putting in challenges all over the pitch, especially, in Las Blancas’ own box. This was a statement match from Florentino.

Marta Corredera — 6: Like Kenti Robles, Corredera was pretty good defensively. At times, she was one of only two defenders back as Levante countered. Corredera put in good challenges when she needed to, but she was not very involved going forward.

Maite Oroz — 6.5: Maite Oroz’s performance was a tale of two halves. In the first, one of Levante’s strikers was always marking her. She struggled to get involved deep in possession and misplaced some simple passes. In the second half, she was much better. Oroz contributed more defensively and broke lines to find Kosovare Asllani in space or for her to hold-up play.

Kaci — 8: Kaci’s first half performance with the ball was similar to Oroz’s. But, as the game wore on, she became the most influential midfielder on the day and provided two moments of brilliance. On the first, she threaded a perfect pass to Cardona and the Spaniard finished expertly. On the second, Kaci created the game-winner. She won the ball back and drove at the defense before playing a neat pass to Asllani. Kaci recovered Asllani’s deflected shot and squared to Olga Carmona, who tapped it into the net.

Thaisa — 5: Thaisa really struggled to get involved and did not have many touches throughout the match. However, she did have a few good moments, such as when she made a good driving run at the back line, leading to her shot being saved. She was subbed off for Teresa in the 59th minute.

Marta Cardona — 9: Cardona was her usual self vs. Levante. She was everywhere on the pitch and was there to produce something brilliant when Real Madrid struggled to create. She scored the opener after a sweet touch and a top-class finish. Cardona also lofted a perfect cross to Jakobsson, who should have finished, but the keeper came up with a big save. Cardona was very good defensively. She tracked back and broke up counter-attacks single-handedly at times.

Sofia Jakobsson — 5.5: Jakobsson made a good run at the beginning of the match, dribbling by defenders. Based on this, it seemed as though she might repeat her quality performance against Sevilla, but that was not the case. Jakobsson soon drifted out of the match and struggled to find space. She had a little more luck when she went to the right wing in the second half.

Kosovare Asllani — 7: Asllani attempted to drop deep to help with the midfield progression in the first half because it became clear that it was needed early. She did alright and had some quality moments linking up the midfield and the attackers. She was a bit isolated, as she is whenever Aznar elects to go with the 4-3-3. In the second half, Asllani played as more of an out-and-out striker. She ran into the channels and held up play well. Asllani had a couple of half chances but couldn’t produce the spectacular on the day.

Substitutes

Olga Carmona — 7.5: Carmona replaced Cardona early in the second half. She immediately made things happen on the left and eventually scored the winner. As the half progressed, she had fewer opportunities to get forward and was forced to defend Levante’s forward incursions.

Teresa — 7.5: Teresa came on for Thaisa in the 61st minute and the midfield was instantly rejuvenated. She was calm on the ball and helped Real Madrid dictate the tempo. Like Carmona, her substitute appearance was limited to a defensive role as Levante searched for an equalizer.

Chioma Ubogagu and Jessica Martínez — N/A: The attackers replaced Asllani and Jakobsson late in the match. Ubogagu served as an outlet to counter while Levante piled on the pressure. Martínez did well to hold up play and draw fouls to kill off the match.