Player Ratings: Real Madrid Femenino 1 - 1 Alavés

It was another case of two dropped points for Las Blancas, who continued their rocky start to the season. Madrid reverted to a 4-4-2 diamond with Lorena playing at the tip of the midfield and Esther and Nahikari up front. Conceding inside the opening three minutes after a cheap giveaway, Real Madrid Femenino managed to grow into the game in the first half before completely undoing the progress in the second period after the substitutions. The side is yet to face Barcelona this season and has already dropped 19 points before the halfway point.

Here are the player ratings from the game.

Starting XI

GK: Misa — 7/10

Misa didn’t have much to do in the first half after conceding the opener in the 3rd min. She was quick to leave her line to clear the ball on a couple of occasions but other than that Alavés didn’t really test her much.

LB: Olga Carmona — 7/10

Olga started the game really brightly and was a constant menace moving forwards but as the game went on — especially after the substitution of Athenea — she played a lot more conservatively. She managed to put in some brilliant balls into the box and beat players for pace.

LCB: Ivana Andrés — 7/10

Ivana was allowed time and space to carry the ball into midfield and she did so multiple times and picked out players with her passes. Defensively she covered ground well and had a couple of important interventions.

RCB: Rocío Gálvez — 6/10

Rocio had a poor game on and off the ball. She almost put the team in trouble after her failed clearance fell into the path of an Alavés attacker. In the dying moments, she didn’t look good in duels and her aggressive approach in quickly closing down opponents conceded fouls. Her passing quality wasn’t on display as well.

RB: Lucía Rodríguez — 6.5/10

Lucía looked decent when going forward but the opposition constantly targeted the space behind her to attack and found a lot of joy in the process as well. Her ball carrying was decent too. She played a brilliant ball down the channel for Nahikari early on in the game.

DM/CM: Maite Oroz — 6/10

Maite looked very off beat in the game. Her poor clearance landed right in front of Alba, who put the visitors ahead. Maite somehow missed a real opportunity to give Real Madrid the lead when she went 1v1 with the GK minutes after the first goal. She had a couple more sloppy moments where she surrendered possession, which is very unlike her composed figure on the ball.

CM: Claudia Zornoza — 7.5/10

Zornoza excelled playing in a slightly advanced role playing alongside Maite and Teresa. She showcased her range in passing and picked out players brilliantly with her vision. She picked up an assist for Nahikari’s goal. Her first touch was really great and used it to beat players. The diagonal balls she directed out wide created a lot of threat and allowed the fullbacks to push forward and join the attack

CM: Teresa Abelleira — 6.5/10

Teresa didn’t have a great game. In the 3rd minute, her poor first touch led to the opening goal for Alavés. She grew into the game as the first half progressed and linked well, but looked slow in her decision-making at times and surrendered possession and gave away fouls.

AM: Lorena Navarro — 6.5/10

Lorena didn’t have a significant impact on proceedings. The highlight of her game came in the 25th min, when she backheeled a ball for Nahikari to shoot but the latter’s shot was straight at the keeper. Lorena was good with her spatial awareness but apart from that lost out on duels.

ST/LW/RW: Nahikari García — 7/10

Nahikari managed to score in back to back games for the first time since joining Real Madrid. She had a good game where she dropped off, linked well, and won fouls for the team. All of this changed in the second half, as Nahikari was pushed out wide for Athenea and Moller. This diminished Nahikari’s impact significantly and it affected the attacking play as both Moller and Nahikari roamed into the same space as times.

ST: Esther González — 6.5/10

Esther had a decent game and had opportunities to win Madrid the game but she could only hit the crossbar. A couple of areas Esther struggled with during the game include her timing of releasing the ball and holding her line. She was caught offside quite often.

Substitutes

CAM/ST: Caroline Møller Hansen — 6.5/10 (replaced Lorena; 54’)

Moller played as a part of the front two and had some tidy moments with her link up play. She was dynamic playing up front, moving into areas where support was needed. Her first touch was brilliant but her understanding with Nahikari and Athenea out wide didn’t really shine.

RW/LW: Athenea del Castillo — 6/10 (replaced Teresa; 54’)

Athenea almost won the game for Madrid in the dying minutes when her shot hit the crossbar. The final ball wasn’t quite there from her on many occasions and she cut a frustrating figure. Athenea looked better operating off of the left later on in the half, but that affected Olga’s attacking output.

RB: Kenti Robles — 6/10 (replaced Lucía; 71’)

Kenti had some bright moments in attack but looked susceptible in defense, as Alavés continued to find success attacking down Madrid’s right-hand side. Kenti played a brilliant ball into the box for Esther, who failed to put it away.

CM: Kaci — NA (replaced Maite; 80’)

Kaci made her return from injury and looked rusty while engaging in defensive duels.