Player Ratings: Breidablik 0 - 3 Real Madrid Femenino; UWCL

Real Madrid traveled to snowy Iceland for Alberto Toril’s 2nd game in charge. Toril lined up in a 4-4-2 with Asllani alongside Esther up top and Teresa Abelleira and Zornoza in the dpuble pivot. Madrid dominated proceedings in what were some tough playing conditions, as Asllani bagged a first half brace and Zornoza converted from close range in the second half. This win means that Las Blancas have now qualified for the knockout stages of the competition in their debut season. The game also marked the return of Marta Cardona.

Here are the player ratings from the game.

GK: Misa — 7/10

Misa wasn’t called into action much in the first half apart from one time she got off her line to act as a sweeper keeper in the 6th min. In the 2nd half Madrid took their foot of the pedal and let Breidablik have some moments where they tested the GK. Misa was able to match it most of the time, although weather conditions made ball collection a little tougher than usual.

LB: Marta Corredera — 6.5/10

Corredera who played as the LB had the second most touches in the game but her influence wasn’t as high. Playing on the left meant she had to move it onto her dominant foot to cross which didn’t help her cause. Defensively the attackers got the better of her occasions and she was sloppy in possession.

LCB: Babett Peter — 6.5/10

Babett was decent in the game. She was solid in 1v1 defensive situations but often got dragged out of position quite easily.

RCB: Rocío Gálvez — 6.5/10

The CBs weren’t called into action a lot during the game but when they were they didn’t look entirely convincing. Rocio let loose of the marker quite easily, was shaken off by the attackers pretty easily and was pulled out pretty easily.

RB: Kenti Robles — 7.5/10

Kenti had a good game where she worked well in tandem with Athenea and Asllani and they formed triangles on the right. She bombed into the box on occassions and fired away. She was a good two way threat throughout the game.

CM: Teresa Abelleira — 8/10

Teresa absolutely controlled the game. She was the passing metronome for Madrid and everything went through her. She was good with her distribution considering the weather conditions again and helped Madrid dictate tempo in the first half. She was solid in her defensive duels as well helping Madrid regain the ball back swiftly.

CM: Claudia Zornoza — 7/10

Zornoza had a decent game that she capped off with a goal towards the end. In the early proceedings she managed to get on the end of a loose ball but her shot went over. Her deliveries from set-pieces were good and often caused problems in the box. She didn’t really keep track of runners from midfield.

RW/LW: Athenea del Castillo — 7/10

Athenea was at her usual self, bombarding the opposition defense and casually pulling off nutmegs and just being an overall threat in general. She lacked the precision on her final balls but her presence is unsettling for opposition markers. She later switched to the left hand side.

LW: Caroline Møller Hansen — 7/10

Møller played well off Asllani’s balls and fed some good crosses into the box, none found its intended target but still were a cause of worry for the opposition. She had a good combination with Athenea on the right side where her cutback found Athenea in the box but the youngster’s shot went wide.

SS/AM: Kosovare Asllani — 8/10

Asllani was back and among the goals again. She scored twice in the first half to open her UWCL account for Real Madrid. She was fantastic playing off of a striker and doing the playmaking bits that she excels at. Her drifting out wide into half spaces to create overloads caused Breidablik all sorts of problems and helped Madrid create crossing opportunities. She displayed her quick feet to draw a penalty as well. Her first goal displayed her anticipation to get on the end of what was a loose ball after a mistimed hit from Kenti.

ST: Esther González — 7/10

Esther didn’t have the best of games individually but her presence opened up avenues for Asllani. She did have a chance early on but was called offside.

Substitutes

ST: Nahikari — 6.5/10 (replaced Esther; 57’)

Nahikari didn’t have the best of appearances but could have had herself a goal. She had her shot saved in the 83rd minute and had a header opportunity early on which went wide.

RW/LW: Lorena Navarro — 7/10 (replaced Møller; 57’)

Lorena was good on the ball. Her touches were brilliant to escape pressure and draw fouls. She was very dynamic and moved across the pitch to offer support wherever necessary.

AM: Maite Oroz — 7/10 (replaced Kosovare Asllani; 71’)

Maite had a quiet appearance from the bench. She was allowed to play slightly higher up the pitch with Teresa and Zornoza playing deeper. She helped calm things down in possession.

RW: Marta Cardona — 7/10 (replaced Athenea; 71’)

Her ball carrying was great. She was allowed time and space to shoot and tried her luck from outside the box but it went wide. It was her ball that resulted in a scramble in the box after Nahikari’s shot was saved for Real Madrid’s 3rd goal. Good to have her back.

RB: Lucía Rodríguez — NA (Replaced Kenti in 83rd minute)

Lucía was brought on keeping in mind the looming Clásico against Barcelona at the weekend.