Immediate Reaction: Real Madrid Femenino 1 - 1 UD Granadilla Tenerife

Real Madrid Femenino capped off their Primera Iberdrola campaign and their final game of the season with a 1-1 draw against UD Granadilla Tenerife. Below is my immediate reaction. Player ratings and post-match podcast to follow.

• David Aznar held onto some of the rotated eleven that beat Santa Teresa 5-1; Samara Ortíz stayed at right back, Jessica Martínez kept her spot leading the attack, and Yohana came in for Misa. Lorena Navarro and Kosovare Asllani sat on the bench, as Aznar went back to the 4-3-3 and gave the newly-renewed Aurélie Kaci her 31st start of the season. Sofia Jakobsson rejoined the lineup and Claudia Florentino got a start at center-back.
• Real Madrid controlled the first half with minimal complications. There were a few giveaways that can be put down to some complacency and miscommunication, but the Maite Oroz-Teresa Abelleira-Kaci midfield triangle largely played around and through the front of Granadilla’s mid-block with ease. As is normal in our 4-3-3, there was a healthy amount of left-sided bias and Sofia Jakobsson took advantage of this by putting in plenty of low, driven crosses following 1v1 situations. Olga Carmona also got free down the overlap a couple times and showed off her class as a ball carrier and improvisor.

• Madrid didn’t create a whole lot of quality chances for all their control — something that mattered far less once Teresa broke the deadlock with one of the best goals of the season.

• Real Madrid clearly took their foot off the pedal and fell asleep in the second period. Cristina Martin-Prieto got in behind the defense and outmuscled Ivana Andrés, forcing a last-ditch challenge that got called for a penalty and yellow card.

• Raquel Peña equalized from the spot to make it 1-1.

• Aznar quickly reacted with a triple substitution: Kenti Robles, Kosovare Asllani, and Lorena Navarro for Samara, Kaci, and Jessica, changing the formation to a 4-2-3-1. However, this failed to give Madrid the necessary jolt. Once you lose focus as a collective it’s very hard to get it back, and Granadilla tried their best to capitalize by generating turnovers and counter-attacking in numbers.
• Aznar exhausted his bench in the 71st minute, removing Claudia and Marta Cardona for Babett Peter and Ariana Arias, respectively, but Granadilla still continued to come forward and apply pressure on goal. Although the result didn’t matter, someone didn’t appear to be too pleased about not coming away with the win.

• Madrid finally got back on the front foot in the final minutes of the game and nearly scored the winner through Jakobsson and then Asllani. Unfortunately, the late burst wasn’t enough and both sides split the points.
• It’s a bit of an anticlimactic end to the season, but much of the euphoria already arrived in the prior two games when Las Blancas secured third place and then second. What these girls have achieved in their first “official” official season has been nothing short of remarkable and following and covering this team has been one of the best rewarding experiences of my life.