Player Ratings: Real Madrid Femenino 0 - 1 Real Sociedad

Real Madrid Femenino lost 1-0 to Real Sociedad in a game that was tough to watch for different reasons than the matches vs. Levante, Atlético Madrid, and Granadilla. In contrast to those encounters, Las Blancas were the better side for most of the 90 minutes and yet lacked any kind of efficiency in the final third.

For more on Madrid’s overall performance, check out Grant Little’s immediate reaction. For analysis on an individual level, continue reading.

Starting XI

GK: Misa — 7/10: Misa didn’t have much to do except for a couple things: she waded into a crowd on a corner and completely missed the cross and made a very good save 1v1 against Amaiur Sarriegi. The first action was definitely an error, but that is overwhelmed by the value Misa provided the second time she was called into service.

RB: Kenti Robles — 6.5/10: Wasn’t as involved as you’d expect for Madrid’s spells of territorial dominance. She still got forward with typical intent and defended well overall. Played a really good cross in the second half that probably should’ve resulted in the equalizer.

RCB: Ivana Andrés — 7.5/10: Ivana was imperious as usual on defense, stepping up to cut out dangerous vertical passes and covering runs in behind with ease. Her ball carrying and distribution were similarly impressive, but she ran herself into unnecessary trouble twice when trying to play out from the back, which keeps her rating down from an 8/10. Came off at half with a knock (presumably).

LCB: Rocío Gálvez — 6.5/10: Bit of a mixed performance from Rocío. Certainly had her moments against the ball and in distribution, although she definitely had her mistakes in both departments. I might rate her higher if she wasn’t so disconnected when protecting the space in the left channel. However, I do respect that she had to swap sides and defend as a right center-back for half the game after Ivana came off.

LB: Lucía Rodríguez — 7/10: This was the Lucía we’ve been expecting on the ball. Even out of position at left back, she’s way better under pressure and in her distribution than what she’s shown to start the season. She was instrumental in some of Madrid’s best build-up sequences. On the other hand, she had somewhat of a rough time vs. Amaiur. That is to be expected given the La Real attacker’s quality and Lucía certainly wasn’t the only one who lost out to her a few times.

RCM: Claudia Zornoza — 6.5/10: Zornoza was also far better on the ball than away at Granadilla. Her distribution was swift and purposeful and she had a number of long distance shots. Additionally, this was one of her better defensive games; she won a lot of her duels in midfield, which was especially impressive considering that she often went up against Nerea Eizaguirre. While all of this hints at a high rating, she had a few serious lapses in deeper situations where she had to track runs instead of press and she came up short. Her on-ball quality wasn’t irresistible to the point that it can mask that.

LCM: Maite Oroz — 7.5/10: Maite was class and showed us all why Madrid have desperately missed her. Her pausa, passing delivery, positional sense, and anticipation made her the complete package on the night. Aside from cleaning up a few minor mistakes, she only needed a particularly high-value action in the final third to make her my player of the match.

RW: Athenea del Castillo — 5/10: Athenea struggled to get anything going today. None of her isolation attacks came off and she was uncharacteristically sloppy with some of her carrying sequences. This hurt in a game where Madrid really needed some offensive efficiency and/or magic. It wasn’t too much of a surprise to see her removed at the half hour mark.

LW: Olga Carmona — 5.5/10: This feels harsh but I don’t know what argument there is to put her higher. She had her moments offensively (she combined on the right to create a good chance in the 2nd half) and was one of Madrid’s more threatening players, but she made two errors that I can’t ignore: (1) didn’t track Emma Ramirez on the sequence that led to the penalty (and, thus, the goal) and (2) had a bad giveaway in midfield that allowed Amaiur to get a 1v1 with Misa. This is without mentioning a number of smaller blunders. Olga definitely can do and has done better than this.

RS: Lorena Navarro — 8/10: Lorena had another impressive outing, displaying her off-ball intelligence and portability. She was the key factor that allowed Madrid to play straight through La Real’s press and was crisp and quick with her touches. She made good supporting runs in the box and maintained a similar level of impact when placed out on the wing following Nahikari García’s entrance.

LS: Esther González — 6.5/10: Esther was a slight positive thanks to build-up work similar to Lorena’s and was a threat in the box. However, she botched a cross planted straight on her head and miscontrolled some deliveries into the area. That was killer, as Madrid lacked final third efficiency all night. Esther also occasionally needed to do better releasing the ball forwards after dropping deep, which has been an early theme with her this season.

Substitutes

LCB: Babett Peter — 7/10 (replaced Ivana; 46’): Peter did well enough replacing the best center-back on the team. Most importantly, she kept her passing on the ground and helped Madrid continue to play upfield in a controlled manner.

LS: Nahikari García — 6.5/10 (replaced Athenea del Castillo; 60’): Nahikari didn’t have a lot of highlights except for one header, but what a chance that was. She made a textbook run towards the back post, leveraging Lorena’s off-ball gravity, and put her shot directly at the keeper. A chance to make a difference vs. her old team missed.

RW: Caroline Møller Hansen — N/A (replaced Lorena Navarro; 81’): Poor Møller keeps being introduced into extremely difficult conditions and a side she has no chemistry with. It’s clear she lacks rhythm and she was barely noticeable in the 10 minutes or so she played.