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Player Ratings: Real Madrid 2 - 1 Rosenborg; UWCL Qualifying, Round 2, 2nd Leg

Weir and Athenea run the show yet again.

Real Madrid v Rosenborg BK - UEFA Women´s Champions League Second Qualifying Round Second Leg
Caroline Weir and Athenea del Castillo were the standout performers for Real Madrid Femenino.
Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images

Real Madrid hosted Rosenborg BK in the second leg of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, winning the game 2-1. Having already secured a big 3-0 win in the first leg last week, the team eked out another win and ensured qualification to the group stage for the second consecutive season.

Rosenborg started the game brightly. Emilie Nautnes opened the scoring for the visitors in the 8th minute following a pretty good build-up sequence. However, that was the only consolation of the night for Rosenborg, as second half goals from Caroline Weir and Athenea del Castillo put the game beyond the Norwegian outfit’s reach.

Here are the full player ratings from the game:

Starting XI

GK: Misa Rodríguez — 6.5/10: Couldn’t have done much to avoid the first goal. She wasn’t called into action that much during the rest of the game. Her handling of the ball was good, though, as she caught a lot of deliveries into the box with ease.

RB: Lucía Rodríguez — 7/10: A promising game from the right back in terms of her offensive contribution. She formed a good partnership with Weir on the right and did what was asked of her. Didn’t have much trouble defensively either.

RCB: Kathellen Sousa — 5.5/10: Should’ve done much better to mark Nautnes and prevent her from scoring. Wasn’t tested much later, but was still reckless at times.

LCB: Rocío Gálvez — 6/10: A decent outing. Her communication with fellow center-back Sousa was not the best but she still managed to keep the Rosenborg attackers on their toes.

LB: Sofie Svava — 6/10: Not the sort of performance we know she is capable of, but wasn’t all bad either. However, she could have opted for a step-up intervention before Rosenborg opened the scoring, since the cross was made from the right.

CDM: Sandie Toletti — 5.5/10: Was substituted off the pitch in the 39th minute, probably due to a knock. She was her composed self in the limited amount of the time that she played.

RCM: Claudia Zornoza — 7/10: Zornoza continues be one of the consistent performers for Las Blancas. She was good with her distribution and operated well in tight pockets of space.

CAM/LCM: Maite Oroz — 7/10: Wearing the captain’s armband, Maite brought a bit of dynamism into the midfield and was not afraid to take on her marker with a dribble or two. A display that was low-key reminiscent of her peak Athletic days.

RAM/LAM/CAM: Caroline Weir — 8/10: The Weir brigade has taken off and it won’t be stopping anytime soon. The Scot is turning out to be such an excellent signing. She was not good on the left (which wasn’t her fault, to be honest), but, as soon, as she returned to the right, she was great. Scored the equalizer and assisted Athenea’s goal to show that she is going to be an all-round performer for Alberto Toril this season.

LW/RW: Athenea del Castillo — 8.5/10: The 22-year-old’s stock keeps rising! Another game where Athenea tormented the opposition full backs. She didn’t have a good first half, even though she tried to attack space. In the second half, however, she laid the goal for Weir on a platter and then tore the net apart (not literally) with a blistering strike in the top-left corner to gain the lead. What a player!

ST: Esther González — 5/10: Another game where Esther looked largely anonymous and had little to no contribution to the outcome of the game.

Substitutes

CDM/LCM: Teresa Abelleira — 6.5/10 (replaced Toletti; 39’): Was good at distributing the ball and finding outlets, but didn’t do anything fancy or outrageous. Didn’t panic when pressured on the ball.

RW: Naomie Feller — 5.5/10 (replaced Svava; 66’): Might be too harsh to give her such a low rating for just 24 minutes, but she didn’t display her usual electrifying pace and skills even when she found herself in favorable positions on the pitch. Her introduction moved Maite deeper and gave Weir the full-time #10 position.

LB: Olga Carmona — 7/10 (replaced Zornoza; 66’): Olga continues to outperform Svava in the left back position. She was sharp and hit the overlap perfectly to create numerical superiority in and around the penalty area.

CDM: Freja Siri Olofsson — N/A (replaced Esther; 76’): Played in the double pivot alongside Teresa and made no errors during her cameo.

ST: Nahikari García — N/A (replaced Weir; 76’): That backheel nutmeg in the 87th minute was out of this world! She seems to be regaining her confidence and form little by little and that will only do wonders for both herself and the team in the weeks to come.

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