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Late defeat on Estadi Johan Cruyff against Barcelona. Blaugranas beat Real Madrid 1-0 thanks to the penalty by Rolfö.
Alberto Toril made 4 changes from the defeat to Granadilla, bringing on Maite Oroz, Kathellen, Kenti Robles and Esther Gonzalez in place of Claudia Florentino, Olga Carmona, Nahikari and Athenea.
Toril’s idea was to play in a 4-2-3-1 with Toletti and Zornoza in the double pivot, while Maite played as a false right winger dropping in midfield to form a diamond in possession. Weir played behind the striker, while Caicedo offered width on the left with Esther in attack.
The game started with typical Barcelona possession with Real Madrid pressing high without the ball as the Catalans tried to bypass the press and look for spaces to attack.
The first ten minutes Real Madrid held firm with Barcelona trying to find gaps and spaces by prodding and trying short passes to find spaces in the 18-yard area.
The first chance fell to Aitana in the 5th minute which Ivana blocked, as both teams tried to size each other up and testing the waters.
Toletti had a good chance to profit off an Engen mistake in the 14th minute but her misplaced pass missed Weie who was through on goal.
Barcelona continued to turn the screw and dominate majority of territory in the middle part of the first half with Real Madrid defending resolutely and not giving them any space in behind.
As the half came to a close, Real Madrid were on the ascendancy with Toletti, Weir, Maite and Zornoza being on the ball more as they began to dominate proceedings and trying to create chances. Weir trying her luck from distance in the 35th minute.
Esther had a good chance on the stroke of halftime, but her shot went well wide as the half came to a close.
The start of the second half was scrappy with both sides conceding fouls and the game was broken up on multiple occasions.
Barcelona began upping the tempo and had a dangerous freekick which Misa saved from Mapi León’s shot.
Weir then had a good chance to score in the 58th minute when her shot was blocked by Mapi after a good run by Linda Caicedo who beat Bronze with ease and found the Scotswoman.
Toril brought Feller on for Esther in the 60th minute to give more pace on the counterattack as Real Madrid defended well and stopped everything Barcelona threw at them.
Patri had a shot wide for Barcelona after a Misa miskick and the Real Madrid goalkeeper made amends by saving a Graham Hansen header from close range.
Toril made more changes with Athenea and Olga replacing Maite and Linda to freshen up the team and bring more energy.
Barcelona opened the scoring in controversial circumstances when a soft penalty was awarded after Salma was fouled by Athenea, although the contact was very minimal and was not enough to bring the Barcelona winger down.
Rolfö converted the penalty with twelve minutes to go, a decision that really deflated the Real Madrid team as Barcelona held on for the win.
This is the closest Real Madrid have come to getting a result off Barcelona and despite the loss they played really well. After also dropping points against Atletico and Tenerife, Real will look to bounce back to winning ways when the host Levante Las Planas next weekend.
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