Real Madrid drew 2-2 against DUX Logroño on the first matchday of Liga F. Below are my thoughts and views on the match.
Frohms started in goal. Shei and Holmgaard took the fullback positions with Lakrar and Méndez as the CB duo in the defense. Irune and Angeldahl made the pivot duo. The front four consisted of Caicedo, Athenea, and Eva Navarro with Weir acting as a #10 behind them. It started with Caicedo in the center of the attack but soon Athenea took the role of the false 9. Merle Frohms and Sara
Holmgaard debuted in the white shirt.
There are no pretty words to choose to describe the first half. There was one consistent worry throughout the match that was evident even during preseason—the lack of buildup structure. The double pivot of Irune and Angeldahl seemed to overlap at times and each idea by Irune quickly died down when trying to send the action through the right-hand side.
The lack of a reference inside the attacking penalty area was also evident as Linda and Athenea took turns in trying out the false 9 position before finally settling with Athenea in the center of the attack. Athenea gave the ball away quite a few times and lacked understanding primarily with Weir at the entrance of the box. Holmgaard’s crosses and Méndez’s long balls were wasted from the beginning, the ball not even reaching the penalty area. The midfield as a whole was dysfunctional and invisible for a good part of the game. It seemed like it was nobody’s day.
Surprisingly, there were no changes at halftime. The first beam of light was Caicedo activating the team, the only thing missing were shots at goal. The first substitution came 11 minutes into the second half, with Toletti and Bruun coming on for Irune and Athenea. It took some time, but the team finally got to the point of moving the ball through the midfield. Toletti had more success in combining with the right-hand side which moved the play smoother, even though more often than not, the ball had to come back down and switch to the other side due to Logroño’s press in the wide areas. Later on, the team did start shooting but Miralles also got into the zone and got a few saves to her name to deny Las Blancas before taking the lead. The two goals from Real Madrid being from corner kicks was no surprise either as the team struggled to put it past the DUX defense from open play all game long.
- 33’: GOAL (0-1) by María Méndez: Miralles boxed out the corner kick which ended at Athenea’s feet, she shot and Méndez pushed the ball in.
- 40’: GOAL (1-1) by Isina: The goal came from an error on Irune’s part when she sent a weak pass back that was caught by Isina who then shot a rocket over Merle Frohms.
- 77’: GOAL (2-1): Isina took the freekick given away by Shei, she hit the post, but Frohms touched it and it went in. The goal was given to Frohms as an own goal.
- 90+3’: GOAL (2-2) by Signe Bruun: A corner taken by Sandie Toletti found Bruun on the near post who then headed it in for a late equalizer.
Starting off the season with a draw against a newly promoted side. Too many things left to improve with the Madrid derby one week away.
