Report: the women's team slip up on their home return | OneFootball

After the resounding victory in Austria and the home defeat against Barcelona, Atleti Femenino returned to Alcalá de Henares to host Manchester United in the second matchday of the Uefa Women’s Champions League group stage. This was a match of great importance, not only because they were playing at home, but also to continue the good feelings shown at the start of the season and to win again in Europe. With 6 points, they would be closer to the possible cut-off to determine which teams advance to the knockout rounds and which fall at this stage.

Víctor Martín’s side lined up as follows: Lola Gallardo; Alexia, Lauren Lean, Silvia Lloris, Andrea Medina; Gaby García, Vilde Bøe Risa, Fiamma Benítez; Luany, Gio Garbellini, Synne Jensen. A gala eleven, with the return of Macarena Portales and Sheila Guijarro to the squad after recovering from their respective injuries.

The start was marked by several unforced passing errors from Atleti, which the English side nearly capitalized on with a shot that grazed the post. However, the rojiblancas began to dominate possession and, especially on the counterattack, the team posed a threat, with Luany and Gio combining to attack the spaces and pass to the penalty spot. The red defense cleared Fiamma’s shot, and the referee first booked the visitors for a hard foul on Andrea Medina. Unfortunately, the first goal of the match went to the opposition, with a volley from Rolfö in the six-yard box, unopposed, in the 24th minute.

A few minutes before the end, Jannsen made a very rough tackle on Gio, which earned the opponent a red card and left the rojiblanca injured. Macarena Portales had to come on in her place and, in the next play, there was a call for a goal and a handball by the opponent on the visitors’ goal line. Despite being reviewed, the referee indicated there was nothing. After 7 minutes of added time, the first half came to an end.

In the second half, Atleti came close to equalizing after a pass from Luany to Jensen, who nearly scored. The chances kept coming, with a powerful shot from Luany and another from Gaby, and it wasn’t until the 66th minute that Víctor decided to make a change, bringing on Sheila Guijarro to replace Jensen. Despite the constant time-wasting by the English side (understandable, being down to 10 and ahead on the scoreboard), the team kept trying, with Medina threatening down the left and Lloris shooting from outside the box.

Alexia successfully broke up a counterattack from the opposition…but the consequence for her was fatal: a second yellow and a red card. The match was once again even in terms of the number of players on each team. United missed the chance to make it 0-2, and the last changes for Atleti came with 5 minutes left in regulation time: Ana Vitoria, Julia Bartel, and Xenia for Vilde Bøe Risa, Fiamma Benítez, and Xenia Pérez.

The 4 minutes of added time were not enough to avoid the first defeat of the European season, and the second consecutive loss. Everything that could go wrong, unfortunately, did. Fortunately, as far as the Champions is concerned, Atleti still has a strong goal difference heading into the next matchdays.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.