Real Madrid shine and beat Celtic in the Champions League

Real Madrid made no mistake on the second day of the Women’s Champions League and beat Scottish Celtic at home with a big advantage.

Real Madrid won their first victory in UEFA Women’s Champions League after an authoritative 4-0 home win over Celtic of Scotland.

Thanks to a pair of superb goals from Caroline Weir and Caroline Möller, and a disruptive performance from Colombian Linda Caicedo, Real Madrid regained their position in the Champions League.

A 3-2 defeat to Chelsea on the opening day of the competition forced Real Madrid to add a win to stay out of trouble. They also needed to break a run of winless matches in the first stage, which last saw them pick up three points in December 2022 when they beat Albania’s Vllaznia.

Since then, Real Madrid have had too many disappointments. Having to end this streak of bad results to break the wall that was starting to turn to stone, Toril decided to shake up his eleven. He made up to five changes from last weekend’s derby against Atlético Madrid. Oyhane, Marian Mendes, Leupolz and Alba Redondo replaced Sheila Garcia, Rocio, Tere Abelleira, Feller and Bruun.

One thing he didn’t take off was Weir, who showed once again that she is one of Real Madrid’s standout players. The Scottish midfielder once again demonstrated her stunning qualities and decisively put an end to Celtic’s conservatism, which was very closed at the back as a tactical bet to keep the scoreboard level and take individual opportunities to give Toril’s team a scare.

That idea came crashing down quickly in the ninth minute when Weir unleashed a powerful shot from outside the area that curled into the corner of the goal defended by Dougherty. She took advantage of Caicedo’s excellent start from midfield, disposing of two opponents before passing the ball to a teammate.

Caicedo and, to a lesser extent, Athena del Castillo were another of the duel’s agitators. From the flanks, especially in the first half, both were a headache for Celtic, who were kept alive at half-time by the Colombian’s lack of goal (she struck Doherty twice to the body) and by Oikhane’s misfortune to find his groove. stick into the Scottish goal after a shot from outside the penalty area.

White’s dominance in the first half was total. Real Madrid found themselves several steps above inexperienced opponents in the Champions League (playing in the group stage for the first time in their history) and with the competition’s youngest coach (Elena Sadiku, 30), who surprised by putting one of their best players on the bench – Saoirse Noonan (12 goals in 12 official matches this season).

He then came on for the final twenty minutes and, with the introduction of Kroos, improved Celtic, who managed to intimidate Real Madrid for a few minutes. He did this unsuccessfully and paid dearly, because Real, after another hit on the post by Caicedo, returned to their best option with Bruun, Eva Navarro, Tere Abelleira and Möller entering the field.

Celtic’s poor response was a mirage that lasted barely ten minutes. Once Bruun ended the duel with a header from Eva Navarro’s cross, the Scottish team completely fell apart until they were crushed by two more goals marked by the sophistication of their protagonists: Moller with a beautiful Vaseline and Caicedo with a penalty. a point after a sky-high dribble that resulted in a maximum penalty, they won a fair victory.

The debut of Brazilian Antonia, injured at the Olympic Games with her national team, capped a fine evening in which Real Madrid smiled, adding three convincing points to their treasury, marked by the white team’s group stability and Weir’s superb goals. and Møller, who will appear in the photo with Caicedo, the most destabilizing member of Toril’s team, finally winning the group stage after seven failed attempts.