LONDON: Linda Caicedo shined on a rainy evening in the Spanish capital as Real Madrid beat Arsenal 2-0 in the first leg of the women’s Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Eight-time champion Lyon is eyeing the semifinals after a 2-0 win at Bayern Munich in their first-leg quarterfinal thanks to goals from Tabitha Chawinga and Melchie Dumornay.
Bayern goalkeeper Maria-Luisa Grohs saved Lindsey Heaps’ penalty before the break and made a host of other saves, too.
Caicedo, the 20-year-old Colombia star, opened the scoring in Madrid’s Alfredo di Stéfano Stadium and proved a constant source of torment for the Arsenal defenders. Substitute Athenea grabbed the second goal late to put the Spanish side in a promising position to reach the semifinals.
Caicedo capitalized on Arsenal defender Leah Williamson’s botched effort to cut out Signe Bruun’s pass when she took a couple of strides forward to hold off Arsenal’s Emily Fox and fired the ball inside the left post in the 22nd minute.
Beth Mead went closest for Arsenal before the break.
Madrid suffered a blow in the 63rd when Melanie Leupolz went off with an apparent right knee injury after kicking the ball. The 16-year-old Irune Dorado went on in the German midfielder’s place.
Arsenal responded with a period of sustained pressure, albeit without reward, and Athenea scored on a counterattack in the 82nd. Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger got her hand to the ball but couldn’t keep Athenea’s powerful shot out.
“We knew how to endure,” Madrid coach Alberto Toril said. “In the Champions League there are important matches that you need to know how to play and that have many mini-matches within the games, and I think we did very well.”
Lyon and Arsenal will host their respective second-leg quarterfinal matches next Wednesday.
Madrid, a powerhouse in men’s soccer with a record 15 European titles, are bidding to reach the semifinals for the first time. The Spanish club was late to women’s soccer in comparison to rivals, only forming its women’s team after completing a merger and acquisition of another women’s soccer club in 2020.
The big clubs’ belated investments in women’s football have had an adverse effect on clubs like Sweden’s Umeå IK and Germany’s Turbine Potsdam.
The other quarterfinal matches are on Wednesday, when Wolfsburg face defending champion Barcelona at home, before Manchester City host English rival Chelsea.
