Linda Caicedo excelled 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.
The 20-year-old Colombia star opened the scoring 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. The second leg of the quarterfinals will be played in London next Wednesday.
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.
Madrid, a powerhouse in men’s soccer with a record 15 European titles, is 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 soccer have had an adverse effect on clubs like Sweden’s Umeå IK and Germany’s Turbine Potsdam.
Later Tuesday, Bayern Munich was hosting Lyon.
In the other quarterfinals on Wednesday, Wolfsburg faces defending champion Barcelona at home, before Manchester City hosts English rival Chelsea.
