Real Madrid Femenino: Takeaways from 4-0 loss to Barcelona

Real Madrid lost their 2020-2021 season opener to Barcelona 4-0, but there were still some positive takeaways from the match.

Madridistas were excited for Real Madrid Femenino‘s 2020-2021 opener, a home game against one of the world’s best teams in Barcelona. Las Blancas lost 4-0 in their debut under the Real Madrid name, but all was not bad despite the scoreline.

Here are three takeaways from the match.

Real Madrid might have a great goalkeeper in Misa

Yohana played well for Las Blancas as CD Tacon last season, but Madridistas knew that Misa would be the starting goalkeeper for the 2020-2021 season. It didn’t take long for David Aznar to trust her with a start, as she played against Barcelona in the opener.

Although the scoreline was 4-0, Misa made sure it wasn’t double that by making some incredible saves in the first half. She has a flying save, a sweeper-keeper sliding tackle to break up a counter attack, a wonderful save of a header from point-blank range, and a top save to deny a free kick.

Misa is 21 years old, which is very young for a goalkeeper. So there will be some mistakes along the way. But based on some of the stops she made against Barcelona, Madridistas can be excited about the future with her in goal.

Real Madrid look better with Sofia Jakobsson on the pitch

Sofia Jakobsson had more goals and assists than any other player on CD Tacon last season, and she and Kosovare Asllani looked like the most important players on the team. That continued against Barcelona on Matchday 1 of the 2020-2021 Primera Iberdrola season, as Asllani had an equalizing goal unfairly ruled out and Jakobsson made a big impact off the bench.

The 20-year-old forward Olga Carmona was a surprise starter, but she made way for Jakobsson in the second half. Real Madrid couldn’t score, but they really should have when Jakobsson created a goal all on her own with her pace on the counterattack, squaring off the ball for Marta Cardona.

Jakobsson’s speed alone causes all sorts of problems, and her experience benefits everyone around her. She tracks back, she knows when to make a pass vs. shoot, and her movement off the ball causes all sorts of problems for the opposition on breakaways.

Real Madrid still need to step it up defensively

Last season, CD Tacon had major issues with Barcelona, as expected, losing their 2019-2020 opener 9-1 and then losing 6-0 in the second Clasico of the season.

Las Blancas improved on the scoresheet by only losing 4-0, and nobody realistically expected them to be anywhere near La Blaugrana’s level this season.

Still, Real were quite poor defensively and can thank Misa for the scoreline not being greater. Experienced defenders Marta Corderrera and Babett Peter struggled mightily against Barcelona’s star-studded attack. Those two players, in particular, will be leaned on this season in front of Misa, so Madridistas hope they bounce back next week against an easier opponent in Valencia.

Mostly, Real need to keep getting chemistry together when passing it out of the back and defending against attackers making a run behind. Those two issues still remain from the 2019-2020 season.