Real Madrid Femenino looked like an unstoppable force against Deportivo de la Coruna on Wednesday afternoon, winning 3-0.
Kosovare Asllani and Sofia Jakobsson continue to lead the way for Real Madrid Femenino, as the attacking duo scored the three goals for Las Blancas in their statement-making win over Deportivo de la Coruna.
Since losing 4-0 to Barcelona in the Clasico, Las Blancas have been unbeaten. After taking down Rayo Vallecano 3-1 a couple of weeks ago, Real looked even better this Wednesday in their 3-0 win over Deportivo.
Here are the three takeaways from the match.
Kosovare Asllani is firmly establishing herself as one of Europe’s best
Real Madrid have ambitions of making it to the UEFA Women’s Champions League, where Kosovare Asllani can stand out on an even bigger scale. The No. 9 is Real’s superstar player, and she showed it against Deportivo by scoring two goals for her team.
Both goals were straightforward finishes resulting from great passes by Marta Cardona and Chioma Ubogagu, with Cardona’s assist being a particular highlight. It may end up being one of Las Blancas’ best assists of the 2020-2021 season.
But Asllani deserves praise for creating the conditions for those chances with her running off the ball. She has such great awareness in splitting center backs and getting open, always making the right run for her teammates to send that killer pass. Asllani is going to score goals upon goals up top in 2020-2021.
Real Madrid Femenino’s midfield looked stellar
Whereas Las Blancas were overrun by Barcelona on Matchday 1, their midfield has been a real strength in back-to-back games. They were at their best against Deportivo de la Coruna, even without Thaisa in the starting lineup.
Kaci played well, and Olga Carmona had a nice game. But the real star of the show was Teresa Abelleira. She made an important clearance in her own penalty box and showed a great engine in midfield for the team.
Abelleira also made some wonderful passes to either progress the ball for her team or create a chance. The 20-year-old scored 10 goals in 27 appearances for Deportivo before moving to Real Madrid, and she certainly made her presence felt against her former club.
It was wonderful seeing Las Blancas dominate the midfield in this way. They controlled the game, created chances, and worked hard in defense.
Ivana Andres is a game-changer for Real Madrid
Last season, Real Madrid had some predictable issues in defense in their last season as CD Tacon and first season in their transition to being Las Blancas.
This summer, Real made several important signings, but maybe the most important was center back Ivana Andres.
She is a leader at the back for Real and is so composed on the ball. It’s amazing how much she helps the team with her passing and her experience on the ball, and she is definitely the best defensive player on the team right now.
Having a center back like Ivana Andres makes Real Madrid feel so much more stable defensively, and you can see that Andres is in sync with her teammates right now. The former Levante standout is entering her prime at the age of 26 and will be a fixture at the heart of Las Blancas’ defense for years to come. This was a strong showing from her in Real’s first clean sheet of the 2020-2021 league campaign.