Real Madrid Femenino: 3 takeaways from a clutch win over Santa Teresa

Real Madrid Femenino and Santa Teresa played out a close game, but Las Blancas were able to pull off a last-gasp 1-0 win over the visitors after 70th-minute substitute Lorena headed home with the very last possible chance of the match.

Here are three takeaways from Real’s victory.

These are the games Real Madrid need to be winning

On Sunday, Real Madrid will face league leaders FC Barcelona, who have scored 69 goals and allowed two (!). They are the powerhouses of the league and have long made short work of Las Blancas. But that’s why it was so important for Real to get the three points over Santa Teresa at mid-week, as a bottom-five team is the type of side Las Blancas must defeat.

Real Madrid did not make it look easy, of course. They struggled to create clear-cut chances despite playing a near-perfect game defensively. This match should not have been as close as it was, but, in the end, Real got the job done. And that’s all you can ask for. There will be tough games like this one, and Las Blancas showed a lot of character getting the result they needed.

Lorena needs to be praised heavily

Kosovare Asllani is Real Madrid’s leading goal-scorer this season and one of the biggest stars in Primera Iberdrola. But she did not get much service in this match, as her teammates struggled to deliver the ball accurately into the box.

Thankfully for Madrid, young backup forward Lorena Navarro stepped up. She is not even five feet tall, yet she was the one who headed home perfectly into the left-hand corner of the net to ensure Real Madrid would not drop points at home to Santa Teresa.

These are the types of games where someone needs to be a super-sub. With Chioma Ubogagu and Jessica Martinez out, Real found a hero in Lorena. She didn’t get many chances in the final 20 minutes of the match, but she made her big chance count.

Marta Cardona’s injury could be a huge blow to Real Madrid

It looks like Real Madrid may have to play against Barcelona on Sunday at noon without breakout star Marta Cardona. She went down in the first half with an injury and tried to play through it, but she clearly needed to come off the pitch for the rest of the match.

Cardona has been Real Madrid’s best chance-creator, as she and Sofia Jakobsson have been absolutely brilliant on either flank with Asllani in the middle. I have no doubt Cardona’s injury impacted Real’s chance creation in this game.

Pending the availability of other forwards like Chioma and Cardona’s own injury, Real could be in some trouble against the dominant Blaugrana. Keep a close eye out for updates on Cardona’s status, because a prolonged absence from her would be tough for Las Blancas.