[Real Madrid](https://www.managingmadrid.com) Femenino beat Arsenal 2-0 at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium through goals from Linda Caicedo and Athenea Del Castillo. It was a brilliant defensive shift from Las Blancas, and they now have a sizable advantage to go to the Emirates with.
Here are the player ratings from the match:
**Misa — 7.5:** Great performance from the goalkeeper in one of the most important matches of the season. Made some excellent saves early on to keep it goalless before Real Madrid turned the tide. A few nervy moments but was good when it mattered most.
**Sheila García—8** A brilliant performance from Garcia. She probably could not have done better on the defensive end of the pitch, although she did lose the ball a bunch of times as she went under Arsenal’s pressure. Still, she kept Arsenal’s talented left wing as quiet as possible.
**María Méndez—7.5:** A great effort from Mendez. Even though she lost the ball more times than she would have liked, she was brilliant. Defensively astute, and was clearing every single cross whipped her way. Two interceptions, one block, and her number of clearances were as high as her rating.
**Maëlle Lakrar—8:** Mendez’s partner in crime had an almost identical game. Two tackles, one block and eight clearances, she did so well to keep Blackstenius at bay all night. Real Madrid’s best defensive performance this season, and Lakrar had a big role to play in that.
**Olga Carmona—7:** Was not as involved as her teammates, but the captain did her job and did it well. She was mostly good defensively, although did have two fouls, one of which got her a yellow card. Going forward, she could have done a slight bit better, but there is not much to complain about. Good performance. Five clearances, one interception and one tackle from the World Cup winner.
**Sandie Toletti—8:** Had a slow start to the match, but was so good once she got going. Five clearances, two tackles, two interceptions, two blocks, were just some of the great numbers she had on the night. Toletti was brilliant with the ball as well, helping Real Madrid evade Arsenal’s press on numerous occasions. Brilliant performance.
**Melanie Leupolz—6.5:** Incredibly gutting and unfortunate night for Leupolz, and none of it was because of her performance. She sustained what looked to be a worrying non-contact knee injury in the 63rd minute, and was not able to carry on. Really hope it is not too serious.
**Filippa Angeldahl—6.5:** Angeldahl worked hard on both ends of the pitch and deserved credit for everything, but lost the ball many times and looked sluggish with the ball, but it’s harsh to fault her for that considering the conditions of the pitch.
**Caroline Weir—8.5:** A great performance from the returning star. Weir was not as involved as she would have liked, but did a lot of damage whenever she got the ball. Only had 35 touches, but one of them was a great pass to Linda Caicedo for Real Madrid’s first. She could have scored one herself if not for a good save from Zinsberger, but did set up Athenea for Real Madrid’s second moments before going off.
**Signe Bruun—6.5:** Similar to Angeldahl, Bruun was hugely impactful on the defensive side of things, going into tackles and pressing hard. She was the hold-up striker that Real Madrid needed, but she was not able to create that many opportunities for herself. Got injured as well, and hopefully she is not out for long.
**Linda Caicedo—8:** A brilliant performance in the limited touches she had. Scored a great first goal, and perhaps could have gotten a second easily but made a mess of it inside Arsenal’s box. She was by far Real Madrid’s most dangerous player. Her dribbling and hold up play to wait for other players was crucial, and her teammates always looked to her as the outlet for almost everything Real Madrid did. She was surprisingly subbed off for Athenea Del Castillo, the other goalscorer.
### Substitutes:
**Irune Dorado—6.5:** The 16-year-old came off the bench for the injured Leupolz and looked like she had started the game. Did not look out of place at all, and helped Toletti win battles in midfield.
**Athenea Del Castillo—7.5:** Came on, scored a great goal from outside the box in another counter-attack, and covered a lot of ground. Athenea did not get much of the ball in 16 minutes, but when she did, she made it count.
**Naomie Feller—6:** Had a couple of good moments, and her pace stretched Arsenal’s backline, but she was not able to provide a whole lot offensively.
**Antônia Silva—6:** Came on in the final minutes of the game to make sure Real Madrid keep the clean sheet.