Real Madrid overcame the Norwegian Rosenborg at home this Wednesday with tremendous authority, defeating them 0-3 with notable performances from Caroline Weir and Athenea del Castle. As a result, Real Madrid gained entry into the group stage of the 2022–2023 Women’s Champions League.
The Madrid team successfully completed their trip to the Lerkendal Stadium, where the men’s team struggled on some of their European evenings, and they did it with greater ease than anticipated, proving both their current form and the gap between the two sides.
The team of Alberto Toril has had a solid start to the year and hasn’t let up or saved anything for the second leg at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano. For the locals, Weir and Del Castillo’s caliber was unbeatable, and Misa Rodriguez wasn’t particularly bothered by them either.
Real Madrid was in charge from the beginning of a game that could have been decided very quickly with two very clear chances in the first minutes, but Athenea del Castillo ran into the quick intervention of Christensen after a good maneuver inside the area, and Esther González, in a very open situation, finished off too high.
Warnings that quickly became 0-1 prior to the first quarter, Caroline Weir’s effort, which continues to show her talent, and the success of her signing. The Scotsman got a good shot off from outside the area that the goalkeeper for the Norwegian squad was helpless to stop.
The visitors’ advantage on the scoreboard further calmed them down, and their pressure made it difficult for Rosenborg to move about much as they attempted to surprise with long balls and in a few transitions, though with little success. Her greatest opportunity came from a long shot by Magnusdottir that Misa Rodriguez sent to a corner, setting up a 0-2 in the 34th minute. In the overflow and her slightly cornered shot that shocked Christensen, Athenea del Castillo displayed her talent.
The break was reached with 0-2, and the script did not significantly change after that. The Madrid team kept pushing forward and went looking for the verdict, which arrived quickly. Del Castillo recognized the opening behind Weir’s guard, and he promptly delivered the Scot a perfect cargo, which his colleague used to effectively end the fight.
From that point on, Alberto Toril’s team started to gradually slow down. However, this did not greatly assist Rosenborg, who, despite moving closer to the goal, was unable to enough frighten Misa Rodriguez, who once again set his goal to zero.