Real Madrid return to winning ways to reclaim second place
The Merengue club took the victory, winning 3-1 against RCD Espanyol with goals from Sara Däbritz, Lineth Beerensteyn, and Felicia Schröder. For their part, Claudia Iglesias 'deuda' [note: 'deuda' is likely a typo/misremembered name, but as per rules, not translated] added a late goal to make the scoreline more respectable in the final stages of the match, and Linda Caicedo was the MVP of the duel. Real Madrid CF moves up to second place.
17 OCT 2026
Before the start of the match, Real Madrid CF honoured the U20 World Champions. Pau Quesada's side started with possession, while Browne ventured a header from a corner kick. The forward also tried her luck with another shot wide. At the other end, the crossbar denied Beerensteyn, who attempted a powerful strike that crashed against the woodwork. Meanwhile, Meritxell Muñoz made a good save to avert the danger. Linda Caicedo also had a go, but Ariadna Doménech cleared the dangerous play. The match was finely balanced on the pitch, and Browne tried her luck with a shot that went well wide without troubling Espanyol's defence.
The 'Merengues' tried through Beerensteyn and Linda Caicedo, but neither managed to get past a well-organised visiting defence. Noemí Bejarano tried her luck with a long-range effort. Caruso also attempted a shot from inside the box, and just when it seemed the first half would end in a stalemate, Sara Däbritz delivered a ball from the corner that the opposition defence cleared. The ball fell back to the German midfielder, who sent in a cross-shot that no teammate could connect with, but the ball took a wicked deflection and surprised Meritxell Muñoz. In the next play, Linda Caicedo could have doubled the lead, but her shot went wide.
The second half maintained the same rhythm as the first, with Real Madrid CF controlling possession. Pau Quesada's side looked to extend their lead. Linda Caicedo tried with a good run into the box, while Natalia Escot forced Frohms into a save. Meritxell Muñoz also held onto a good shot from Noemí Bejarano. After half an hour, the first substitutions of the match arrived. Felicia Schröder and Pau Comendador came on for the Madrid team, and Anita Marcos entered the pitch for the Catalan side. The forward, in fact, tried her luck with a bicycle kick that Frohms gathered. The parity was absolute until, with twenty minutes remaining, Beerensteyn scored the second.
Despite conceding the goal, the 'Blanquiazul' team came close to scoring with a shot from Claudia Iglesias 'Bicho' that went wide. Both coaches made further changes to maintain the intensity upfront. In the 80th minute, Felicia Schröder, who had already tried just minutes before with a shot that hit the crossbar, scored the third after cutting past her defenders inside the box. Linda Caicedo, who was the MVP of the match, could have extended her team's lead, and Paula Arana could have surprised Frohms from distance. The definitive 3-1 was scored by Claudia Iglesias 'Bicho', who capitalised on a high ball steal to put a gloss on the scoreline at the Di Stéfano, where Real Madrid CF secured another victory to move into second place.