MADRID 13 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
FC Barcelona is now the sole leader of the 2024-2025 F League and the only one with full points after beating RCD Espanyol 7-1 in its derby and taking advantage of the fact that its two pursuers, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid, They tied in theirs, in matches corresponding to the sixth day of the championship.
At the Alfredo di Stéfano the weekend closed with the most attractive match of this date, a Madrid derby that put the ambitions and full points of both teams at stake and which ended in a draw, which marked the sixth consecutive match of the Madrid team without being able to beat the colchonero.
And much of the blame for this was the visiting goalkeeper Lola Gallardo, who put in a sensational performance, first to keep her team alive at 1-0, and then to avoid it with two great saves against, above all, Alba Redondo, and Linda Caicedo to avoid defeat in added time.
The only shot that the Andalusian could not stop was that of the Scottish Caroline Weir at the beginning of the match after a great drop shot by the Danish Signe Bruun. From there, the match had alternatives until the break, with Gallardo putting in good hands, and after passing through the locker room, Real Madrid was better by more than twenty points.
But he did not take advantage of that dominance or the momentum of Caicedo, with the rival goalkeeper putting a spectacular hand on Tere Abelleira, and Atlético, with the changes, grew and once again threatened Misa Rodríguez, also agile to deflect a header from Sheila Guijarro. Shortly after, a penalty by Abelleira in a clearance on Gaby García was not forgiven by the Norwegian Vilde Boe Rise and despite the local final push, the score did not move thanks to a final protagonist Lola Gallardo.
This tie allowed FC Barcelona to escape two points over these two rivals after winning with authority 7-1 against RCD Espanyol in the other attractive derby of the weekend, the Barcelona one, which had not been held in the highest category since the campaign 2020-2021 and that at times left some uncertainty in Johan Cruyff.
And the ‘perico’ team managed to lead the scoreboard until the hour mark thanks to Estefanía Botero’s goal in the 20th minute, but from then on they received a storm with three goals in just six minutes, with a double from Alexia Putellas and one of the three that the Polish Ewa Pajor would end up scoring.
Claudia Pina and Aitana Bonmatí closed the victory that keeps the current champion in the lead and that served to alleviate their spirits after the defeat in the Champions League against Manchester City despite the fact that it left some doubt as it was the third game in a row in which they started losing , something unusual for the Blaugranas.
In addition, the rest of the day highlighted the fourth straight victory of Real Sociedad, who beat Real Betis 4-0 with a double from Amaiur Sarriegi, which did not help them to place themselves in fourth position because Levante Badalona confirmed their good start and defended that place with a great 0-1 victory against Sevilla with a goal from Sonia Majarín in the 76th minute.
Athletic Club broke a streak of three games without winning by winning the derby against SD Eibar, whom they defeated 1-2 in Ipurua thanks to a goal from Irene Oguiza in the 92nd minute, while Costa Adeje Tenerife and the Levante UD left the only goalless match of the weekend and a goal from Millene Cabral gave the first victory of the season to the promoted Deportivo ABANCA, executioner of a Madrid CFF in crisis after conceding its fourth consecutive defeat. Valencia continues as bottom of League F with one point after losing 0-2 to Granada CF that takes breath with its second win of the campaign.