Chelsea Women Triumph Over City; Brugts Shines in Barcelona’s Clásico Loss
Late Victory for Chelsea
The Chelsea women’s football team, featuring Wieke Kaptein in the starting lineup, secured a dramatic 2-1 victory against Manchester City in the English league, clinching the win in stoppage time.
International players Vivanne Miedema, Kerstin Casparij, and Jill Roord represented City, playing the full match.
The two clubs are set to face each other four times this month, with Chelsea having already triumphed 2-1 in the FA Cup. Their next meeting will be on Thursday in the Champions League, after City claimed a 2-0 victory in the first match of the European tournament.
Barcelona Suffers Points Loss
Earlier in the day, FC Barcelona, featuring Esmee Brugts, faced another setback in La Liga, losing 3-1 at home to rival Real Madrid in the El Clásico, marking their second points loss of the season.
The match at Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium drew over 35,000 spectators, and it was the first time since the 2018/19 season that Barça had lost two league matches in a single campaign.
| Match | Result |
|---|---|
| Barcelona vs. Real Madrid | 1-3 |
In the first half, City took the lead through Brazilian forward Kerolin (1-0), but lost their grip on the match as Chelsea equalized shortly after the break with a goal from Agnes Beever Jones (1-1).
The match seemed destined for a draw until the first minute of stoppage time, when Chelsea snatched the victory. Following a cross from Ashley Lawrence, Erin Cuthbert executed a spectacular diving header to score the winning goal (1-2). Chelsea remains undefeated in the league.
Real Madrid Closing in on Barcelona
Real Madrid’s women closed the gap in the title race, narrowing the point difference to Barcelona to just four points. Barcelona remains at the top of the league with 63 points, while Real Madrid trails behind.
This victory also marks Real Madrid’s first-ever win in El Clásico among women; prior to this, Barcelona had dominated the previous eighteen encounters.
Shortly after Dutch international Brugts entered the match, Barcelona appeared to be staging a comeback with a goal from Norwegian Caroline Graham.
However, ten minutes before the final whistle, the referee disallowed a legitimate goal from Barcelona for offside. Without VAR intervention, the decision stood, and Madrid capitalized on the error.
In the closing moments, substitute Caroline Weir sealed their victory with two goals for Madrid, having previously put Real ahead shortly before halftime with a goal through Alba Redondo.
