By OkayGoal
Manchester City drew 1-1 with Real Madrid in the Women’s Champions League on Thursday evening. Khadija Shaw scored the equaliser at the Joie Stadium, and the Spanish side had a late goal disallowed.
Real Madrid took the lead before Shaw levelled with a clinical finish. The BBC described the strike as a superb equaliser. The visitors then thought they had won it in the closing stages, but the goal was chalked off and City kept their point.
It was an open, entertaining contest. The Guardian judged it a high-quality draw against an impressive Madrid side.
The match was the first for City’s women since the Premier League delivered a guilty verdict against the club. That ruling concerns the wider club rather than the women’s team, but it has dominated coverage of Manchester City all week.
Head coach Andrée Jeglertz insisted the off-field story had no effect on his squad. Speaking after the game, he told reporters the players had stayed composed throughout the week.
“Of course there is a lot of noise but the players are very calm. I haven’t seen or noticed anything that will take any percentage out of the players’ performance,” Jeglertz said.
Mary Fowler was among the City players involved on the night.
For City, a draw against one of Europe’s stronger sides is a respectable return in the competition, particularly given how close they came to losing it. Shaw, City’s most reliable goal threat in recent seasons, again proved decisive in a tight game.
Madrid will feel they deserved more. Their late effort would have turned a point into three, and they leave Manchester having matched City for long spells.
Both teams now carry one point from this fixture into the rest of their Women’s Champions League campaigns.
