Caroline Weir scored two late goals as Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-1 at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday to secure their first-ever Clásico win and keep alive their faint title hopes.
Weir came off the bench to turn home Linda Caicedo‘s cutback in the 87th minute and added her second in stoppage time to move Madrid within four points of Liga F leaders Barça with seven games to go.
Caroline Graham Hansen had earlier cancelled out Alba Redondo‘s opener and there was controversy just before Weir’s first goal when a Jana Fernández strike was ruled out for offside.
Replays showed no one was even close to being offside in the build-up, but with no VAR in use in Liga F, the on-pitch decision stood.
Weir’s late show then ensured Madrid earned their first-ever victory over Barça, ending a a run of 18 successive defeats in the Clásico since the team was formed in 2020.
It completed a brilliant week for Alberto Toril’s side, who won 2-0 against Arsenal last Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. They travel to London for the second leg on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Barça remain top of LaLiga despite suffering their second defeat of the campaign. Like Madrid, they are also in a good place in the Champions League, 4-1 up on Wolfsburg in their quarterfinal going in to Thursday’s second leg.
Pere Romeu’s side had thumped Madrid 8-1 over two legs when the teams met in the Copa de la Reina semifinal earlier this month and were expected to win again on Sunday, especially with Toril making changes with Arsenal in mind.
However, a combination of sloppy finishing from Hansen and brilliant goalkeeping from Misa Rodríguez, who somehow tipped a Sydney Schertenleib strike onto the bar, kept Barça out early on.
Redondo then opened the scoring, heading Caroline Møller’s cross over Cata Coll, before Hansen missed when it was easier to score with the goal gaping at the far post.
Hansen missed another chance after the break, denied by Rodríguez, before finally getting on the scoresheet when she connected with a cross from Mapi León.
Madrid had introduced Weir and Caicedo by this point and were a threat on the break, but Barça had control and looked like they had won it when Fernández turned home Alexia Putellas‘ chipped pass.
However, to Barça’s anger, the flag went up. Replays quickly showed neither Ewa Pajor, who challenged for the ball, nor Fernández were even close to being offside.
Weir then finished brilliantly from Caicedo’s pass to deepen Barça’s pain as a hailstorm forced the 35,812 fans present to take cover in the concourse.
Many may have left early when the Scotland international forced her second over the line from close range to cap a historic win for Madrid.
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