Manchester City 3 – 2 Atlético Madrid
Cary, NC– Manchester City overcame southern summer weather and a sustained Atlético Madrid attack to take third place in the 2019 Women’s International Champions Cup tournament.
Atlético came out of warmups seemingly unbothered by the high heat and humidity and took the attack straight at City. Ellie Roebuck, a serious contender for the tourament’s Golden Glove, continued her great form from the Thursday night test against North Carolina and kept Atlético off of the scoreboard.
Manchester took the lead against run of play in the 22nd minute, courtesy of fantastic heads-up play by Lauren Hemp. After sweeping up a loose ball, Hemp closed in on goal and beat Atlético’s Sari van Veenendaal with a clinical finish.
The Spanish club seemed unfazed by City taking the early lead and continued to put Manchester under hard pressure. Brazilian forward Ludmila repeatedly tested City’s back line, but couldn’t unlock the door.
Atlético found the equalizer in the 59th minute when Virginia Torrecilla nodded in a free kick. A wonder strike from Angela Sosa three minutes later put them in the lead for the first time. Soon after, Ludmila just missed the opportunity to put the game out of reach but her shot clanged off of the post, leaving the light on for City.
Now having to chase the game, it was Manchester who ramped up the attack. They put Atlético back on their heels through the final 20 minutes of the game but van Veenendaal stood up to City’s pressure. With seven minutes left in regulation play, former NWSL player Janine Beckie netted the tying goal and the early crowd was promised a thrilling end to this match.
With penalty kicks looking like a certainty, Tessa Wullaert crushed Atlético with a stoppage time goal, giving Manchester City the victory and securing third place in the tournament for the second year in a row.
Lineups
Manchester City: Roebuck; Mannion, Bonner, Houghton (c), Stokes; Stanway, Weir, Hemp, Beckie; Walsh, Scott
Substitutes: Coombs, Bremer, Toland, Park, Lee, Wullaert, Bissell, Fidalgo
Atlético Madrid: van Veenedaal; Kenti, Laie, Linari, Strom; Amanda (c), Virginia, Sosa, Duggan; Ludmila, Charlyn
Substitutes: Lola, natiia, Menayo, Meseguer, Ovdiychuk, Chidiac, Anita, Tounkara, Garcia, Majarin
All photos by Victoria Klum.
