The Arsenal manager, Renée Slegers, said that improving pitch conditions is “the next step for women’s football” after the state of the playing surface at the Estadio Alfredo di Stéfano drew strong criticism during Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat against Real Madrid in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League quarter-final.
A combination of heavy rain in Madrid and a stadium unsuitable for such an occasion made for a pitch that was almost unplayable.
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Lyon will take a 2-0 lead back to France for the second leg of their Women’s Champions League quarter-final after goals from Tabitha Chawinga and Melchie Dumornay in each half dented Bayern Munich’s hopes of an upset. It could have been worse for the hosts but for Maria-Luisa Grohs’s save to deny Lindsey Heaps from the penalty spot.
Grohs was making her first start for Bayern since receiving a cancer diagnosis last November, and she dived low to her left to save Heaps’s effort just before half-time. The visitors had taken the lead in the 35th minute when Chawinga broke clear and fired into the far corner.
Bayern threatened through Pernille Harder and Klara Bühl, while at the other end Grohs stuck out a leg to keep out a Kadidiatou Diani effort and saved again from Heaps. The returning keeper could do nothing about Lyon’s second goal in the 65th minute as Heaps played the ball across for Dumornay to stroke home. Guardian sport
The decision to stage the game looked even more questionable with Real Madrid’s Bernabéu lying unused during the men’s international break.
“It’s not on me to criticise,” Slegers said when asked about the decision not to use Madrid’s main stadium. “It’s obviously a club decision and I’m sure that Uefa is trying to create the best conditions for the tournament.
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“Of course, the weather is not always in our control. But we’ve seen a couple of games lately where the pitch conditions haven’t been great and I think that’s the next step for women’s football to take.
“We knew the condition of the pitch so we had a plan for it. It’s always hard because you work on things over a season and you have an identity. Then reality comes and these conditions come and all of a sudden we need to do things differently so that’s hard …
“All credit to [the players] for trying and the work rate. We are confident that we can do something against them at the Emirates [Stadium] because it’s only half-time.”
The conditions were widely criticised across the game. The former Arsenal and England international Ian Wright made no secret of his feelings.
“Watching the Champions League quarter-final … Real Madrid pitch – this is worse than Derby’s pitch the other day in the Conti Cup final,” he said in an Instagram story. “This is a fucking disgrace, the pitches these girls have to play on.”
This is the second incident in a week where poor playing conditions have caught the headlines. It comes on the back of strong comments made by both Chelsea and Manchester City players about the pitch at Derby’s Pride Park Stadium that hosted the Women’s League Cup final on Saturday.
