Can Atletico Femenino rescue their season before it’s too late?

Alcalá de Henares, Wednesday night: floodlights cut through the winter air and a few hundred loyal rojiblancos finally had something to cheer as Atlético de Madrid Femenino dismantled Athletic Club 4-1 to reach the Copa de la Reina semi-finals. The victory ended a 76-day winless drought that had pushed the club into its worst rut in recent memory and left their entire campaign hanging by a thread.

Since a November victory over Twente in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, Atleti had collected just four points from seven Liga F fixtures (three defeats, four draws) and scraped into the UWCL knockout rounds on the back of a draw and a loss. Their lone respite before this week was a nerve-shredding penalty shoot-out against bottom side Alhama in the Copa last 16. When city rivals Real Madrid eliminated them from the Supercopa 3-1, the board dismissed coach Víctor Martín and turned to José Herrera, formerly of Liga F and Arabian football, through to the end of the season.

Spanish football lore promises “a new coach, a sure win,” yet Herrera’s debut brought only a 1-1 draw at Granada. Four days later the cup triumph over Athletic provided breathing space, and Sunday’s 1-0 defeat of Levante—decided by Silvia Lloris’ seventh-minute header—confirmed that the rot has, for now, stopped.

The uptick is less about fresh faces than a reshaped spine. Herrera has tightened a defence now marshalled by Lloris, Lauren Leal and Carmen Menayo, allowing full-backs Andrea Medina and Alexia Fernández to push higher. In midfield, Julia Bartel, Boe Risa and Fiamma Benítez knit possession for strikers Amaiur Sarriegi and Synne Jensen. Luany, once a livewire starter, has been relegated to cameo duty, while the returning Gio Garbelini—absent for months—must still prove she can re-ignite a blunt attack.

The mathematics ahead remain brutal. In the Champions League, Atleti must navigate past Manchester United, Bayern Munich and likely Barcelona just to reach the final. Domestically, they trail third place by 11 points with 11 match-days left, needing to out-run Real Sociedad and Adeje Tenerife while also leap-frogging a Madrid side that has already bested them this term.

Salvation, then, may reside solely in the Copa. A two-legged semi-final against Tenerife in mid-March offers a direct route to the final and the chance to cloak a forgettable season in silverware. Anything less, and the club will face a summer of uncomfortable questions about squad planning and long-term direction under prospective new ownership.

For now, the rojiblancos have rediscovered how to win. Whether they can keep doing so when the margins are at their thinnest will decide if 2023-24 ends in redemption or regret.