Chelsea rallies to beat Real Madrid 2-1 and finish top of its Women's Champions League group

United States striker Catarina Macario entered as a halftime substitute and converted two penalties for Chelsea in a 2-1 win over Real Madrid that helped the English club finish top of its Women’s Champions League group with a 100% record on Tuesday.

Madrid was already sure of qualifying for the quarterfinals along with Chelsea, but needed a win at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano to go through as the Group B winner.

The Spanish team was on course for victory when Caroline Weir opened the scoring in the seventh minute after her shot could only be parried onto the post by Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton and into the net.

Macario was brought on at halftime and made a huge difference, with her incisiveness leading to a penalty when she was tripped by Olga Carmona.

The Brazil-born Macario curled a right-footed shot high into the net in the 51st minute and converted a second penalty into almost exactly the same spot in the 56th after Chelsea midfielder Wieke Kaptein flicked the ball into the outstretched left hand of Carmona.

Chelsea won all six of its group games and has yet to lose this season under new coach Sonia Bompastor. In the Women’s Super League in England, Chelsea has won nine games and drawn the other.

Another team to wrap up group play with a maximum 18 points was Lyon, the eight-time champion, after a 1-0 victory at home to two-time winner Wolfsburg. Danielle van de Donk scored in the 81st.

Both teams had already qualified, with Lyon guaranteed to win Group A.

Roma beat Galatasaray 3-0 in the other Group A game, while Twente defeated Celtic 3-0 in Group B. All four of those teams had already been eliminated.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Real Madrid's Caroline Weir, left, celebrates with her teammates after scoring the first goal against Chelsea during the women's Champions League, group B soccer match between Real Madrid and Chelsea at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Caroline Weir, left, celebrates with her teammates after scoring the first goal against Chelsea during the women's Champions League, group B soccer match between Real Madrid and Chelsea at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Chelsea's Catarina Macario, left, and FC Twente's Danique van Ginkel battle for the ball during the Women's Champions League group B match between Chelsea and FC Twente at the Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

Chelsea's Catarina Macario, right, celebrates with her teammates after scoring a goal from penalty during the women's Champions League, group B soccer match between Real Madrid and Chelsea at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Signe Bruun, right, reacts as Chelsea's Catarina Macario scoring a goal from penalty during the women's Champions League, group B soccer match between Real Madrid and Chelsea at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Chelsea's Catarina Macario, left, celebrates after scoring a goal from penalty during the women's Champions League, group B soccer match between Real Madrid and Chelsea at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Chelsea's Catarina Macario, right, celebrates after scoring a goal from penalty during the women's Champions League, group B soccer match between Real Madrid and Chelsea at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Chelsea's Catarina Macario, left, scores the second goal from penalty during the women's Champions League, group B soccer match between Real Madrid and Chelsea at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

An organization that honored The Associated Press' Nick Ut with its “ photo of the year ” in 1973 for a picture of a girl running from a napalm attack in the Vietnam War says it has “suspended its attribution” to Ut because of doubts over who actually took it.

World Press Photo's report Friday adds to the muddle over an issue that has split the photographic community since a movie earlier this year, “The Stringer,” questioned Ut's authorship. The photo of a naked and terrified Kim Phuc became an iconic symbol of the war's tragedy.

After two investigations, The Associated Press said it found no definitive evidence to warrant stripping Ut's photo credit. The AP said it was possible Ut took the picture, but the passage of time made it impossible to fully prove, and could find no evidence to prove anyone else did.

World Press Photo said its probe found that two other photographers — Nguyen Thanh Nghe, the man mentioned in “The Stringer,” and Huynh Cong Phuc — “may have been better positioned” to take the shot.

“We conclude that the level of doubt is too significant to maintain the existing attribution,” said Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of World Press Photo. “At the same time, lacking conclusive evidence pointing definitively to another photographer, we cannot reassign authorship, either.”

World Press Photo, an organization whose awards are considered influential in photography, won't attempt to recover the cash award given to Ut, a spokeswoman said.

Ut's lawyer, James Hornstein, said his client hadn't spoken to World Press Photo after some initial contact before “The Stringer” was released. “It seems they had already made up their mind to punish Nick Ut from the start,” he said.

Gary Knight, a producer of “The Stringer,” is a four-time judge of the World Press Photo awards and a consultant to the World Press Photo Foundation.

The AP said Friday that its standards “require proof and certainty to remove a credit and we have found that it is impossible to prove exactly what happened that day on the road or in the (AP) bureau over 50 years ago.”

“We understand World Press Photo has taken different action based on the same available information, and that is their prerogative,” the statement said. “There is no question over AP's ownership of the photo.”

Meanwhile, the Pulitzer Prize that Ut won for the photo appears safe. The Pulitzers depend on news agencies who enter the awards to determine authorship, and administrator Marjorie Miller — a former AP senior editor — pointed to the AP’s study showing insufficient proof to withdraw credit. “The board does not anticipate future action at this time,” she said Friday.

David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social

FILE - Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Nick Ut, center, flanked by Kim Phuc, left, holds the" Napalm Girl", his Pulitzer Prize winning photo as they wait to meet with Pope Francis during the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, May 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, file)