This week saw the Women’s Champions League Quarter Finals, second leg commence.
On Wednesday night saw:
Arsenal v Bayern Munich
Barcelona v Roma
On Thursday night saw:
Chelsea v Lyon
Wolfsburg v Paris St-Germain
This Champions League second leg was full of twists and turns, with one matching have to be decided by a penalty shootout
The first quarter final second leg saw Arsenal face Bayern Munich. Arsenal had a mountain to climb, as they had lost 1-0 away in the first leg, to a Lea Schüller goal. Arsenal welcomed Bayern Munich to The Emirates Wednesday night, setting a UK-record attendance of 21,307 for a Women's Champions League match. The Gunners came flying out of the traps, scoring two goals within just six minutes. The first goal came in the 20th minute from Frida Maanum. This saw some brilliant one touch football from Arsenal. Leah Williamson layed it off to Frida Maanum, who struck the ball cleanly from outside of the box. This saw the ball curve straight into the top left corner. Arsenal then took the lead on aggerate only six minutes later. Katie McCabe had all the space needed, to drive into the edge of the six-yard box. She crossed the perfect ball into the box for it to land perfectly on Stina Blackstenius’ head who buried it home for Arsenal. This saw Arsenal in the lead at the break and they managed to sustain that win for the full 90 minutes, seeing them through to the Champions League Semi-Final.
Barcelona beat Roma by one goal to nil in the first leg last week. They now host the Italian side at The Camp Nou to try and secure their place in the Semi-Final. Although the first leg was tight, only having one goal in it, this match was a landslide as Barcelona beat Roma by five goals to one. It took Barcelona just fourteen minutes for Fridolina Rolfo to get Barcelona’s opener. Barcelona would then see themselves 5-0 by the 55th minute and although Roma midfielder, Annamaria Serturini, managed to claw one back for Roma, it would not be enough for them to pull off a comeback. Barcelona dominated possession throughout the match, having 70% of the ball and having a total of 22 shots. This is compared to Roma’s just 6 shots that they had throughout the match. Barcelona’s dominative performance saw them sore straight through to the semis, and they will play the winners of Chelsea vs Lyon.
With two games played, there was still two to go. Paris St-Germain now had to travel away to The Volkswagen Arena after being beaten at home 1-0 by Wolfsburg in the first leg. German international, Alexandra Popp, managed to extend her teams league inside the 20th minute. Wolfsburg left back, Felicitas Rauch, played the ball through to Popp. Her left footed shot from the edge of the box flew into the top right corner, taking Wolfsburg into the lead. PSG managed to get an equaliser from striker, Kadidiatou Diani, however it wasn’t enough to see them through to the Semis. This would be the one and only goal that PSG would score in the tie, which was not enough to see them get over the line.
The last Quarter final match saw Chelsea host Lyon at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night. Chelsea were already 1-0 up on aggerate from a Reiten winner in the first leg. The Blues were now searching to extend their leg, to secure their place in the Semi-Finals. Chelsea did not get the all-important opening goal that they wanted, as centre-back Vanessa Gilles got the first goal for Lyon with just over 10 minutes to go. This was fully deserved after having a total of 18 shots in the match. This then saw the game have to extend the standard 90 minute mark and go to extra time, as the score was 1-1 on aggerate. Lyon started extra time with a burst of energy, showing they wanted the match done and dusted after 120 minutes. They managed to get a breakthrough with 10 minutes to go, as Sara Däbritz buried the left footed shot home, into the bottom right hand corner. Chelsea now only had two minutes injury time to pull a late minute goal back. In the last kick of the game, Lauren James was pulled down inside the box. After much VAR controversy, Chelsea was awarded a penalty which was converted by Maren Mjelde, taking the match to penalties. Chelsea won the match on penalties, seeing them through to the Champions League Semi Finals.
Semi-final draw
Wolfsburg v Arsenal
Chelsea v Barcelona
The Semi Finals will take place the end of April.
Commentaires