UWCL Group Matchday 3 Round Up: Barcelona earn a statement win

Another slate of games occurred in the group stages of the UEFA Women’s Champions League which left some groups still very much in the air while others are now forming a more solid idea of who will qualify and who will not.

Group A:

Chelsea 2-0 Real Madrid

Chelsea’s class and quality proved to be the difference as they were largely in control of this tie from almost the first whistle. Real Madrid had the goalkeeper, Misa Rodriguez, to thank for the scoreline not being any larger than it ended up being as she produced key saves throughout to deny Chelsea an opening goal until the second half.

Sohpie Ingle broke the deadlock as she latched onto a nodded header during a corner kick and then Erin Cuthbert rounded off the scoring with one of the more astounding goals you’ll see this season in the Champions League. The win leaves Chelsea five points clear at the top of Group A while Real Madrid are in third, level on points with PSG on four points.

PSG 5-0 Vllaznia

Paris Saint-Germain finally registered their first win in the season’s Champions League as they made short work of Vllaznia. The French side have not had the best start to their European campaign so this was a welcome performance for anyone who supports PSG. Grace Geyoro, Ramona Bachmann, Sandy Baltimore and Magnaba Folquet all found the back of the net for PSG, while Matilda Gjergji put the ball in the back of the net to compound Vllaznia’s misery.

This round of matches sees Chelsea unbeaten at the top of the group with PSG and Real Madrid level on points as we go into the next round of matches. Vllaznia remain rooted at the bottom of the group and will likely not make it to the knockout stages,

Group B

AS Roma 1-1 VfL Wolfsburg

One of the most intriguing results in the this group saw Roma put in an impressive performance at home against Wolfsburg and earn a draw. Both teams had not lost a game so far in their group and looked to keep it that way in this match.

Valentina Giacinti gave the home fans something to cheer about early as she found the back of the net in the third minute but Wolfsburg responded through Ewa Pajor in the 33rd minute and the match remained even at 1-1 throughout.

Slavia Praha 0-1 St. Pölten

St. Pölten picked up a big win for their campaign as they found a late goal to earn an away victory against Slavia Praha. Mária Mikolajová scored a great winner in stoppage time as the game wound down and guaranteed her side their first win of the campaign, despite Jasmin Eder being sent off not to long after.

Roma and Wolfsburg still top the group, level on points, but St. Pölten now have an outside chance of qualifying for the next round if they somehow get a win against either of the top sides. Slavia Praha will need an absolute miracle now to qualify for the next round from this group.

Group C

Juventus 1-1 Arsenal

Despite the injuries continuing to mount up for Arsenal, they came away from Turin with a draw to keep themselves at the top of the group. This group, along with Group A, has the potential to see a big side not make the knock out stages so Arsenal will be the far happier team with this draw as it keeps them ahead of the chasing pack.

Lineth Beerensteyn put the hosts ahead as the kept her composure to finish low past the goalkeeper, sending her teammates and the home fans into massive celebrations. Their joy was short lives as nine minutes later, Vivianne Miedema did what she always does, finding the back of the net when needed for Arsenal. That’s how the match ended as neither side could find a winner as the game wore on.

Zürich 0-3 Lyon

Current champions Olympique Lyonnais finally got their first win of the campaign as they made light work of hosts Zürich. Melvine Malard got an early goal for Lyon and then Signe Bruun added two more in the 35th and 66th minutes of the game, securing the win for Lyon. As with Arsenal, Lyon also have a raft of players out with injury so this win will feel like a welcome reprieve for what has been a stumbling season so far for Lyon.

Arsenal remain at the top of the group with Juventus just two points behind them. Lyon are still within touching distance of both teams and this group remains delicately balanced as the next round of matches come around. Zürich are firmly at the bottom and are looking more and more unlikely to make it out of this group.

Group D

Barcelona 3-0 Bayern Munich

This was the clash of titans in Group D and would probably determine who would finished in first and second from the group. Both sides knew that a win would all but guarantee them a spot in the knock out stages and tried to ensure that they would be the team to come out on top.

Bayern executed a well thought out tactical plan through the first half but once Geyse found the back of the net early in the second half, the floodgates opened for Barcelona. Aitana Bonmatí added a second in the 59th minute and then Claudia Pina scored a magnificent third to cap off another big night at Camp Nou.

Benfica 1-0 Rosengård

With heavyweights Barcelona and Bayern in their group, Benfica knew that they needed a win from somewhere to give themselves a shot at qualifying out of the group stages. That win came over Rosengård as Cloé Lacasse scored the only goal of the game in the 23rd minute. It wasn’t an easy win for Benfica as the visitors probed for an equaliser but they held on to secure their first win in this group.

Barcelona still top the group, having won three game out of three, while Bayern are below them in second. Benfica are in third and will need to find a win against either of the top two sides to make it out of this group. Rosengård are now facing an uphill take to qualify for this group and will need more than just winning their own remaining games to do so.