UWCL Matchday 5 Round Up: Top teams qualify for the quarter-finals

Group A

Vllaznia 0-4 Chelsea

This group was always going to be a struggle to get anything from for KS Vllaznia and with five games in the bank, that narrative was not disproven. This time around they welcomed Chelsea FC to Albania and were completely blown away by the champions of England. Sophie Ingle, Fran Kirby, Kateřina Svitková and Maren Mjelde all got on the scoresheet in a fantastic display by the English side.

Chelsea have now qualified for the quarter-finals, one year on from when they got eliminated from the group stages in the competition. They now have a final group game left against PSG, which will determine who will win the group when all is said and done.

PSG 2-1 Real Madrid

In the other game of this group, which would determine if Paris Saint-Germain would qualify for the knock out stages or if we will have to wait until next week to find out if Real Madrid CF would qualify instead, the Parisiennes got it done in front of their home fans. Élisa de Almeida broke the deadlock in the first half and Kadidiatou Diani added a second for PSG in the second half. Claudia Zornoza gave Real Madrid a glimpse of hope but the visitors could not find the back of the net again to keep themselves within shouting distance of qualifying for the knock out stages.

The win guarantees PSG spot in the quarter finals and a chance to top the group, however Chelsea’s goal difference may prove too much to overcome. Real Madrid will now be heading out of the competition, a stage before where they left off last season.

Group B

Roma 5-0 St. Pölten

After a long weather delay, the two teams came out to a wet and snowy pitch to play their fifth game of this group. Roma were undaunted by the weather and went on to win the game by five goals, scoring four of them in six minutes. Annamaria Serturini got the only goal of the first half and for awhile, it seemed like that might be the only goal we would see in this game. Then, in the 82nd minute, Benedetta Glionna got the first of two for herself and in the 84th minute, Manuela Giugilano got the first of her brace as well. Giugliano and Glionna would go on to score again in the 86th and 88th minutes respectively to put an exclamation mark on this performance by Roma.

Roma have now made the quarter final stages for the first time in their history and will be relishing the chance to show what they can do against the very best in Europe. St. Pölten have been better than what they showed here against Roma and will try to rectify their performance in the final game of this group.

Wolfsburg 0-0 Slavia Praha

This game didn’t have much to write home about as VfL Wolfsburg knew they had already made the quarter finals and this was more of an opportunity for some other players to get some minutes on the field. It resulted in a 0-0 draw as neither side could find the back of the net.

Slavia Praha will probably be the happier of the two sides after this result, despite Wolfsburg already qualifying for the knock out stages. Praha held on long enough to keep Wolfsburg out of their goal and will be delighted with earning a hard fought draw in Germany.

Group C

Arsenal 0-1 Lyon

Arsenal FC and Olympique Lyonnais played out a tense and tight match up in London that saw Lyon take a 1-0 win back to France. The only goal of the game came late in the first half when, as she tried to clear the ball close to her own goal line, Frida Maanum instead knocked the ball in, giving Olympique Lyonnais a much-needed win in their eyes.

The game was marred by what looks like a serious injury to Vivianne Miedema which leaves Arsenal short of quality up front with Beth Mead also ruled out long-term with an injury. Arsenal are still through to the knock out stages but will now have navigate the second half of the season without Miedema now as well. Lyon have one more game left against Juventus which will determine who will finish in second. The win against Arsenal has given them some breathing room but they can’t afford to lose on the final matchday.

Juventus 5-0 FC Zürich

Juventus needed to put in a dominant performance to not only keep their hopes alive of qualifying for the quarter finals but to also bounce back from their defeat last time out against Lyon. Cristiana Girelli was in sparkling form, exemplified by her four goals including a cheeky panenka, and Lineth Bereenstyn completed the scoring for Juventus as they run out as 5-0 winners against the visiting side FC Zürich.

This win sets up an enticing final matchday against Lyon with Juventus knowing anything less than a draw against the champions will see them exit the Champions League in the group stages. Zürich knew they faced an impossible task to qualify out of this group when the draw was made and that proved to be the case. The gap between them and the other three teams in this group proved to be too far for them to close.

Group D

SL Benfica 2-6 FC Barcelona

Barcelona proved to be too good for Benfica once again, despite conceding two goals, and maintained their foothold at the top of Group D. Jéssica Silva scored the pick of the bunch in a losing effort that saw Irene Paredes, Clàudia Pina, Aitana Bonmatí, Ana-Maria Crnogorčević and Mariona Caldentey all get their names on the scoresheet for Barcelona. Cloe Lacasse also got on the scoresheet, proving that Barcelona’s backline isn’t as steady as they would like it to be but ultimately, their offensive prowess overpowered anything Benfica tried to do.

With the win, Barcelona are through to the knock out stages no matter what happens on the final matchday and can now look to possibly rotate players on that day. Benfica have been a joy to watch this season in the Champions League but their run is over. They will be playing for pride on the final matchday.

FC Rosengård 0-4 Bayern Munich

Bayern continued their good form in the Champions League with back-to-back wins, this team travelling to Sweden and earning a deserved 4-0 win over FC Rosengård. Tainara started things off in the latter stages of the first half and once that first goal went in, Bayern completely took over the game. Sydney Lohmann added a second early in the second half, and Georgia Stanway and Julia Landenberger added the third and fourth of the evening.

Bayern are still behind on goal difference to Barcelona but like them, have now qualified for the quarter finals. Their game against Benfica could prove to be the difference between finishing first or second, however as Barcelona face Rosengård in the final game, the likelihood of them finishing first seems low.