Women's Champions League roundup: Real Madrid snatch first leg lead

By Sports Desk September 19, 2024

A late goal from Melanie Leupolz gave Real Madrid a 2-1 first-leg aggregate advantage over Sporting CP in their Champions League qualifier.

The away side took the lead after just 11 minutes as Athenea del Castillo capitalised on a poor mistake from Sporting keeper Hannah Seabert and slotted the ball into an empty net.

Despite Madrid's dominance, they were pegged back on the stroke of half-time after a foul by keeper Misa Rodriguez in the box, with Andreia Bravo making no mistake from the spot.

Madrid continued to dominate in the second half, with Alba Redondo going close, but it looked as if Sporting would hang for a draw to take to Madrid next week.

But that was before Leupolz headed the ball into the net in injury-time after Olga Carmona's cross could only be parried out.

Meanwhile, Galatasaray squandered a two-goal advantage to draw their home-leg encounter with Slavia Prague.

A second-half brace from Andrea Staskova looked to have given the Turkish side a healthy lead to take to the Czech Republic, but Slavia Prague responded late on, with Benan Altintas scoring an own goal 15 minutes from time, before Kristina Kosikova's 98th minute equaliser.

St Polten, meanwhile, hold a healthy first leg lead after defeating Musa 3-0 at home.

The first half produced no goals, but the Austrian side showed their class in the second half, with Kamila Dubcova, Melike Pekel and Izabela Krizaj all getting on the scoresheet.

Related items

  • 'Bunny' Shaw at the double as City blank Paris FC 3-0 to secure Champions League group stage play 'Bunny' Shaw at the double as City blank Paris FC 3-0 to secure Champions League group stage play

    After missing out on the first leg due to visa issues, Jamaican international Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw once again showed her class in second leg action, as she scored a brace that propelled Manchester City to a 3-0 win over Paris FC and into the Women’s Champions League group stages.

    Gareth Taylor said Manchester City are back “where they belong” after they finally ended their disappointing streak in Europe’s top club competition and reaching the, by completing a comprehensive 8-0 aggregate ­victory over Paris FC.

    Shaw found the target in the 31st and 65th minutes, after Chloe Kelly (2nd) opened the scoring in a lopsided contest at the Joie Stadium, as City wrapped up a comprehensive 8-0 aggregate scoreline.

    Taylor’s confident-looking side were not involved in Europe at all last season and had been eliminated by Real Madrid in the qualifying rounds of the two campaigns before that. They will now contest the last-16 stage of the competition for the first time since 2020-21, when the knockout format was still in use, and will harbour realistic ambitions of going deep into the competition on the evidence of their strong showing over the two legs of this second-round tie.

    “It’s a big honour for us. This is where we want to be. The qualification process is really tough. I’m not the only coach, I’m sure, who has sat, over the past couple of years, with a squad that felt capable of not just being in the Champions League, but actually doing something within it,” Taylor said in a post-game interview.

    “Man City is a big club. We feel like we belong there, because we are a big team and we have huge ambitions, but of course the club recognises how difficult it is to be there because of the qualification process. I never felt safe, even at 5-0. A lot of things can go wrong in football. Nothing is a formality,” he added.

    Kelly put City in front when she pounced on a loose ball and slotted home inside five minutes.

    She then turned provider for Shaw with a weighted cross that the towering Jamaican lashed home for her first goal of the season.

    Shaw then registered her second from the penalty spot after she was taken out inside the 18-yard box.

    Manchester City, who were semi-finalists in 2017 and 2018, can now look forward to the group-stage draw on Friday and Taylor is cautiously optimistic about their chances there.

    “I think getting out of the group stages is going to be our next objective, and once we get out of the group stages, anything can happen. We just want a crack at it, that’s what we want,” he said.

  • Arsenal overturn first-leg deficit to reach Women's Champions League group stage Arsenal overturn first-leg deficit to reach Women's Champions League group stage

    Arsenal booked their place in the Champions League group stage after overcoming a first-leg deficit to beat Hacken 4-0 at Meadow Park.

    The first leg in Sweden threw up a shock 1-0 defeat, but Jonas Eidevall's side were up to the task, with Lia Walti and new signing Mariona Caldentey turning the scoreline on its head in the first half.

    A brilliant strike from Beth Mead then ensured their progress, before substitute Frida Maanum added some more gloss to the scoreline late on.

    The Gunners produced a much better performance in front of goal than in the reverse fixture. Arsenal may have had fewer shots on Thursday (14) and failed to convert any of their four big chances, but the emphatic scoreline is what matters most.

    They join fellow Women's Super League side Manchester City in the draw, with Gareth Taylor's side cruising past Paris FC.

    Their job was all but done after a crushing 5-0 win in the first leg, but Khadija Shaw's double, following Chloe Kelly's early opener, secured them an 8-0 aggregate win.

    With another clean sheet under their belt in the competition, City have reached the group stage for the first time since 2020-21, when they fell to Barcelona in the quarter-finals.

    There was more despair in the French capital as Paris Saint-Germain, last season's semi-finalists, suffered a shock defeat to Juventus.

    PSG have reached at least the quarter-finalists in each of the last five seasons and were mainstays in the competition, but after suffering a 3-1 loss in Turin, their hopes of a comeback were soon squashed.

    Sofia Cantore scored just two minutes in to set Juve on course for a 2-1 victory in the game, and a 5-2 aggregate scoreline, getting their name in the hat for the first time in two years.

    Elsewhere, Real Madrid secured their place in the competition, as did Celtic, who will play in the Champions League group stage for the first time since it was introduced in 2020-21 after a 3-0 aggregate win over Vorskla Poltava.

    And a special mention for Roma, who emphatically brushed aside Servette 7-2 in the second leg to secure a 10-3 aggregate victory.

  • Wolfsburg clinch Women's Champions League group stage spot in style Wolfsburg clinch Women's Champions League group stage spot in style

    Wolfsburg hammered Fiorentina 5-0 on Wednesday to secure their spot in the group stage of the Women's Champions League.

    The two-time Champions League winners, who won 7-0 away from home in the first leg, completed a 12-0 aggregate rout to qualify in emphatic fashion.

    Fenna Kalma needed just three minutes to get the ball rolling, with Vivien Endemann grabbing a double before substitutes Jule Brand and Tabea Sellner got in on the act.

    The match facts were bleak for Fiorentina, who allowed 21 shots on goal, nine on target and 4.23 expected goals against (xGA).

    Swedish side Hammarby, meanwhile, shocked Benfica to win 2-0 in Portugal and secure a 3-2 aggregate triumph, with Cathinka Tandberg scoring the decisive goal deep in second-half stoppage time.

    Valerenga dispatched Anderlecht 3-0 to seal a 5-1 aggregate success, while Galatasaray needed extra time to beat Slavia Prague 2-1 (4-3 on aggregate).

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.