Arsenal secured a place in the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League despite a 1-0 defeat to Lyon on Thursday, in a game overshadowed by Vivianne Miedema suffering a potentially serious knee injury.

Gunners defender Frida Maanum put through her own net on the stroke of half-time to hand the reigning champions victory at the Emirates Stadium, leaving both sides on 10 points in Group C.

Jonas Eidevall's team knew they would qualify with anything less than a four-goal loss after establishing a head-to-head advantage by hammering Lyon 5-1 away from home in October.

However, the sight of a distressed Miedema leaving the field on a stretcher after appearing to catch her studs in the turf will provide cause for concern.

Miedema – the Champions League's top goalscorer in the 2016-17 and 2019-20 campaigns – has hit the net twice in the competition this season.

In Group C's other fixture, a four-goal haul from Cristiana Girelli helped Juventus profit from Irina Pando's red card in a 5-0 win over Zurich, teeing up a winner-take-all meeting with Lyon next week.

Meanwhile, Barcelona and Bayern Munich both ensured qualification from Group D, with the Spanish champions doing so in emphatic fashion with a 6-2 rout of Benfica.

Bayern joined them in racking up the goals with a 4-0 win at Rosengard, as Georgia Stanway joined Tainara, Sydney Lohmann and Julia Landenberger on the scoresheet.

Barcelona seized control of Group D in the Women's Champions League by thrashing Bayern Munich 3-0 in front of a crowd of 46,967 – a new group-stage record.

Second-half goals from Geyse, Aitana Bonmati and Claudia Pina helped Jonatan Giraldez's team maintain their perfect record in the competition on Thursday, as well as ending that of Bayern.

The Camp Nou crowd – which surpassed the competition's previous group-stage record of 18,341 by a considerable margin – had to remain patient for the opener, but the Blaugrana were good value for their win after Brazil international Geyse broke the deadlock.

The result moved Barca three points clear of their opponents as well as maintaining their six-point advantage over Benfica, who beat Rosengard 1-0 courtesy of Cloe Lacasse's goal.

Meanwhile, Arsenal maintained their narrow lead at the top of Group C with a 1-1 draw against Juventus, who remain two points behind the Gunners after surrendering a second-half lead.

Lineth Beerensteyn put the hosts ahead shortly after the break, but fellow Netherlands international Vivianne Miedema nodded home from a corner nine minutes later to keep the visitors top.

Reigning champions Lyon also remain in fierce contention for a quarter-final spot after cruising to a 3-0 win at Zurich, moving them to within a point of second-placed Juve.

Signe Bruun added two goals after Melvine Malard headed in an early opener, helping the eight-time champions to their first Champions League win of the season.

Women's Champions League holders Lyon were humbled by Arsenal as this season's competition began on Wednesday, while Barcelona won by an even greater margin in their opener.

The English side beat their hosts 5-1 at the Groupama Stadium, with Caitlin Foord and Frida Maanum handing Arsenal a 2-0 lead before Melvine Malard halved the deficit.

Foord scored again in between two goals from Ballon d'Or runner-up Beth Mead to give Jonas Eidevall's side an impressive opening victory in Group C.

Barca romped to a 9-0 success against Benfica in Group D thanks to seven different goalscorers.

Asisat Oshoala and Geyse scored two each, while goals also arrived from Patri Guijarro, Aitana Bonmati, Mariona Caldentey, Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic and Claudia Pina as last season's runners-up strolled to victory.

The other game in Group D saw Bayern Munich earn a tougher three points at home to Rosengard after Loreta Kullashi's opener for the visitors was cancelled out by Carolin Simon, before Linda Dallmann struck a second-half winner for the Germans.

Group C's other contest ended with Juventus claiming a 2-0 win at FC Zurich, with late goals from Valentina Cernoia and Barbara Bonansea earning Joe Montemurro's side three points.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.