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After a terrific opening round in this season’s Women’s Champions League group stages, matchday two gave us much more objectives and loads of speaking factors.
Chelsea’s journey to the ever-improving Juventus was the decide of the matches – and it didn’t disappoint. It was the one sport of the week through which each groups scored, even, with the remainder of the fixtures seeing the favourites get anticipated outcomes in opposition to the underdogs.
Nonetheless, not all of these profitable groups had it their very own manner, significantly reigning champions Barcelona, who had been put to the check by a really bold debutante.
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Hayes is true – Tougher seems to be at residence
After Pernille Tougher scored a stoppage-time equaliser for Chelsea final Wednesday in opposition to her former membership, Wolfsburg, her supervisor Emma Hayes described her as having “discovered her residence within the crew this season”. She’s not incorrect.
The most expensive female footballer of all time spent her first marketing campaign in London adjusting to a brand new position and a brand new league, by no means thoughts all of the off the pitch stuff that comes with transferring to a brand new nation.
It wasn’t a foul first season by any means, however this time period she has been even higher, given the liberty to roam and decide up pockets of area whereas Fran Kirby and Sam Kerr buzz round her, making runs to enhance that.
In Turin on Wednesday, she performed an excellent move to Erin Cuthbert, who drove inside to present Chelsea a first-half lead in opposition to Juventus. Then, she popped up in the suitable place on the proper time to attain the Blues’ winner. It was an “excellent” efficiency from last year’s Goal 50 winner, Hayes mentioned. “She’s taken us to a fair increased degree.”
Juventus are closing the hole in Europe
Juventus’ ladies’s crew could also be connected to an enormous membership, however there are nonetheless strides for them to make to be among the many elite within the UWCL. In any case, that is simply their fifth ever season.
Up to now two campaigns, they’ve struggled to make their mark in Europe as a result of two extraordinarily robust attracts – going through seven-time champions Lyon last season and Barcelona, who triumphed in May, the yr earlier than.
Nonetheless, the slender 3-2 defeat within the first leg of that Lyon tie despatched a message and a equally shut loss to Chelsea on Wednesday did too. With a really proficient squad, significantly of their choices up entrance, they posed severe issues for the champions of England.
“We’ve proven we are able to play a pleasant sport in opposition to final yr’s runners-up,” midfielder Valentina Cernoia mentioned after the sport. “If we play as we did tonight, we are able to play in opposition to anybody.”
Two-time champions Wolfsburg could also be beginning to click on
With a brand new supervisor and many new gamers, it’s an fascinating season for Wolfsburg. There’s a new fashion to adapt to and new relationships to be fashioned on the pitch.
Star striker Ewa Pajor is out till the brand new yr and captain Alex Popp can be lacking, making the beginning of this new chapter slightly harder. Nonetheless, their first two outings in Europe have seen Tabea Wassmuth and Jill Roord type a lethal partnership up entrance to supply the objectives these two presently can’t.
The interchanging of positions between the pair was glorious within the draw at Chelsea and was once more on Wednesday, in a 5-0 win over Servette.
Chemistry will take time to return, however the link-up play between Roord and Wassmuth – crucially, when the previous performs additional ahead – has been good and gives a promising early signal.
UWCL may ignite Actual Madrid’s season
After starting their season with a huge win over Manchester City in qualifying for the Champions League group stages, issues have been troublesome for Actual Madrid.
They picked up one level from their first 5 league video games, with the stress heaping on head coach David Aznar to the purpose that El Confidencial reported final week that gamers have requested for him to be sacked.
If Aznar is to show issues round, the Champions League will probably be large. The Spanish side have been handed a kind group, with Paris Saint-Germain the only team in it that they wouldn’t be expected to beat.
They received their first sport in opposition to Kharkiv, of Ukraine, final week and carried that momentum into the weekend as they beat Eibar for his or her first league win of the season. Caroline Moller’s hat-trick helped make that three wins in a row on Wednesday in opposition to Icelandic facet Breidablik. It could possibly be the run of outcomes that the crew and its coach want.
Koege present Barca – and Europe – that they’re no pushover
There was quite a bit to speak about from Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Koege on Thursday evening. The reigning UWCL champions rotated considerably and the significance of many gamers shone via. The defence seemed disorganised with out its chief, Mapi Leon, and the midfield was disjointed with each Aitana Bonmati and Patri Guijarro on the bench, whereas Ballon d’Or front-runner Alexia Putellas missed out with a knock.
Nonetheless, substitutes got here on and helped Barca get the factors they wanted, Bonmati particularly making an impression, permitting them to be taught and transfer on – however this wasn’t all in regards to the Catalans not being on the races.
Koege deserve loads of credit score for the best way they approached this sport, significantly within the first half. Inside a minute, that they had pressured Sandra Panos into a wonderful save, and it wasn’t the one huge cease the Barca goalkeeper needed to make within the first half.
Because the guests seemed to their bench, and the Danish facet acquired slightly drained and dropped again in their very own half, the inevitable occurred. However this was nonetheless an evening with a ton of positives for a Koege crew with a very thrilling, bold mission that has the potential to solely get higher from this European expertise.
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