OneFootball
Chloe Digby·8 October 2024
OneFootball
Chloe Digby·8 October 2024
The UWCL group stage gets underway on Tuesday, with some mouthwatering clashes to look forward to.
Here’s what went down.
Scorers: Nüsken 2′, Reiten 28′ (PEN), Ramírez 53′; Redondo 39′ Caicedo 83′
Chelsea were largely in control during their 3-2 win at home to Real Madrid.
There was a delayed start at Stamford Bridge as Zećira Mušović had to be drafted into the lineup when Hannah Hampton was ill.
Yet that setback didn’t affect Chelsea’s attitude as they went on the attack from the get-go, and some fantastic work from Johanna Rytting Kaneryd down the wing forced a defensive error from Real Madrid as the ball was turned in.
The Blues doubled their advantage when they were awarded a penalty just before the half-hour mark, Guro Reiten burying her effort into the corner.
Before the half-time whistle blew, Real Madrid got themselves back into the contest when Chelsea failed to clear their lines and Alba Redondo was able to take advantage.
Into the second half, and Chelsea re-asserted their dominance when Lauren James delivered a glorious cross into the path of Mayra Ramírez, who got on the end of that ball perfectly with a header.
The visitors gave Chelsea a scare when Linda Caicedo bundled home a chance which Lucy Bronze looked to have cleared, but a scrappy finish played into Chelsea’s hands as they saw out the win.
Scorers: Van Dooren 44′, 85′
Celtic were beaten 2-0 by FC Twente during their first ever UWCL group stage match.
The Hoops battled well to ensure an even contest in the first half, but Twente took the lead through with a minute to go before half-time.
Route-one football gave the Dutch side that opener, when a long ball out of defence was latched onto by Kayleigh van Dooren.
With minutes to go, the midfielder delivered her brace, smashing home emphatically from a cross from the right.
Scorers: Diani 33′ 76′, Gilles 45′
France star Kadidiatou Diani delivered for Lyon as they registered a 3-0 win over Galatasaray.
The Turkish side had been pinned back by Lyon for long periods in the first half, and the French side got their reward for some patient attacking play.
Tabitha Chawinga crossed in from the left and that ball was converted by Kadidiatou Diani with a perfectly directed header.
On the stroke of half-time, Lyon had their second as another cross from Chawinga on the left was headed in by Vanessa Gilles.
Diani finished last season as the Champions League top scorer, and she had her second with 15 minutes to play with another header, this time glanced into the back of the net.
Scorers: Giugliano 14′ (PEN)
Roma snuck past Wolfsburg with a 1-0 win thanks to a first half penalty.
Alessandro Spugna’s side took the lead thanks to Manuela Giugliano, who took a very short run up to power home a very well-executed penalty.
Wolfsburg pushed hard to find the equaliser, with Marina Hegering unlucky not to score as she hit the crossbar.
Roma’s Camelia Ceasar also made a top-class save to keep their German opponents at bay.
The action continues on Wednesday evening, when Bayern Munich face Arsenal and Manchester City take on Barcelona.