Women's Champions League highlights, round-up: Arsenal, Bayern, City advance as Barcelona close in
Thursday, November 21, 2024
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Arsenal, Bayern München and Manchester City have booked quarter-final places with two games to spare, while holders Barcelona are within sight of joining them.
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Three more places were claimed in the UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-finals on Thursday as Manchester City won 2-1 at Hammarby to ensure progress with two games to go and a last-gasp Arsenal victory against Juventus took the Gunners through along with Bayern München, despite the German side's draw at Vålerenga.
As for holders Barcelona, they are now on the verge of the last eight themselves after triumphing at St. Pölten. UEFA.com rounds up all of the night's action.
Through to quarter-finals so far
Arsenal, Bayern München, Chelsea, Lyon, Manchester City, Real Madrid
Click on any scoreline to look back at all the action as it happened.
Group C
Substitute Lina Hurtig's 89th-minute winner sent Arsenal through and ended Juve's hopes of advancing, though it was the Italian side who almost took the lead themselves when Arianna Caruso's second-half shot was turned behind by goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar.
Hurtig, introduced in the 80th minute, went close with one effort before she pounced from a cross by fellow substitute Stina Blackstenius. The victory takes Arsenal to within a point of Bayern at the top of the group.
Elise Thorsnes rolled back the clock with a late equaliser as the Norwegian champions got off the mark at the fourth attempt on their group stage debut, securing the only draw of the 32 group matches so far this season. However, Arsenal's late win meant the point was enough for Bayern to go through and extinguished Vålerenga's chances of progressing.
Substitute Jovana Damnjanović looked to have sealed all three points for the visitors with 15 minutes left, but Vålerenga – for whom Olaug Tvedten had a shot come back off both posts – made their point. With two minutes to go, a corner was diverted goalwards and Thorsnes, a former striker now playing as a centre-back whose first goal in this competition came more than 15 years ago, glanced in.
12 December: Bayern vs Juventus, Vålerenga vs Arsenal
Group D
Khadija Shaw struck twice to give City victory and a place in the quarter-finals with two games remaining. In front of 20,428 fans – a record for a women's club match in Sweden – Shaw's deflected strike on 31 minutes gave City the lead on a night when a draw would have been enough for early progress.
Ellen Wangerheim's close-range volley briefly restored parity for Hammarby early in the second half, but four minutes later Shaw produced a thunderous long-range finish. Khiara Keating's outstanding double save from Cathinka Tandberg and Julie Blakstad ensured City remain perfect in the group and leaves Hammarby with the toughest of tasks to continue their debut campaign into the quarter-finals.
Alexia Putellas scored her 200th Barcelona goal and the holders became the first team to reach 100 strikes in the Women's Champions League group stage as they all but sewed up qualification and left Hammarby's hopes hanging by a thread.
Two goals in ten minutes from Francisca Nazareth gave the visitors an early cushion, and Vicky López made it 3-0 thanks to her first effort in the competition. Alexia then had her landmark moment, set up by Nazareth, before Valentina Mädl pulled one back.
12 December: Man City vs St. Pölten, Hammarby vs Barcelona
Wednesday's results
Group A
Wolfsburg 5-0 Galatasaray, Lyon 4-1 Roma
Group B
Twente 2-3 Real Madrid, Chelsea 3-0 Celtic
