The first course of Champions League quarterfinal matches satisfied a range of palates.
Wolfsburg kicked things off by upsetting OL Lyonnes. Arsenal and Chelsea battled it out in a London derby in which the reigning champions’ 3-1 victory left a hint of hope for Chelsea’s response. Barcelona deluged Real Madrid with goals despite Linda Caicedo’s scoring efforts, and Bayern Munich and Manchester United offered a fittingly dramatic finale with a back-and-forth nail-biter that ultimately went to the German side.
There were also plenty of goals, 18 altogether.
Barcelona’s dominance aside, the remaining tickets to the Champions League semifinal remain wide open, setting the stage for a riveting second leg of the quarterfinals next week.
Tamerra Griffin, Michael Cox and Carl Anka analyze the biggest talking points from the first round of fixtures. Let’s start with the grand finale.
Bayern gets the best of Manchester United
A goal in either half from Bayern Munich’s Pernille Harder threatened to turn Manchester United’s first Champions League quarter-final into a teachable lesson. Switch off for a moment in the knockout rounds, and you will be punished.
Two minutes into this tie, Harder latched on to a long ball over the top from Arianna Caruso. She proceeded to tear United’s high defensive line apart before finishing coolly past United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce. A handball from Glodis Viggosdottir gifted United a penalty to equalise that was graciously accepted by Maya Le Tissier, before the second half devolved into an absorbing battle of counterattacks.
Harder again punished United’s high line in the 71st minute, before Hanna Lundkvist bundled in a United corner to make it 2-2.
Attacking midfielder Pernille Harder scores Bayern Munich’s second goal against Manchester United. (Martin Rickett / Getty Images)
The hosts battled valiantly, but Bayern’s physical intensity and final third decision-making gave them that extra edge. A third goal came from Momoko Tanikawa, punishing a brief moment of defensive miscommunication between Jess Park and Julia Zigiotti. If United are to recover this tie, they will need Hinata Miyazawa to be able to play 90 minutes (or more) in the second leg. The 26-year-old, freshly returned from Asia Cup duty, operates at the base of midfield and brings a level of technical security and match-reading ability that allows United to problem-solve and navigate the game’s more frantic moments.
United are a good team, that are uncertain as to how they can become a great team. There’s a naivety in their defending that needs to be ironed out in big games such as these.
Carl Duck
Arsenal goal scorer Alessia Russo celebrates scoring her team’s third goal against Chelsea (Alex Burstow / Getty Images)
Scoreline does not tell the full story for Arsenal and Chelsea
A 3-1 victory gives Arsenal a commanding advantage at the midway point of this quarterfinal, but this was a closer contest than that suggests. Chelsea were the better side at 0-0, twice hitting the post after quick breaks.
Both Lauren James and Alyssa Thompson were electric in the early stages. James floated around as Chelsea’s nominal striker, and later scored a superb long-range goal with a nonchalant whip of her supposedly weaker left foot.
Thompson, meanwhile, was the game’s outstanding player down the right, breezing past Katie McCabe with frightening accelerations. Arsenal manager Renee Slegers reformatted at half-time, introducing left-back Taylor Hinds in place of struggling centre-back Laia Codina, with McCabe shifting into an unfamiliar position in the middle of the defence.
As well as Chelsea hitting the post twice, they also had two goals at set pieces disallowed, and there was enough for Sonia Bompastor to feel that Chelsea are still in this contest. At Stamford Bridge next week, Chelsea will need to take the game to Arsenal, who will presumably look to hit them on the counter-attack.
In that respect, it should be something of a role reversal from this first leg, but there should again be plenty of goals.
Michael Cox
Ewa Pajor scored twice for FC Barcelona against Real Madrid in the UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-finals. (Manu Reino / Getty Images)
Barcelona rains goals against rival Real Madrid
Between these quarterfinals and a league match in between them, three El Clasicos will take place between March 25 and April 2. In the first, Madrid played like they had internalized that road ahead and the fatigue that would come with it, conceding their first of six goals in the sixth minute to Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor.
Real Madrid were unable to maintain the same tempo after their playoff success last month against Paris FC, whom they beat 3-2 and 2-0 in the first and second legs, respectively. Their timidity was pronounced against Barcelona, who dropped neither pace nor precision, even after clearly securing the upper hand in the match. Pajor had a brace by the time she subbed off in the second half, and Barcelona’s overall performance sparkled with contributions from Vicky Lopez and Alexia Putellas, who each registered a goal and an assist.
If any player is keeping Real Madrid’s candle lit, it’s Linda Caicedo. The forward and Colombian international managed a brace in an otherwise lopsided match in two different yet equally striking ways, beating Barcelona center back Irene Paredes in a sprint down the pitch before cleanly finishing, and with a world-class strike in the upper corner of the near post from the top of the penalty box.
Real Madrid’s four-goal deficit is likely too steep a hill to scale as they head to Barcelona for the second leg next week, but Caicedo is likely to continue causing them problems either way.
Tamerra Griffin
Wolfsburg midfielder Lineth Beerensteyn dribbles past Damaris Egurrola and Ashley Lawrence (Swen Pförtner / Getty Images)
Moment of magic for Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg’s tenacious run in the Champions League playoffs — coming back from 2-0 to draw against Juventus, and then beating them by as many goals in the second leg — generated the best possible momentum for a team that next faced eight-time continental champions OL Lyonnes. They were never to be counted out, and on Tuesday night, the German side exposed a flat-footed complacency in their French opponents that they were ultimately unable to play their way out of.
The lone goal of this match, by far the lowest scoreline of this week’s quarterfinals, came in the 14th minute. Wolfsburg striker Lineth Beerensteyn received a bland pass near the top of the penalty box and released a half-effort shot that likely only made it past Cristiane Endler because of a deflection off Lyon midfielder Damaris Egurrola. Add in the miscommunication in Lindsey Heaps’ pass to Ashley Lawrence that led to Wolfsburg’s counterattack, though, and the resulting goal feels earned.
Lyon failed to capitalize on any of their 19 shots (only three of which were on target) despite the offensive firepower in Tabitha Chawinga, Kadidiatou Diani (who smacked the post and nearly equalized in Lyon’s closest chance), Ada Hegerberg, and Melchie Dumornay. And yet it’s difficult to imagine them being that wasteful in the second leg, which they’ll play at home.
Tamerra Griffin
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