After a four-month absence, the UEFA Women’s Champions League returned at the quarter final stage, with Barcelona, Lyon, Manchester City and Munich all carrying an advantage into the second-legs.

Rosengård 0-1 Barcelona Report

The first teams to kick off on Wednesday, the game was firmly split down the half-time whistle with Barcelona having the better of it in the first-half, their calm possession besting FCR’s rushed attacks. Despite their dominance the visitors were cruising towards the break with nothing to show until a hamstring complaint saw Lotta Schelin withdrawn from play in first-half stoppage time. With the hosts temporarily down to ten they were caught napping at a Barcelona attack, the defenders in the box stuck in time as Leila Ouahabi El Ouahabi arrived in the box to send the ball spinning past Zecira Musovic and into the far corner.

The hosts responded well after the break and certainly had the better of it in the second-half but their unfocused attack came up against a brick wall in the away defence, the Catalonians doing all they could to preserve Sandra Paños’ clean sheet. Never out of the game and certainly not out of the tie, the side from Malmö will ready themselves for the return match, with at least two goals required.

Fortuna Hjørring 0-1 Manchester CityReport

Back in Denmark for their fifth ever UWCL game, Man City set the pace early, dominating their opposition as many expected them too but much like against Fortuna’s 3fLiga counterparts, Brøndby, City struggled to find the required space/time to create golden chances. A lull in play gave the visitors just enough as Jill Scott won the ball in midfield before slicing her way around the defence, her lay-off for Jane Ross the perfect weight for the Scottish international to send the ball into the box for an unmarked Carli Lloyd to nod past the keeper.

Like Rosengård the previous day, the hosts fared better after the break but were still second best to a romping City side, but despite their best efforts the Sky Blues couldn’t find a precious second goal. Never favourites in the tie and now with more of a mountain than a molehill there is a degree of pressure off of Fortuna who can travel to England and just play well at the CFA, the tie City’s to lose.

Bayern München 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain

The only home side not just to keep a clean sheet – thanks in no small part to Tinja-Riikka Korpela brilliance between the sticks – but to win their first-leg, Bayern fully went against the tide. Second best throughout, the hosts withstood a barrage from the Parisiens before talismanic forward, Vivianne Miedema worked enough space on the edge of the box to get her shot away 18 minutes from time. Although PSG didn’t go down without a fight they were unable to find that all-important away goal, however, as LSK can tell you, you should never write them off at home, not less the Parc des Princes.

VfL Wolfsburg 0-2 Olympique Lyonnais Report

Billed to be the tie of the round, a replay of last year’s final, the ball is very much in Lyon’s court (Parc?) for the second-leg. A strong showing from the Wolves saw a number of chances both side of the break but the familiar problem of capitalising and finishing when they were in sterling positions was once more Wolfsburg’s undoing. With good build-up and clean delivery into the box the connections in the 18 yard area just weren’t there with players arriving milliseconds too late or early, white shirts blocking whenever anything was goal-bound.

A shuffle at the break saw OL switch to a changing front-three, the tired and sloppy home defence unable to hold off the imperious Champions. Camille Abily’s mishit free kick saw the ball wrap too far and curl beyond Almuth Schult and into the top corner, though unintentional the French international had sliced the deadlock with a blinder. With Wolfsburg chasing the game and there was more and more space for the French side, Dzsenifer Marozsán more than happy to exploit a patch of turf just outside the box, defenders unable to deal with her neat footwork and Schult – at full stretch – unable to stop the ball en route to the back of the net.

Requiring not just multiple goals in Lyon but a way of stopping OL’s world class attack to keep a clean sheet in the South of France, there are already questions of whether the tie is already over. Wolfsburg not a team to roll over but the task ahead of them a daunting one.

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About the author
Sophie Lawson
Neutral football fan travelling around Europe, covering matches and bothering footballers for interviews