Day 3 of this season’s match uefa women’s champions league (UWCL) looks at some more exciting matches and tells us what’s to come table Starts taking shape.
fishes were seen on tuesday valerenga defeat Roma 1-0, first ol lyonnes Beat VfL Wolfsburg 3-1, chelsea spanking St. Polten 6-0, and real Madrid snatched the equalizing goal in the last minute paris fc To end their game at 1-1.
Then on Wednesday we saw barcelona Beat Oud-Heverlee Leuven 3-0, Bayern Munich Wonderful armory With a 3-2 comeback win, juventus spanking Atletico Madrid 2-1, benfica And FC Twente 1-1 draw and play in mary earps‘Return to his former club England Manchester United Beating your current club Paris Saint Germain 2-1.
We asked our writers Beth Lindop, Alex Kirkland and Tom Hamilton to answer some of our burning questions.
, Women’s Champions League: How the new format plays out
, Don’t know which UWCL team to support? espn can help
, Yohannes, Caldenti: Who is the MVP among all 18 UWCL teams?
Is Sam KerrDoes Chelsea have to return missing items to end the wait for UWCL?
Lindop: It may have been 692 days since his last start for Chelsea after suffering a long-term ACL injury, but Kerr’s two-goal performance against St. Pölten in a 6–0 win proved he still has all the ingredients to become one of the world’s best strikers.
early Tuesday night Australia Internazionale were looking uncharacteristically poor, missing several chances and eventually scoring their first goal in the 72nd minute. He then followed it up with a trademark Kerr header in stoppage time. Although it may still take some time for him to be at his best, his return to scoring form could certainly give Chelsea that extra edge they are missing in European competition.
kirkland: It’s still early days, but Kerr’s two goals in his first 90 minutes in almost two years is seriously encouraging for Chelsea, and worrying for their rivals. As you would expect, it took him a while to get going against St. Pölten, but Kerr’s goalscoring ability is something you never lose. And yes, Chelsea are looking good, but let’s see how they perform against Barcelona – who have been Europe’s gold standard for years – later this month. This is a fair test, and only then will we be able to judge where he and Kerr stand.
hamilton: Kerr’s return should bode ill for the rest of European football. And this impressive victory in Austria also coincided with lauren james And Naomi GirmaReturning to India, it has a trio of world-class options available. They are unbeaten so far in the Champions League, and with Barcelona on the horizon, Kerr’s return is timely and makes Sonia Bompastor’s team even more lethal.
Beth is right, he will need time to fine-tune his radar going forward, but the two goals show he is on the right track. But it will take time, and let’s not read too much into it just yet – this was hardly an acid test. Chelsea took 43 shots, 19 of which were on target. However, Kerr’s return is huge, and if he is at his best, Chelsea should be cemented as favorites for the tournament. The challenge for Bompastor is how to keep all his forward options happy.
Does Vålerenga’s win over Roma justify the new UWCL format?
Lindop: We all love a football fairy tale and, despite all its flaws, the new 18-team single-league stage format helps facilitate that. Vålerenga have been quite unlucky so far, having pushed aside Manchester United and Wolfsburg before losing by narrow margins, so it was great to see them get their first win in the competition against Roma.
The fact that FC Twente held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw on the first matchday is proof that there is plenty of scope for an upset, and hopefully there are more to come before we reach the knockout stages.
kirkland:It was great: This tournament is exactly as it should be, but it often isn’t. And the fact that Vålerenga’s victory was decided by such a stunning single goal stein brackenMade it even better. Bracken later said it best: “We’ve been struggling for a long time to try to get better and compete here, and today we got to show that.”
And that’s exactly the point: teams like Vålerenga need experience at this level against top teams in order to develop. Last year, they drew one of their UWCL games and lost five. Now, they are beating Roma. fantastic.
hamilton: The Vålerenga match was magical, so too was the sight of their manager, Nils Lexroade, who was suspended for standing on the touchline, leading a sing-along in the stands at halftime. The entire time he celebrated with his chef. OH Leuven’s story has also been eye-catching after a draw with Paris FC and a win over Twente.
Those are memories of a lifetime. Elsewhere, FC Twente’s draw with Chelsea was the highlight of the tournament, and there were many more twists and turns along the way.
What is going wrong at Arsenal at the moment?
Lindop:As defending champions, Arsenal now have a target in front of them. With academy graduate, defensive injuries not helping his cause katie reed Suffered an ACL injury during training, but it is the psychological aspect of Wednesday night’s defeat that will probably concern head coach Rene Slagers most.
After leading 2-0 in the first half, Arsenal were on the move and, while Bayern boss Jose Barkla deserves credit for his impressive substitutions, a team bidding to go all the way in this competition should not capitulate in the way Arsenal did after the break. The Gunners need to bring some stability, especially at the back. But, with several key personnel missing, this is easier said than done.
hamilton: I agree with Beth, and while Barkala got his substitutions right, the substitutions made by the sluggers disrupted his rhythm. Pernille Harder Bayern came off the bench and changed the match, but when Arsenal blanked them, they lost all rhythm and cohesion. The great pressing and movement we saw in the first half was gone and it left Harder to dictate the pace of the match.
It’s clear there’s some hangover from last season. Although that amazing victory was driven in part by emotion, it is hard to replicate. Injuries aren’t helping, and the new signings haven’t fully integrated yet. The sluggers will have to make some efforts to get the ship back on track.
2:05
Renee Slager’s reaction to Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich
Arsenal manager Renee Slagers speaks after her team’s 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Women’s Champions League.
The games of the two Madrid clubs were very different. What is the difference between them now?
kirkland: Real Madrid and Atlético were both trailing by a goal in the final minutes of their games with Paris FC and Juventus respectively. The difference is simple: Madrid dug deep, brought forth some intangible, mysterious “Real Madrid in the Champions League” feeling, and somehow scored an equalizing goal in the 98th minute. Caroline WeirAnd Atlético were not able to do the same even after a day.
Last season, Real Madrid did not feel mature enough as a team to properly compete at this level. Remember, this is only their fifth UWCL campaign since the team’s formation in 2020. They’re still far from the ideal team, and I wouldn’t put them among the favorites to win this tournament, but they’ve now got a good mix of laid-back veterans like Weir and carefree, talented youngsters. Linda CasideoLet’s see where it takes them,
Everyone was talking about the Mary Earps ahead of Man United’s comeback, but was she beyond the stage?
Lindop: When the team sheet dropped at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, the news came that Safia Middleton-Patel His debut in goal for Manchester United will certainly have raised some eyebrows. Fallon Tullis-Joyce She has been huge in goals for United since the start of last season, and so her injury will be a concern for Mark Skinner and his staff.
But, making only his second senior appearance for the club, Middleton-Patel performed admirably, taking advantage of his chances and making a great save to deny. Anais Abeylin When the score was equal at the beginning of the second half. As far as the Earps were concerned, the return to Manchester was disappointing, but it was good to see their supporters applauding at the full-time whistle. It’s been a tough week for the former England International, but he still has plenty of fans at United and beyond.
hamilton: Being at Old Trafford, the reception the Earps received at the start of the match was completely different to the reception they received at the end. She was initially greeted with applause, but by the end of the match, as she walked around the pitch, there were signs supporting her and she received lots of love.
But the star goalkeeper that night was Middleton-Patel. She found out she was starting on Wednesday afternoon and she performed brilliantly. No goalkeeper in the world could save Olga Carmonashot, and she was calm and composed the entire time. You would never have guessed that Middleton-Patel was playing her second match on such a stage.
1:41
Middleton-Patel considers first UWCL game ‘special’ for Man United
Safia Middleton-Patel speaks after starting her first game for Manchester United in the Women’s Champions League.
What was your favorite goal during this period?
Lindop: I’m really going to go with Kerr’s second against St. PöltenIt wasn’t the most spectacular goal, nor the most decisive in terms of the result, but it was absolutely classic Kerr: rising high and nodding home, niam charles cross. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the Striker at its best, but that trademark finish is a perfect reminder of what it is.
Kirkland: Weir’s late equalizer for Real Madrid It was hard to top in terms of drama, but the quality of striking was nothing in comparison Emma Stolen God‘S free kick At Atletico for Juventus. But really, forget both: my favorite is the goal I mentioned earlier, Bracken’s. Single try for VålerengaA drop that starts with nutmeg: what’s not to love?!
Hamilton: Some great efforts were: marionna caldentiagainst bayern beautifully judgedWhereas Fridolina Rolfo‘S header It was the result of an amazing team move against PSG. but i’m going to carmona Target In the same match against Manchester United. I’m biased because I saw it live, but it was one of those perfect shots that seemed to hang in the sky for an era and were completely impossible to save.
