Arsenal, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich secured their spots in the Women’s Champions League quarterfinals on Last Thursday, each advancing with two matches to spare.
Arsenal clinched a narrow 1-0 victory over Juventus in London, thanks to a late goal from substitute Lina Hurtig.
Manchester City continued their perfect run in Group D with a 2-1 win against Swedish club Hammarby, with Khadija Shaw scoring both goals. This victory marks City’s return to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2021.
Bayern Munich drew 1-1 with Vålerenga in Norway but still advanced to the knockout stage following Juventus’ defeat.
These three teams join Chelsea, Lyon, and Real Madrid in the quarterfinals. In another match, two-time defending champions Barcelona dominated Austrian champions St. Pölten with a 4-1 victory. Barcelona trails City by three points in their group but remains well-positioned to advance.
In Group C, Bayern leads with 10 points, followed by Arsenal with nine, Juventus with three, and Vålerenga with one.
Manchester City bounced back from their first loss of the season, a 2-0 setback against Chelsea in the Women’s Super League on Saturday. With star forward Vivianne Miedema sidelined due to injury, Shaw stepped up, scoring the opening goal in the 30th minute with a deflected shot that eluded Hammarby goalkeeper Anna Tamminen, silencing the home crowd of over 20,000 at Stockholm Arena.
Ellen Wangerheim equalized for Hammarby shortly after halftime, but Shaw quickly restored City’s lead with a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area.
Bayern Munich dominated possession against Vålerenga but struggled to convert chances until the 75th minute when substitute Jovana Damnjanović scored after receiving a pass from Giulia Gwinn. However, the Norwegian side equalized in the 88th minute with a header from Elise Thorsnes following a corner kick.
Pernille Harder, who had scored five goals in her previous three matches for Bayern, was unable to find the net and was substituted later in the game.
Hurtig made a significant impact after coming on in the 80th minute, creating several scoring opportunities before sealing Arsenal’s victory with a close-range tap-in following a low cross from Stina Blackstenius.
In another highlight, Barcelona’s Francisca Nazareth scored twice and 18-year-old Vicky Lopez added another goal in a dominant first-half performance against St. Pölten. Nazareth’s second goal was followed by Lopez’s first Champions League goal, and Alexia Putellas capped the scoring with her 200th goal for Barcelona, marking the club’s 100th goal in the Champions League group stage.
Valentina Mädl netted a consolation goal for St. Pölten, but Barcelona’s recent form has seen them score 20 goals in their last three matches, positioning them to potentially become the first club to win their group in all four years since the tournament’s format was introduced.
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