The UEFA Women’s Champions League is now down to its final four after today’s second leg of the quarterfinal round. Our Game Magazine’s Olaf Goldbecker breaks down three of the four matches, and we have a recap of the Arsenal vs. Linkoping game that was decided on road goals.
Olympique Lyonnais v. Zvezda Perm 1-0 (1-0 on aggregate)
French powerhouse Olympique Lyonnais advanced against the Russian top club Zvezda Perm. One single goal decided the two games, but on a closer view, the games were not as even as the score tells. In today’s game Perm did not register a single shot on goal, and in both games combined they only had four shots. Swiss international Lara Dickenmann was the matchwinner for Lyonnais after an hour, only nine minutes after she entered the pitch. Lyudmyla Pekur was sent off after two yellows with a quarter hour left on the clock.
1.FFC Turbine Potsdam v. Juvisy Essone 6-2 (9-2 on aggregate)
After the 3-0 road win last week, Turbine Coach Bernd Schröder rested his star player Lira Bajramaj and made some changes in the lineup. Still, his team dominated the entire game and demolished the opponent. Isabel Kerschowski opened the scoring before Yuki Nagasato added a pair. Laetitia Tonazzi answered a few minutes before halftime, but Bianca Schmidt cared for a 4-1 halftime lead for the East Germans. The second half goals were started by the French team when Gaetane Thiney closed the gap to 4-2. Yet Anja Mittag quickly cared for the three goal difference again. The final goal was scored by the first goal scorer of the game, Isabel Kerschowski.
FCR Duisburg v. Everton LFC 2-1 (5-2 on aggregate)
Already in the afternoon, FCR Duisburg expectedly carried home a 3-1 advantage against Everton LFC. In a weak game, the Germans were the more effective team and won 2-1 despite only registering a total of three shots. Simone Laudehr converted the first chance and the first shot on goal after 22 minutes to open the scoring. Bad luck for her that she saw her second yellow in the competition and will have to sit out the first semifinal. Ten minutes before the end, Inka Grings added a second goal with her team’s second shot on goal – by penalty kick. Gwennan Harries put Everton on the scoreboard in the stoppage time. Duisburg’s third shot was taken by Linda Bresonik, and it was the only one that did not find its way into the net.
Linkoping FC v. Arsenal LFC 2-2 (3-3 on aggregate; Arsenal advances by road goals)
By Ryan Wood: A pair of away goals by Arsenal in their match today against Linkoping FC proved to be the decisive factor in sending the English club to the Champion’s League semifinals. Linda Sällström put Linkoping ahead, 1-0, in the 16th minute before Rachel Yankey pulled the game level for Arsenal. Kosovare Asllani scored in the 57th minute to give Linkoping a 2-1 lead, but Arsenal’s Katie Chapman equalized in the 79th minute, giving her team all it needed to advance to the semifinals.
The semifinals will be played in mid-April. In a French-English battle, Olympique Lyonnais will face Arsenal LFC. The second semifinal is a duel between the German champion and the German No. 3, Potsdam and Duisburg.