Wolfsburg Clinch Crucial Victory Over Roma; Lyon Thrash Galatasaray

AFP/APP

Paris: Wolfsburg earned a crucial 6-1 victory over Roma in the Women’s Champions League on Wednesday, securing their place in the quarter-finals. The German side’s dominant performance ensured they finished second in Group A, three points clear of Roma, thanks to a superior head-to-head record.

Wolfsburg had made life difficult for themselves after their 1-0 loss to Roma in Italy on matchday one. However, they turned the tables with a strong home win, with Sveindis Jonsdottir scoring four times in the final 25 minutes.

“I’m extremely happy and extremely proud that we’re through,” said Wolfsburg forward Alexandra Popp. “We made life very difficult for ourselves with the result from the game in Rome, but to have a game like this… I’m just super proud.”

Popp opened the scoring early for Wolfsburg, and after Valentina Giacinti equalized for Roma early in the second half, Lineth Beerensteyn put Wolfsburg back ahead. Jonsdottir’s four goals, coming in a brilliant late flurry, sealed the win and lifted Wolfsburg to nine points.

“I’m going to let all the girls write something on this (match) ball – I’m really happy! I’ll probably never forget about it,” said Jonsdottir.

In the other standout match of the night, Lyon extended their perfect record in the competition with a 6-0 thrashing of Galatasaray. Six different players found the back of the net for Lyon, including captain Wendie Renard and Eugenie Le Sommer.

Le Sommer’s 76th-minute goal was particularly notable as it marked her 50th Champions League goal. “It would be too early to say that we are the favorites for the cups before the end of the season, but we are making good progress,” said Lyon coach Joe Montemurro. “We’ve had a good start to the season, but the important thing is to maintain this.”

In Group B, Chelsea and Real Madrid both secured wins, setting up a high-stakes final group game on December 17, where the winner of the group will be decided.

Chelsea maintained their perfect record with a dominant 6-1 victory over Twente, while Real Madrid triumphed 3-0 at Celtic, thanks to a brace from Signe Bruun and a late goal from Alba Redondo. Chelsea lead the group by three points, having won 3-2 at Real Madrid in the first matchday.