The Champions League still seeks parity, but the Round of 32 saw some thrilling finishes. (Getty Images)
The UEFA Women’s Champions League continued to show signs of depth with several scintillating finishes on Wednesday and a stoppage time thriller on Thursday at Brondby. The field has been narrowed down to 16. The tournament resumes next month. Here is a quick look at the 2nd legs of the Round of 32.
Paris Saint-Germain 1, Twente 0 (Paris win, 3-1 on aggregate): American Lindsay Horan came off the bench to net the only goal in the 83rd minute to secure a Round of 16 spot for PSG. After scoring twice in the first 19 minutes of the opening leg the Paris side had gone more than 2-1/2 hours without a goal even as they carried a stunning, 24-1 shot advantage in the home leg. Horan’s goal salted away the tie, but even a 1-0 win would not have been enough for Twente.
Lyon 9, Brescia 0 (Lyon win, 14-0 on aggregate): Eugenie Le Sommer and Camille Abily both had hat tricks as Lyon won as they pleased over the champions from Italy. Louis Necib, Ada Hegerberg, and Lotta Schelin also got in on the scoring fun. Lyon next meets PSG in an all-French Round of 16 tie.
Glasgow City 3, Medyk Konin 0, aet (Glasgow City win, 3-2 on aggregate): Glasgow City rallied for two 2nd half goals to force extra time and booked their ticket through on 20-year old Denise O’Sullivan’s goal in the 94th minute. Joanne Love and Susan Fairlie scored in the 59th and 77th minutes respectively to erase the mid-tie deficit.
Neulengbach 2, MTK 2, aet (Neulengbach win, 4-3 on aggregate): In the most dramatic match of the tournament so far, Katalin Fogl equalized in stoppage time just three minutes after Lilla Nagy brought MTK within a goal, but it went for naught when Jana Vojtekova hit a penalty kick with the match just seconds from stoppage time. Dash forward Nina Burger drew the penalty call. Claudia Wasser scored just before the hour to give Neulengbach what looked to be a safe, two-goal lead.
Sparta Prague 1, Gintra 1, aet (2-2 on aggregate, Gintra win, 5-4 on penalties): Just as in the first leg the clubs traded goals to finish even and Gintra advanced on penalties. Sparta had a chance to win but 17-year old Karolina Krivska, who scored in the first leg, had her would-be winning penalty saved by Ina Budestean. Given new life, Gintra saw conversions by Budestean and Rasa Imanalijeva sandwiched around a straight miss off the foot of another teenager, Tereza Krejcirikova. Imanalijeva put the visitors on top in the 1st half but PetraBertholdiva equalized for a Sparta side that are out of the tournament despite outshooting their opponents, 40-7.
Fortuna 6, Ouriense 0 (Fortuna win, 9-0 on aggregate): Camilla Larsen scored in the 18th and 28th minutes to end any semblance of drama. Frederikke Thogersen and Sine Hoveson added a goal each before Nadia Nadim added two more in the final 15 minutes.
Barcelona 3, Slavia Prague 0 (Barcelona win, 4-0 on aggregate): Alexia Putellas and Sonia Bermudez scored in the opening half hour to put Barcelona in a strong position and Ana Maria Romero finished it off after halftime.
Rosengard 2, Ryazan-VDV 0 (Rosengrad win, 5-1 on aggregate): Anja Mittag scored both goals to make it three for the tie as Marta’s side pushed into the last 16. Ali Riley went the full 90 for Rosengrad.
Zurich 2, Osijek 0 (Zurich win, 7-2 on aggregate): Fabienne Humm had a brace for the second straight match to pace the Swiss champs.
Torres 3, Pomurje 1 (Torres win, 7-3 on aggregate): Pomurje scored firs through Mateja Zver to cut the aggregate to 4-3 before three unanswered by the Italians finished it off. Joana Flaviano, Elisabetta Tona, and Giulia Domenichetti were the goalscorers for Torres, who were 2-0 down in the first leg before winning 4-2. Six different Torres players scored over the two legs.
Linkoping 3, Liverpool 0 (Linkoping win, 4-2 on aggregate): Fridolina Rolfo, 20, netted a hat trick as Linkoping made good on their gift entry into the tournament with passage to the last 16. Linkoping finished 3rd in Sweden but earned a spot after Tyreso encountered financial trouble. Rolfo leveled the tie in the 24th minute and then scored in the 50th and 56th to put an end to Liverpool’s first go-round in Europe.
Holders Wolfsburg had to grind to move on to the Round of 16. (Photo copyright Domenic Aquilina)
Brondby 3, Apollon 1, aet (Brondby win, 3-2 on aggregate): Brondby rallied twice, first to get through 90 minutes 1-1 on aggregate and then from a goal down in extra time after Breakers forward Lianne Sanderson put Apollon ahead in the 95th minute with her second of the tie. Simone Boye Sorensen’s 40th minute goal brought things level and the dramatic goals came in the form of a 104th minute equalizer by Amalie Gronbaek Thestrup and Emma Madsen’s 112th minute tie-winner. NWSL players Haley Kopmeyer (Reign), Yael Averbuch (Spirit), and Mollie Pathman (Breakers) plus Sanderson all played the full two hours for Apollon.
Wolfsburg 2, Stabaek 1 (Wolfsburg win, 3-1 on aggregate): The holders grinded out a win over Stabaek on a shoulders on a double by 19-year old Caroline Hansen. Melissa Wiik equalized for the day after halftime to bring the visitors within a goal of stealing it. Hansen converted the backbreaker in the 84th minute after opening in the 12th.
Frankfurt 4, BIIK-Kazygurt 0 (Frankfurt win, 6-2 on aggregate): After some unexpected drama in the opening leg, Frankfurt dominated the 2nd leg and this time won safely to advance. Dzsenifer Marozsan put the German side on top five minutes before the break and Kerstin Garefrekes gave them some breathing room in the 70th minute. Celia Sasic scored two in the last quarter hour for the final score.
Zvezda 3, Stjarnan 1 (Svezda win, 8-3 on aggregate): There was little drama in Russia as Zvezda built on a decisive away win to advance with ease. Lyubov Kipyatkov got things started in the 18th minute and Darnya Apanaschenko and Anastasia Pozdeeva also scored before Anna Bjork Kristjanosdottir pulled one back.
Bristol 2, Raheny 1 (Bristol win, 6-1 on aggregate): Bristol sat on its 4-0 edge through halftime and then scored a pair before the hour mark and coasted despite losing the clean sheet in the late stages. Natalia and Angharad James scored for Bristol with Pearl Slattery grabbing Rahent’s only goal over the two legs.
The following are Round of 16 matchups which will be played the weekend of November 8-9 with the return legs the middle of the following week:
Zurich vs Glasgow FC
Rosengard vs Fortuna
Paris Saint-Germain vs Lyon
Wolfsburg vs Neulgenbach
Linkoping vs Svezda
Barcelona vs Bristol
Frankfurt vs Torres
Brondby vs Gintra
Note that the quarterfinal pairings will be drawn after Round of 16 ties are concluded.
