Page 12 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.7 2020-21

Chelsea and Manchester City will take their places in the last sixteen of the UEFA Women’s
Champions League after completing the second legs of their respective ties with victories, but
Glasgow City have bowed out of the competition at the Round of 32 stage.
Manchester City were first in action on Wednesday afternoon as they faced FC
Goteborg at the Academy Stadium, having won the first leg 2-1 in Sweden seven days earlier.
Gareth Taylor’s side were quick out of the blocks and Ellen White almost gave them an early
lead but on 36 minutes, they got the goal they craved to put them well in charge of the tie - and
it was a goal worth waiting for. Lauren Hemp broke down the wing and cut inside before
unleashing a powerful strike which sailed over Goteborg goalkeeper Jennifer Falk and into the
back of the net.
Sam Mewis hit the post in search of a second and, after the break, Alex Greenwood
almost doubled the lead with a strike from fully 40 yards which brought out a good save from
Falk. Ellie Roebuck then pulled off a fine stop of her own at the other end to deny Vilde Boe Rise
but City were then to go ahead, Georgia Stanway slotting home the rebound after White’s shot
had been saved. Two minutes later, Stanway again scored from the rebound from a White shot
to seal a 3-0 win on the night, and 5-1 on aggregate.
Chelsea’s return meeting with SL Benfica would be little more than a formality after
the Blues had run out 5-0 winners in the first leg. It took 28 minutes for Emma Hayes’ side to
open the scoring, Beth England giving them the lead on the night. Chelsea continued to
dominate matters and pressed for a second but their finishing let them down on occasions and
they had to wait until midway through the second half, Guro Reiten’s through ball picking out
the run of Sam Kerr who finished clinically. There was a special moment for Drew Spence as she
came on as a substitute with fifteen minutes remaining, marking her 200th appearance for the
club. Chelsea were to round off a 3-0 win as the game went into injury time as another
substitute, Fran Kirby, sent in a low cross which England converted at the second attempt, for
her second goal.
Glasgow City faced the toughest test as they sought to overturn a 2-1 deficit from their
first leg with Sparta Prague. Things got worse for them with just seven minutes on the clock
as Lucie Martinkova found space on the edge of the area to steer her shot beyond the dive of Lee
Alexander and into the corner of the net, putting the Czech Republic side two goals ahead on
aggregate. Jenna Clark nearly levelled the scores on the night with a strike which brought out a
good save by Hana Sloupova and just before half time, Tyler Toland found the net from 25 yards
but the effort was ruled out for a foul in the build up.
City tried hard to get back in the tie after the break with Maddie Fulton going close but
at the other end, it took a goalline clearance from Clark to prevent Martinkova from scoring her
second. City were awarded a penalty for handball late on but captain Leanne Ross’ kick brought
out a good save from Sloupova. Sparta held out for a 1-0 win on the night and 3-1 victory on
aggregate.
Elsewhere, holders Olympique Lyonnais, who had a scare in the first leg last week, saw
off the challenge of Juventus with a 3-0 win in the return meeting. There were no other real
surprises in the other ties with Slavia Prague being the other seeded team apart from Glasgow
City to go out, losing 1-0 on the night at home to Fiorentina and 3-2 overall.
The draw for the Round of 16 will take place in February.

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Issue no. 7 - 17 December 2020 news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk