Page 3 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.26 2022-23

The possibility of an all-English UEFA Women’s Champions
League Final is still alive after both Arsenal and Chelsea made
it through to the semi finals with hard earned wins this week.
Arsenal were first in action and, trailing 1-0 to Bayern
Munich from the first leg, and they turned the tie on its head
during six first half minutes.
After an early blow when captain Kim Little limped off,
the Gunners took the lead on the night when Frifa Maanum
found the top corner with a spectacular long range strike. Before Bayern could recover, Stina
Blackstenius kept up her recent good form by heading in the second from Katie McCabe’s
cross.
Leah Williamson almost made it three and Blackstenius was denied by two good saves
as they looked to add to their lead but although a third goal was not to come, they were rarely
troubled at the other end and the resulting 2-0 win on the night, and 2-1 on aggregate, takes
Arsenal through to the semi finals for the first time in ten years.
Chelsea meanwhile took a 1-0 lead into their second leg with holders Olympique
Lyonnais at Stamford Bridge and, despite coming under some pressure, kept things intact at
half time. Lyon pressed forward after the break, with Chelsea looking to hit on the counter
attack but with thirteen minutes left, Vanessa Gilles squeezed home a Lindsay Horan cross
to put Lyon in front and take the tie into extra time.
Things got worse for Chelsea during the extra period as Sara Dabritz turned in a cross
by Ada Hegerberg to put Lyon two ahead but just it seemed they were on their way out, they
were handed a lifeline deep into injury time when Lauren James was brought down in the
area by Vicki Becho and Maren Mjelde coolly tucked home the resulting penalty.
The game went into a shootout and Ann-Katrin Berger was to be the Chelsea heroine
with saves from Wendie Renard and Horan, to see her side triumph 4-3 from the spot.
Two formidable opponents stand in the way in the semi finals, with Arsenal taking on
VfL Wolfsburg and Chelsea facing Barcelona, but a meeting between the two London clubs
cannot be ruled out.

A record-breaking season for the Barclays Women’s Super League has seen over 500,000
fans attend a league fixture this season – the first time the half a million landmark has been
passed.
In a season where league and club attendance records have regularly been broken, fans
have shown their appetite for the women’s game by turning up in their thousands for some
of the biggest matches during the campaign.
In September, Arsenal broke the individual league attendance record, with 47,367 fans
witnessing the north London derby at Emirates Stadium.
The Barclays Women’s Championship has also seen impressive numbers this season,
with over 100,000 fans attending fixtures, with Sheffield United breaking the league
attendance record in the autumn with a crowd of 11,137 for their match with London City
Lionesses.
Kelly Simmons, The FA’s Director for the Women’s Professional Game, said: “The
interest in our leagues this season has been really encouraging and to have seen over a half
a million fans pass through the turnstiles is fantastic.
“This growth yet again shows the impact of the Lionesses’ triumph last summer and the
positivity surrounding the leagues and its clubs. Thank you to the fans, the clubs, and our
partners for all the support they have committed to help make this such a memorable season.”
news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk