Chelsea bounced back from their 1-1 draw with Twente last week to regain footing with a 4-0 win over Paris FC in the latest round of the Women’s Champions League. In the second week of the league phase, the Women’s Super League title holders went back to basics with four different goal scorers, including U.S. forward Alyssa Thompson, who scored her first Champions League goal on Wednesday. Also this week, Thompson’s U.S. teammate Lily Yohannes scored a stunner from near the centre circle, catchi
Also this week, Thompson’s U.S. teammate Lily Yohannes scored a stunner from near the centre circle, catching St. Polten goalkeeper Carina Schluter out from goal and sealing OL Lyonnes’ 3-0 victory to remain undefeated.
Manchester United eked out another win to become the last team yet to be scored against in this tournament. The reigning champions, Arsenal, got back to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Benfica, but their performance was far from reassuring.
The unexpected nature of the matches and their results is a byproduct of the Champions League’s new Swiss model, designed to make every point matter. And so far, that has been the case.
Below, Cerys Jones and Tamerra Griffin take you through some of the key talking points. Let’s start with the officiating…
VAR controversy
Manchester United’s unbeaten start to their maiden European campaign continued with a nail-biting 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Thursday, but it was not without controversy.
United defender Dominique Janssen was dismissed in the 41st minute, with the assistance of VAR, following a challenge on Gio Garbelini just outside the penalty box. The Atletico forward looked in serious distress and was carried off on a stretcher after Janssen’s sliding challenge, for which she was initially booked. Referee Eleni Antoniou went to the monitor and upgraded Janssen’s card to red.
“I think the first decision of the referee giving a yellow card, in my opinion, was the correct one,” former England international Fara Williams said, speaking on Disney+ at halftime. “You can slow tackles down, and the more you slow a tackle down, the worse they look.
“I feel like VAR have reacted more on the damage and the outcome of the opponent as opposed to actually the contact of the player’s tackle.
“I think VAR on this occasion got that one wrong.”
This season is the first in which VAR has been used from the start of the competition. Previously, it had only been used in the knockout rounds, and the technology has been put to work.
Oud-Heverlee Leuven’s first goal in their 2-1 win over FC Twente on Wednesday arose from a penalty given after review for handball; Leuven’s players appealed at the time, and replays showed a clear handball. It was a good example of where the technology is valuable.
In other cases, though — Chelsea’s opening goal in their 4-0 win over Paris FC, and Wolfsburg’s winner over Valerenga — there was little noticeable appeal by the players on the pitch at the time. It raises a question of how high or low the threshold is for video officials to intervene. There have been frustrations in the past at a lack of VAR from the start of the competition; this year, while the penalty awarded to Leuven shows where VAR can serve a purpose, care must be taken to avoid being overzealous.
Cerys Jones
United’s defence holds steady
A 1-0 win does not sound like much of a statement at first glance for United. Before their European away bow on Thursday, Marc Skinner’s side would have hoped to surpass the single goal scored against Valerenga last week.
They looked to have every chance of doing so early on Thursday: Fridolina Rolfo’s excellent finish midway through the first half was a just reward for their dominance, and a perfect way for the summer signing from Barcelona, who brings valuable European experience, to open her United account. There were further chances for Melvine Malard and Ella Toone, and United looked set to make a statement about their attacking quality.
Janssen’s dismissal flipped the script. Instead of a chance to flex their goalscoring muscles, United had to grit their teeth and see out a gruelling, tense, tiring second half. For a squad stretched by competing across European and domestic competitions for the first time, and arriving at the end of a long first block of games, this could have been where energy reserves ran out.
Instead, they rallied. Captain Maya Le Tissier was at the heart of their steely backline, which midfielders Hinata Miyazawa and Julia Zigiotti Olme expertly screened. Goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce was an unbeatable last line of defence when Atletico did worm through United’s block. Even winger Leah Galton, who recently returned from injury, contributed a stellar last-ditch challenge to see her side hang onto all three points.
Atletico received their own red card in the 74th minute when Alexia Fernandez was dismissed for a second bookable offence, taking both teams down to ten players for the final 15 minutes.
United have long prided themselves on staunch defending. That will be tested further than ever this season as their European journey stretches their squad. So far, they are standing up to that test. There are tougher opponents to come, but at the end of matchday two, Skinner’s side are the only team in the competition yet to concede. That is a statement.
Cerys Jones
Arsenal win, but not convincingly
Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Benfica will go down as a disappointing loss for the Portuguese giants, more than a victory for the current Champions League winners, much less a convincing one. Benfica’s mandate was clear from kickoff; their low block and trigger-happy counterattacks caused Arsenal problems despite being able to convert their chances — but they did have them, managing four shots on target to Arsenal’s two by game’s end.
This makes you wonder in which direction the pendulum would have swung had Beth Mead not poked the ball to the back of the net in the 53rd minute (which initially looked like an own goal from a Benfica full-back), puncturing a hole in their opponents’ resolve.
For Arsenal, the goal was just what they needed to get back on the front foot. Despite a performance that still lacked the crisp dominance expected of a team looking to defend their title, Arsenal’s second goal was a thing of set-piece beauty. Chloe Kelly delivered a ball on the ground into a penalty box stampede, and Alessia Russo did not waste her chance. A high note to end on for them, but the question of their ability to dominate for a full 90 minutes remains.
Tamerra Griffin
The new league phase is fun
There’s been a striking improvement in the minute-by-minute quality of Champions League games with the new format. There is a new sense of accountability held against teams to put on their best performances every single game because the luxurious days of two-legged meetings are gone.
Last week offered an early look at this evidence, and this week has continued it, along with the tantalising prospect of upsets and near-upsets between expected victors and those vying for their place in the next round. Of the nine matches played, five were decided by a single goal, with no draws. Wolfsburg, after beating Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 last week, barely squeaked past Norwegian side Valarenga thanks to a penalty awarded in the eighth minute of stoppage time.
Twente faced a similar fate against Belgian club OH Leuven. The Dutch team were coming off an impressive 1-1 draw with Chelsea. But despite being a goal ahead, they let the match slip from their grasp as Linde Anna Veefkind netted an 82nd-minute penalty and Sara Pusztai bagged a stoppage-time game-winner for Leuven. Even Real Madrid, who held a firm grip on the game versus PSG, were found holding their nerve after Rasheedat Ajibade nodded in a second-half goal to narrow the lead to 2-1, where it ultimately stayed.
It’s not that these kinds of results didn’t occur last season; it’s that they didn’t carry the same finality to them the way they do now. That these teams can walk away from matches with the knowledge that nearly anyone can be beaten — except for Barcelona, OL Lyonnes, and maybe even United, the only team yet to concede a goal — only leads to a higher potential for chaotic good play as this phase continues.
Tamerra Griffin
Results
Valarenga 1-2 Wolfsburg
OL Lyonnes 3-0 St. Polten
Roma 0-4 Barcelona
OH Leuven 2-1 Twente
Chelsea 4-0 Paris FC
Atletico Madrid 0-1 Manchester United
Benfica 0-2 Arsenal
Bayern Munich 2-1 Juventus
Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 Real Madrid
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Women's Soccer
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