It's not necessarily been a classic UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage this year. Every group has had two elite teams dominate proceedings. Drama and jeopardy have been low. Scorelines have been large, which was predicted.
As Matchday 5 drew to a close with FC Barcelona beating Hammarby 3–0 in Sweden and Wolfsburg taking care of AS Roma 6–1 in Germany, all eight quarterfinals teams have now been confirmed. Joining the reigning UWCL champions Barcelona in the knockout rounds will be Lyon, Wolfsburg, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
Despite qualification to the quarterfinals being settled with one match to play, only Lyon have sewn up the top seed. The French champion’s 6–0 demolition of Galatasaray confirmed an insurmountable six-point gap ahead of Wolfsburg in Group A.
Let’s get into some of the things we learned from the action around the continent this week.
Injury fears for Alex Greenwood
On Thursday, England fans were left in dismay after Manchester City captain Alex Greenwood had to be stretchered off in the 32nd minute of their match against St. Polten. It is too soon to have a diagnosis, but many fear a long spell on the sidelines.
“We have two games to get through. We will check in on Alex [Greenwood] and see how she is, but it takes a lot for Alex to come off,” City manager Gareth Taylor said. “[Alex is a] huge loss. We seem to be losing big players. [Vivianne] Miedema, Lauren Hemp, [Naomi] Layzell, Bunny Shaw.”
Greenwood stuck out her left leg to make a challenge on Melanie Brunnthaler near the halfway line. But the attempted tackle resulted in Greenwood’s leg getting tangled up with the sprinting St. Polten winger. Almost instantly, Greenwood fell to the pitch in distress, clutching her leg and calling for a sub.
At the time of the injury, the match was scoreless. While City looked shell-shocked for the remainder of the first half, eventually, Lily Murphy and Kerstin Casparij were able to find the goals in the second half. It was both players’ first goals for City.
Wishing you a speedy recovery, @AlexGreenwood! 🥺🩵 pic.twitter.com/Wa7hP5AbC2
— MCWFC Xtra (@MCWFCXtra) December 12, 2024
Bayern and Arsenal keep pace
In Group C, Bayern Munich was able to cling to its narrow one-point lead at the top over Arsenal thanks to a 4–0 home win over Juventus. The second-placed Gunners did their part to keep up the chase by beating Valerenga 3–1 in Norway.
Valeregna isn’t an easy place to go. Across the entire group stage, there has only been one solitary draw in this year’s UWCL, and that was a surprise 1–1 between Valeregna and Bayern. The Germans still have the edge on Arsenal thanks to a stunning 5–2 win over the Gunners in Munich on Matchday 1.
Group C is set for a fascinating finale on Matchday 6. Even with a Frauen Bundesliga match squeezed in between, Munich coach Alex Straus is relishing the final group stage contest next week at the Emirates Stadium.
“First, we play on Sunday, and we need to get that game out of the way with three points. If we do well there, then we can go to London with no fear for a game between two great teams,” said Straus.
🌟 Group C 🌟#UWCL pic.twitter.com/E0zBugpQEI
— UEFA Women’s Champions League (@UWCL) December 12, 2024
Ewa Pajor double quiets Hammarby
It’s been quite the season so far for new Barcelona signing Ewa Pajor. The Polish striker swapped Wolfsburg for Catalonia last summer and has hit the ground running with 10 goals and two assists in Liga F, in addition to five goals in the UWCL.
On Thursday night in Stockholm, Pajor was typically clinical, nipping in to finish off two early chances from close range and give Barcelona a 2–0 lead at the break. Her brace was defined by her movement to get into the perfect position to make the shot appear easy.
Pajor’s early goals were vital for Barcelona, settling any possible nerves, with Hammarby bringing incredible home support to the Tele2 Arena for their final home match of the group stage. Raucous home fans sang and bounced throughout, unfurling a glorious tifo before the match and banging plenty of drums.
Considering the prior meeting between these two ended 9–0 to Barcelona, Hammarby will view this defeat as a vast improvement.
🎯 Ewa Pajor doing what she does best, and Barça are ahead early on!
— DAZN Women's Football (@DAZNWFootball) December 12, 2024
Watch live for free on DAZN ▶️ https://t.co/dIfKpURfZv #UWCLonDAZN #UWCL pic.twitter.com/8dgg4sdUhM
Super-sub Sveindis Jonsdottir goes turbo
Revenge is a dish best served with six goals. After losing to Roma 1–0 in their previous meeting, Wolfsburg got an emphatic reprisal when they thrashed the Italians 6–1 and confirmed a spot in the knockout rounds.
Perhaps even more stunning than the scoreline was second-half substitute Sveindis Jonsdottir’s four goals between the 68th and 90th minutes. The Icelandic forward was unplayable on the night, in one of the most dominant cameos the UWCL has ever seen. She hadn’t scored in the UWCL this season before Wednesday night.
“I’m going to let all the girls write something on this ball, I’m really happy,” said Jonsdottir. “I’ll probably never forget about it. Or, at least, it’s going to be a long time until I’m able to forget about this game.”
To make the night a bit more special, Jonsdottir’s mother was in the crowd for the match, something that Wolfsburg captain Alex Popp joked could have played a factor in the sudden explosion of goals.
“Sveindís’s mum is here tonight—she doesn’t come to Wolfsburg often, but maybe she should, then something like this could happen more regularly,” said Popp.
✨ What a night for Jónsdottir, she scores her 4th to put Wolfsburg 6-1 up against Roma!
— DAZN Women's Football (@DAZNWFootball) December 11, 2024
Watch live for free on DAZN ▶️ https://t.co/dIfKpURfZv #UWCLonDAZN #UWCL pic.twitter.com/wWq3TwcQtb
Homecoming for Caroline Weir
In Glasgow, Real Madrid’s routine 3–0 win over Celtic had added meaning for Caroline Weir. It is a rare experience for the Scottish midfielder to play club matches—let alone Champions League—in the country of her birth. Weir is one of the highest-profile Scottish internationals out there, with over 100 caps.
“It’s fun to come home and play in the Champions League, representing Real Madrid in Scotland,” said Weir.“I’ve really enjoyed it and tried to enjoy the game as well. I think the team were a bit shocked by the weather! The most important thing was getting three points and we managed to do that tonight.”
Weir was subbed off in the 71st minute, which allowed fans to show their appreciation as she stepped off the pitch to ovation. She was involved in the build-up for one of Signe Brunn’s two goals and completed 87% of her passes. Weir has two goals and two assists in the UWCL this season.
🔟 #UWCL 🔟 pic.twitter.com/Y1yXkH7Zry
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadridfem) December 11, 2024
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Five Things We Learned From UEFA Women's Champions League Matchday 5.
