FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich want to confirm their short option on qualification against Rome and Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday, while OL and PSG, beaten in the first leg, will have to win in the second leg. outside this Thursday.
Finalist of three of the last four editions (victory in 2021, defeats in 2019 and 2022), Barça resisted with difficulty last Tuesday to AS Roma (1-0), which disputed for the first time in its history a quarter-final of C1. In front of nearly 40,000 spectators, a record attendance for women’s football in Italy, the Spanish international Salma Paralluelo cooled the Stadio olimpico after a very good control-strike sequence. The Spaniards will have to validate this slight advantage, helped this time by the Camp Nou.
And carried by another good news: the double Ballon d’Or Alexia Putellas, injured in the cruciate ligaments of a knee, resumed collective training on Monday. It is not yet available.
The Germans of Bayern Munich, who won at home in the first leg against Arsenal, thanks to the trigger and the header of midfielder Lea Schüller, move to the Emirates Stadium to obtain their ticket for the last four.
Two feats to look for
The path looks more difficult for OL and PSG. To hope to reach the last four of the women’s C1, the two French clubs must necessarily score against Chelsea and Wolfsburg. After their narrow defeat in the first leg (1-0), defending champion Olympique Lyonnais will have the task, at Stamford Bridge, of overthrowing the Blues, who have already fallen twice from PSG in the group stage (1-0 and 3-0).
Without several of their stars (Macario, Hegerberg, M’Bock), the Lyonnaises were too little dangerous last Wednesday, apart from a fine strike from Delphine Cascarino, which hit the post.
For the Parisiennes, the challenge is even greater to access the last four of the competition, which they have reached in the last three years (2020, 2021, 2022). Beaten by Wolfsburg (1-0) on the way to the Parc des Princes after being reduced to ten for more than thirty minutes, they will have to be more effective in front of goal. Despite the numerical inferiority and in front of 18,000 people, the Parisiennes had continued to dominate, showing good things without however obtaining any clear chances.