It’s been a weird old week in Australian football, but thankfully for all concerned our European counterparts are having none of that as they continue on their merry adventure across the continent.
From the group stage all the way to the final in Eindhoven, Beyond90 will bring you the three biggest stories from each match week as we find out who will eventually lift that famous ribboned cup.
It’s Not Goodbye, It’s See You Soon
We start this week’s wrap with the shockingly sad news that Arsenal and the Netherlands striker Vivianne Miedema has sustained a season-ending knee injury, a diagnosis confirmed following scans after the Gunners’ loss to Olympique Lyonnais in north London. The Leuwinnen frontwoman and all-time leading scorer will now miss the remainder of Arsenal’s 2022-23 campaign, as well as the upcoming Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, as she recovers from surgery and commences rehabilitation.
Miedema said on Instagram she realised the severity of the injury immediately – “[so] many things going through your head: I won’t be able to help my team anymore this season, no World Cup, surgery and rehab for a long time.” The Dutchwoman joins partner Beth Mead on the Gunners’ long-term injury list as both recover from ACL injuries, while Leah Williamson and Kim Little are soon to return from their own lay-offs in the coming weeks.
Slavia Stopper’s Stellar Saves Stun Shocking Saxons
Last week we sung the praises of Group B leaders Wolfsburg after a performance against Roma that typified the efficiency and ruthlessness we’ve come to expect from German sides throughout the competition’s history. As they say though, a week is a long time in football, and Die Wölfinnen found themselves a long, long way from that peak as they struggled to break down a resolute Slavia Prague side, eventually stuttering to a goalless draw at the Allerpark.
Lead by young Czech goalkeeper Olivie Lukášová, Slavia made do with only 25% possession and 104 completed passes as they battled wave after wave of Wolfsburg attack, conceding 35 shots and 50 crosses over the 90 minutes. Lukášová had more than a little help from the German side, who incredibly missed three shots inside the six-yard box in the second half – including Alexandra Popp’s bungled three-metre effort – but having made 14 saves of her own, the 21-year-old stopper definitely earned her keep this week.
The Winner Takes It All
Having ruined both Real Madrid’s campaign and this author’s prediction from last week, Paris Saint-Germain guaranteed themselves a place in the quarter-finals last week courtesy of a 2-1 home victory at the Stade-Jean-Bouin. The Parisiennes’ win leaves just one group, Group C, without a guaranteed top-two heading into matchweek six, with any combination of Arsenal, Juventus and title holders Olympique Lyonnais capable of qualifying for the knock-out stage.
Group leaders Arsenal are currently favourites to finish on top as they travel to Switzerland to face Zürich knowing their opening day 5-0 victory against Lyon aids them in a tiebreaker, while the winner of Lyon vs Juventus will guarantee qualification on either 13 or 11 points respectively. Things become tricky should Arsenal concede an upset loss to FCZ, as a win would see Juventus leapfrog both the Gunners and Lyon into first, eliminating the title-holders and avoiding tricky knock-out ties against the likes of Barcelona and Chelsea.
Group A
Vllaznia 0 Chelsea 4
Paris Saint-Germain 2 Real Madrid 1
Standings: Chelsea 13* (+15) PSG 10* (+9) Madrid 5x (-1) Vllaznia 0x (-23)
MW6 (23 Dec): Chelsea vs Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid vs Vllaznia
Group B
Roma 5 St-Pölten 0
Wolfsburg 0 Slavia Prague 0
Standings: Wolfsburg 11* (+8) Roma 10* (+5) St-Pölten 4x (-9) Slavia 2x (-4)
MW6 (23 Dec): St-Pölten vs Wolfsburg, Slavia Prague vs Roma
Group C
Arsenal 0 Olympique Lyonnais 1
Juventus 5 Zürich 0
Standings: Arsenal 10 (+6) Lyon 10 (+4) Juventus 8 (+6) Zürich 0x (-16)
MW6 (22 Dec): Zürich vs Arsenal, Olympique Lyonnais vs Juventus
Group D
Rosengård 0 Bayern Munich 4
Benfica 3 Barcelona 6
Standings: Barcelona 12* (+17) Bayern 12* (+5) Benfica 6x (-11) Rosengård 0x (-11)
MW6 (22 Dec): Barcelona vs Rosengård, Bayern Munich vs Benfica
* – qualified for quarter-finals
x – eliminated from group stage
Top Scorers
6 – Ewa Pajor (Wolfsburg)
5 – Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona), Cloé Lacasse (Benfica)
