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When they took the lead for the third time at Old Trafford, Bayern Munich fans were singing ‘football’s coming home’, taunting the hosts. Their prediction remains to be seen but they will take a priceless one-goal lead back to Germany for the second leg of this quarter-final, meaning Manchester United have it all to do next week.
The English side never quite showed their full potential on Wednesday and despite two spirited fightbacks eventually succumbed to a 3-2 loss against a Munich team inspired by Pernille Harder, who scored twice. A delighted Harder, who was a Manchester United fan as a child, told Disney+: “I never thought I would score two goals at Old Trafford. When I was a kid there was no women’s team so it would not even be possible. So of course it’s a dream come true but most of all I’m really happy with the win.”
Playing in the quarter-finals for the first time, this tie was the biggest United women’s team have experienced since reforming in 2018. Given the magnitude of the occasion a crowd of 7,513 was somewhat underwhelming, most likely a result of being the first of two fixtures for United at Old Trafford in four days. Saturday’s Manchester derby is understood to have attracted far stronger ticket sales. Those who did turn up where shocked inside two minutes.
Bayern could scarcely have dreamt of a better start as they opened the scoring after 98 seconds with as simple a goal you could wish to score in a European knockout game. It took just one well-placed but routine ball over the top from Arianna Caruso to beat the United defence. Harder had the pace, deft touch and composure to hold off Maya Le Tissier and roll the ball into the bottom corner in front of an empty Stretford End.
The home side were stunned and continued to look vulnerable for the subsequent 10 minutes before they gradually worked their way back into the contest and started to threaten themselves. Their rally was rewarded when they won a penalty after Lea Schüller’s shot struck Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir’s arm. The United captain, Le Tissier, took a deep breath before placing her spot-kick low to Ena Mahmutovic’s right.
In what was a relatively even contest for large spells, Viggósdóttir volleyed over from a corner before Bernadette Kakounan clipped a glorious chance over the crossbar from another corner. At the other end, against her former club Schüller was getting into goalscoring positions for Marc Skinner’s side, but she first fired low and wide from the right-hand side before heading off-target from a Melvine Malard cross.
Bayern have been in peerless form domestically and are coasting towards the Frauen Bundesliga title, sitting 11 points clear at the top and unbeaten after 20 matches. United will have taken encouragement from matching them for large parts of this first leg, but might regret their relatively cagey start to the second half. Skinner spoke before the first leg of his side looking forward to a “magical night of football” but the hosts at times lack a spark.
Barcelona crush Real Madrid to put one foot in semi-finals
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Barcelona put one foot into the last four of the Women's Champions League with a comprehensive 6-2 first-leg victory away at Real Madrid. Ewa Pajor scored twice alongside goals from Esmee Brugts, Irene Paredes, Vicky López and a late Alexia Putellas penalty to give Barça a resounding victory at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium.
Linda Caicedo's double for the hosts could not stop Madrid from falling to a heavy defeat before the two sides face off again in the quarter-final second leg in Barcelona next Thursday.
Barcelona cashed in on a bright start with two goals inside the first 13 minutes as Putellas set up Pajor to slide into an empty net before López's cross found the head of Brugts, whose effort bounced in off a post.
Real Madrid got themselves back in the contest through Caicedo's clever finish past Cata Coll but Barça restored their two-goal advantage before half-time through Paredes's header from Clàudia Pina's inviting corner. Barcelona were too good and things were beginning to get ugly after the break when Pajor struck again before Caroline Graham Hansen set up López to make it 5-1.
Madrid did not have much to get excited about in a contest dominated by Pere Romeu's side but Caicedo gave the home side a glimmer of hope with her second of the night with a bullet into the top corner, before Putellas'a spot-kick sealed an impressive win for Barça. PA Media
Photograph: Europa Press Sports/Europa Press
Suddenly Harder provided one for the visitors, running on to the substitute Momoko Tanikawa’s through ball and, in unerringly similar fashion to her opening goal except for using her opposite foot, slotted in low past Phallon Tullis-Joyce. The home side’s surprisingly high defensive line appeared to be their downfall.
The Bayern head coach, José Barcala, had been expecting it, he said after, revealing early balls over the top had been part of his tactical plan. Skinner said: “I don’t think it’s the high line. Our full-backs are too wide. The spaces we allowed were too wide. That’s something we will fix for the second leg.”
Woken up by that goal, United rallied again and made it 2-2 soon when Hanna Lundkvist rose highest at a corner to nod in. Their joy was short-lived though as Tanikawa found space to bend a clinical finish into the far corner and give Bayern the lead for the third time, making United’s second-leg task look all the trickier. As with Harder’s goals, it felt all rather too easy for the visitors to score.
“I’m frustrated with all the three goals tonight,” Skinner said. “I didn’t think they particularly had to earn them. We’re still in the tie, for sure. We now need to turn it around and go to the Allianz and win.”
