UWCL | BK Häcken-Juventus Women | Match Report | OneFootball

Juventus Women secured a 3-0 away win over BK Häcken: Pinto broke the deadlock in the 57th minute, Stolen Godø doubled the advantage in the 76th minute and Redondo wrapped up the victory in the 88th minute.

AN EVEN FIRST HALF WITH HÄCKEN THREATENING

Juventus started on the front foot, immediately looking to push into the opposition half, and in the third minute Redondo's effort took a deflection off the Swedish defence to earn the Bianconere the first corner of the match. The Spaniard tried again in the 10th minute, turning inside the box before firing over, while three minutes later Stolen Godø tested Karlsson with a powerful effort.

As the minutes passed, however, Häcken began to take control of the game. In the 15th minute Tindell went close to opening the scoring with a header that flew narrowly wide, before Anvegård fired off target a minute later. The hosts continued to enjoy possession and, in the 18th minute, De Jong and the Juventus defence managed to deal with a dangerous situation from a set piece.

Juventus struggled to find space against a well-organised Häcken side. On the half-hour mark, Sylla made a well-timed intervention to halt a potentially dangerous Swedish attack, while in the 35th minute the Bianconere defence deflected Bodin's attempt behind for a corner. Shortly afterwards, Tindell was unable to reach a cross towards the far post.

Juve threatened again towards the end of the half, with Sarriegi firing into the side-netting in the 44th minute. Before the break, Salvai made a crucial intervention to stop a Häcken counter-attack. The two sides headed into the dressing rooms with the score still 0-0.

PINTO BREAKS THE DEADLOCK

The hosts again came out aggressively after the restart. In the 48th minute Selerud found herself in a promising position but failed to make clean contact with the ball, while two minutes later Tindell's dangerous cross travelled across the penalty area without finding a teammate.

Juventus held firm and took the lead in the 57th minute. Sarriegi delivered an excellent ball into the middle and Pinto was in the right place to beat Karlsson and make it 1-0. It was a landmark goal too: Juventus Women's 100th in the UEFA Women's Champions League.

The goal changed the momentum of the contest. The Bianconere grew in confidence and began to manage possession more effectively, while still having to contain Häcken's response. Juventus then went very close to doubling their lead in the 65th minute when Carbonell's cross took a dangerous trajectory and struck the post.

STOLEN GODØ AND REDONDO SEAL THE WIN

Häcken increased the pressure in search of an equaliser, but Juventus stood firm and struck again in the 76th minute. Schatzer delivered a perfect cross and Stolen Godø met it with a precise header to make it 2-0. After a lengthy VAR check, the goal was confirmed.

The hosts continued to push forward and in the 81st minute Stolen Godø also made an important contribution at the other end of the pitch, getting ahead of Ogochukwu as she prepared to shoot from close range.

Juventus managed the closing stages with composure and put the result beyond doubt in the 88th minute: Redondo found herself one-on-one with Karlsson and kept her cool to make it 3-0.

Häcken refused to give up and Anvegård went close twice in stoppage time, first forcing a save from De Jong before seeing a curling effort crash against the crossbar in the 93rd minute.

It was the final major chance of the match. At the final whistle, the score was BK Häcken 0-3 Juventus Women, with the Bianconere returning from Sweden with a victory secured by a clinical second-half performance after a demanding opening 45 minutes.

POST-MATCH REACTIONS

ISAAC GUERRERO

“We’re happy because this team has shown that it knows how to play, how to fight and how to suffer. The difficult moments were mainly down to the intensity of our opponents, a team that plays at a high tempo, presses high and sometimes pushes things to the limit. I think we started the game very well, showing personality in possession. We perhaps needed to attack the last line a little more to pose a greater threat and stretch the opposition. In the second half we tried to address that: the balance is always very fine, because if you start playing a little more directly, you can lose some of the fluidity in your game. The girls did an excellent job of maintaining that balance and, after the break, they managed to find the spaces we had been missing without losing sight of our style of play. I’m extremely happy for them because they deserve it. Throughout the week, we also stressed the importance of being able to suffer: we want to be a team that takes the initiative, but also one that knows how to ‘get its hands dirty’, so to speak. Those two things are not in conflict; they complement each other. We’re learning and growing as a team. Even in the first half, it was difficult to play against relentless pressure and with the home crowd really getting behind their team, but the girls didn’t start simply giving the ball away: they maintained their intensity, did what they needed to do and showed hunger as well. Tati is always there, she consistently performs at a high level and helps us enormously because she’s a very dynamic player: she drops in to receive the ball and gives continuity to our play. She’s also very good at reading the spaces in behind the defensive line, and that’s very important for us. She scores important goals and today’s also came thanks to a great piece of play from Maite Oroz to help us break the deadlock. Tati is a very experienced player and she’s performing at a very high level. Her contribution makes her a very complete player: she can drop deeper to take part in the build-up, but she can also attack the last line and give us the depth we need to stretch the opposition.”

EMMA STØLEN GODØ

“I’m very happy. We started our European campaign well, but we knew we could do better, and today we played a really good game. Winning 3-0 and taking all three points makes us very happy. We knew it would be a difficult match, on an artificial pitch and in European competition. I think the first goal helped us and, as the game went on, we managed to gain more and more control. Sometimes you need a little time to find the right rhythm, but today we picked up three important points. My goal? It came from a perfect cross from Eva Schatzer: I just had to be there, and I’m very happy that I was.”

TATIANA PINTO

“I think it was a very solid performance. We started very well, then Häcken stepped up their pressing and there was a spell of around 20 minutes when we could have done better. Overall, though, I think we dominated the game: we had more possession and created more chances, so I’m very happy with our performance. The most important thing for us is our idea, our DNA: we want to dominate games. If we execute what we’ve prepared well and remain patient, the goals will come, and they did today. Now we go back to Turin and continue taking things one game at a time. First, though, we have to enjoy these three points because winning is never easy.”

CECILIA SALVAI

“Receiving the MVP award was a surprise, I wasn’t expecting it, but I want to share it with all my teammates because today we played a really good game against a very strong team. It wasn’t easy: we struggled a little at the beginning, but by continuing to believe in our style of play and in the way we want to play football, we managed to find our rhythm. I’m really happy and I want to congratulate all my teammates.”

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