UEFA Women’s Champions League Second Leg – Wednesday Fixtures | OneFootball

Bayern Munich vs. Manchester United

Bayern Munich lead 3-2 on aggregateKickoff: 12:45pm ET / 9:45am PTBroadcast on ESPN Deportes; streaming on Paramount+

1st Leg Summary

Pernille Harder only needed two minutes to open the scoring in Manchester last week. Arianna Caruso found space on the large Old Trafford pitch, looked up and had enough time to play a long pass over the Manchester United defense. Harder expertly took it down and finished.

United responded twenty minutes later as Jess Park found herself in space on the right-hand side. Exploiting the slow Bayern press, she delivered to Lea Schüller. The former Bayern striker took her space and explored options in the box. Her resulting cross hit the hand of Bayern captain Glódís Viggósdóttir. Maya Le Tissier duly converted the penalty.

The second half saw some tactical tweaks, particularly for Bayern. Fullbacks Carolin Simon and Guilia Gwinn drifted inwards, and Momoko Tanikawa was brought on. Bayern’s second goal was similar to the first; an excellent Tanikawa pass from deep was taken advantage of by Harder, who finished with composure. United, in turn, exposed one of Bayern’s weaknesses: crosses. The German champions were unable to prevent Hanna Lundkvist from scoring her second goal of the season.

Tanikawa managed to get her own pre-assist for the winning goal, playing a long pass to Franziska Kett, who returned to pass, allowing Tanikawa to take a touch and finesse the winner into the corner.

2nd Leg Keys

Bayern defend narrowly in a 4-4-2, which leaves space for anyone to go wide and isolate the full back. If the fullback does not arrive in time, space is left in behind and will be exploited by pace. Manchester must exploit that.

Manchester United enjoy using the whole of the pitch to build from the back. Too much space between players, however, creates large gaps between players and space for the opposition to run into. This provides opportunities for Bayern to carve through.

Chelsea vs. Arsenal

Arsenal lead 3-1 on aggregateKickoff: 3:00pm ET / 12:00pm PTBroadcast on ESPN Deportes; streaming on Paramount+

1st Leg Summary

Chelsea had the best of the first ten minutes, hitting the hosts with two counterattacks and twice striking the post through Alyssa Thompson and Lauren James. In the eleventh minute, it was Thompson again on Arsenal’s left-hand side, running through to be denied by two blocks. The deadlock was broken in the twentieth minute after Stina Blackstenius put away Katie McCabe’s lofted ball.

Arsenal gained confidence and took advantage of Chelsea’s disjointed backline and midfield as Beth Mead was allowed to pass across the midfield to Chloe Kelly, who shot from distance and found the net. Two-nil.

Chelsea themselves had the ball in the net from a free-kick; however, Veerle Buurman’s seemingly legal goal was ruled out following a VAR check.

Ten minutes into the second half, Chelsea took off Niomi Girma and brought on winger Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, changing their shape from 3-5-2  to 4-3-3. Ten minutes later, the Blues had scored, following a scramble from a corner. Lauren James excellently placed the ball in the top left corner out of reach for Anneke Borbe.

Despite the change in shape, Chelsea remained open and susceptible to quick attacks, which Arsenal expertly exposed. Blackstenius and Russo’s understanding of each other’s games proved decisive. The Swede found Russo with a clever pass; her touch and finish rounded off the game, giving Arsenal the advantage as they head to Stamford Bridge.

2nd Leg Keys

Arsenal struggled to stop Chelsea’s three best dribblers (Alyssa Thompson, Lauren James and Sandy Baltimore) from carrying the ball long distances. Should Arsenal tighten their lines, a place in the semi-finals looks likely.

Chelsea left too much space in the centre of the pitch, which gave Arsenal a lot of time and options in front of goal. If the English champions push up higher and take the game to Arsenal, it will make for an excellent second leg.