Chelsea continue their winning streak and Arsenal play to a draw in Turin The Women's Champions League kicked off this week with plenty of excitement as the stakes for a place in the last eight of the competition are rising, with Arsenal and Chelsea among the teams involved. Bookmaker 1win gives the highest odds for the women's lch matches.
Third round of the Women's Champions League group stage
Only two teams were able to continue their winning ways as there were new twists and turns across Europe that led to some interesting return matches. There were 19 goals scored and only two draws in the eight matches.
Arsenal ended up with seven points, just two ahead of Juventus and three ahead of Lyon, who defeated Zurich 3-0 on the road. Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall has praised his side's performance amid the ongoing injury crisis. I am satisfied with the game, I think we came out of a very difficult game against Manchester United. I think we have a difficult injury situation in the squad," he said in his post-match press conference. I am very proud of the players in the team and that we came here and got back to our way of playing against a difficult team like Juventus. I think we created enough chances to win the game. But it shows that our play was good and that's something we can build on in the game against Everton." Elsewhere, Barcelona extended their winning streak in Europe with a 3-0 thumping of Bayern, giving the reigning Spanish champions a three-point lead over last season's runners-up in the Frauen-Bundesliga thanks to multiple second-half goals from Geis, Aitana Bonmati and Claudia Pina.
Chelsea vs Real Madrid
"Chelsea enjoyed their third win in Group A, which gave them a five-point lead over nearest rival Paris Saint-Germain after a 2-0 win over Real Madrid and put them in pole position in the latter stages of the tournament. Second half goals from Sophie Ingle and Erin Cuthbert proved decisive and Cuthbert was particularly praised by manager Emma Hayes for her persistent play in which she was duly rewarded with her second goal in as many games. Despite a convincing 5-0 win over Group A's punching bag Vlasna - three goals less than Chelsea did against the Albanian side - PSG were level on points with Real Madrid.
Wolfsburg v Roma
A 1-1 draw between Group B leaders Wolfsburg and Roma levelled the points, but the reigning German champions are ahead on goal difference. Roma's early lead in the first five minutes thanks to a Valentina Giacinti goal came as a shock to the current league leaders, but determined defending after Wolfsburg equalised on the half-hour mark allowed them to leave the field with a deserved draw.
Juventus v Arsenal
Thursday night saw another draw of the week as Juventus hosted Arsenal in Turin. Despite dominating the first half in terms of possession and inventiveness in a game that Arsenal fans jokingly dubbed the "Joe Montemurro derby", the Gunners were painfully lacking in sharpness against the European heavyweights, and soon after the break they found themselves behind thanks to a Lynette Birenstein goal, which provided the Arsenal backline with plenty of warnings before making them pay for it with a clinical strike. But Vivianne Miedema saved a crucial point for the Gunners with a header after a Frida Maanum corner. The goal was the Dutch striker's first goal in seven matches in all competitions and her first since November 3, when she went on holiday to "rest and recover" after a difficult start to the season.