Chelsea Women came from behind to beat Wolfsburg 2-1 in their final league match, finishing in 3rd place and advancing to the quarter-finals of the Women’s Champions League.
This will allow the Blues to avoid the playoffs in mid-February and ease their hectic schedule. They will find out their potential opponents for the final eight when the knockout draw takes place on Thursday (12 p.m.).
Chelsea also started the night in third place, but their place in the top four was in jeopardy early on as Wolfsburg capitalized on their dominant momentum, which now guaranteed them a direct place in the last four.
Revere Penn’s attempt to clear was used to advance Alexandra Popp. She edged past Keira Walsh and sent a low, powerful shot over the goalkeeper’s head.
Both teams continued to exchange blows, but Wolfsburg had the better lead. Lucy Bronze also kept Chelsea in the game twice with her defense. After clearing Reince Behrenstein’s shot on the line, he made a well-timed tackle in the box to thwart Kesha Bushey’s attack.
Lucy Bronze scores Chelsea’s equaliser.
And moments later, just before half-time, Erin Cuthbert scored from a corner kick to equalize at the other end.
Chelsea had better control after the break and from the restart Alyssa Thompson hit the post, while Cuthbert’s shot was denied by Stina Johannes.
Sam Kerr secured the three points in the 64th minute. She broke free at her near post and slotted in a cross from Johanna Ritting Canerud, scoring Chelsea’s 20th Champions League goal.
Alexandra Pop celebrates her opening goal against Chelsea
It wasn’t going to be easy for Wolfsburg either. Five minutes into stoppage time, Janou Rebels beat Penn and sent a shot over the crossbar, but he couldn’t get the tying goal he had hoped for.
As a result, Wolfsburg still has a place in the finals, but they finish in 9th place with a one-point difference. This means they will be unseeded in Thursday’s draw and will face either Real Madrid or Juventus.
Bompastor: We wanted top 4 and we did it
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastre said: “I’m really happy with this result. It’s not easy to get here, so it’s a great result, especially because we wanted to go directly into the top four, and we did that.”
“The performance was tough, especially in the first half. We were under pressure because Wolfsburg came at us with physical strength.
“That made it difficult for us to perform. In the second half, we did enough to score two goals and win the game.
“Lucy’s goal was really important. She scored at a crucial moment in the game and gave the team a lot of confidence. It was the best thing that could have happened before half-time.”
“We then corrected some tactical and positional aspects and that gave the players confidence. The players were very resilient mentally and gave enough for us to win.”
Bronze: It was a difficult game but fun to play
Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze told Disney+:
“It was definitely a tough game today, one of the hardest in the Champions League. Coming here to Wolfsburg was never easy.
“Some people said it was the first time a British team had actually won here. It’s a good record to finally break it. Overall it was a really tough game. Both teams were really strong until the end and it was a lot of fun to play.”
What are the important dates of the Champions League?
The draw for the knockout phase, quarterfinals, and semifinals will be held on December 18th at 12:00pm (Japan time).
Knockout phase playoffs
First leg: February 11/12 Second leg: February 18/19
quarterfinals
First leg: March 24/25 Second leg: April 1/2
Semi-final
First leg: April 25/26 Second leg: May 2/3
final
May 23rd, Ullevaar Stadion, Oslo
