• Carli Lloyd scores in Champions League debut • Fiorentina keep the upper hand in top-of-the-table clash • Defending champions Arsenal out of FA Women’s Cup
Olympique Lyon are one step closer to defending their UEFA Women’s Champions League title. The French giants will seek to make the most of home advantage in the return leg of their quarter-final after beating Wolfsburg 2-0 on the road in the first leg. Elsewhere in Europe's premier club competition, Carli Lloyd made an instant impact for Manchester City, scoring the only goal in a victory against Fortuna Hjorring. Meanwhile Turbine Potsdam retained top spot in Germany’s Bundesliga while Fiorentina pulled away from their rivals in Italy. FIFA.com takes a look at all the latest goings-on in women’s football.
UEFA Women’s Champions League: Lyon off to a good start The last eight of the UEFA Women’s Champions League features two Franco-German encounters. In the tie between Wolfsburg and Olympique Lyon, the She-Wolves are already on the brink of exiting the competition after losing the first leg 2-0, with Camille Abily and Dzsenifer Marozsan leading the three-time Champions League winners from Lyon to victory. The hopes of Germany’s second representatives are still alive after Bayern Munich defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in front of a 73,000-strong crowd. Vivianne Miedema’s strike sealed the win to put the Bavarian side on a firm footing ahead of the return leg.
Barcelona also kept alive their dream of progressing to the last four by narrowly beating Rosengard 1-0, with Leila Ouahabi scoring the only goal of the game for the Primera Division runners-up. The fourth tie between Danish team Fortuna Hjorring and Manchester City ended in a 1-0 victory for the English side as The Best FIFA Women’s Player Carli Lloyd fired her club ahead. The return fixtures will be played on 29 and 30 March.
Germany: Potsdam continue imperious form Bayern Munich’s women remain in top form away from Europe’s premier club competition, as coach Thomas Worle’s side celebrated a close-fought 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen to climb to third place. Turbine Potsdam remain firmly in top spot after Stefanie Draws’ 81st minute goal handed the Brandenburg side maximum points for the 13th time in 15 games. Nevertheless, Die Torbienen can still feel Wolfsburg breathing down their necks, with the leading pair separated by just two points after the She-Wolves’ comfortable 3-0 victory over Duisburg. Elsewhere bottom-of-the-table Borussia Monchengladbach suffered another setback by losing 3-0 to SGS Essen, leaving them seven points from safety with just seven matches left to play.
Top three: Turbine Potsdam (40 points), Wolfsburg (38), Bayern Munich (34)
England: Arsenal out of FA Women’s Cup Arsenal’s dream of defending their FA Women’s Cup title was dashed at the quarter-final stage as Birmingham City defender Marisa Ewers scored the only goal of the game to steer her team into the semi-finals. Just a few days after taking a significant step towards the Champions League last four, Manchester City ended the week as successfully as they began it. Coach Nick Cushing’s side navigated their way to the same stage of the FA Women’s Cup by beating Bristol City Women’s FC 2-1. Swiss international Ramona Bachmann once again demonstrated her class – this time in a Chelsea shirt – by netting a brace to help the Londoners to a 5-1 win over Sunderland WFC and a place in the next round. Finally, Liverpool LFC completed the semi-final quartet with a 2-0 victory over Notts County Ladies FC.
Italy: Fiorentina emerge victorious in top-of-the-table clash Fiorentina look unstoppable in Italy’s Serie A, beating second-place Brescia 2-1 to keep the upper hand and extend their advantage at the top of the table. Alice Parisi and Tatiana Bonetti found the target to clinch Fiorentina’s 17th win in 18 games, while Sara Gama scored for the hosts. Despite comfortably winning their most recent games, third and fourth-place Mozzanica and Verona remain some way off the pace, trailing the leaders by 14 and 15 points respectively. Mozzanica beat Luserna 6-2 while Verona thrashed San Zaccaria 5-0.
Top three: Fiorentina (51 points), Brescia (45), Mozzanica (37)