Women’s Champions League
Wolfsburg secures a good starting position – a sensation is possible
Updated March 24, 2026 – 8:43 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The women of VfL Wolfsburg are allowed
The women of VfL Wolfsburg made an exclamation mark in the Champions League on Tuesday evening: The Wolves surprisingly won the quarter-final first leg against CL record winners OL Lyonnes 1-0 (1-0). A deflected shot from Lineth Beerensteyn (14th) made the difference.
Before the duel, the French had not lost a single game of the season and had won 24 of 26 competitive games. The decision on whether to reach the semi-finals will be made in the second leg on Thursday, April 2nd in Lyon.
“We shouldn’t be afraid of the big name. We want to leave our hearts on the pitch,” said coach Stephan Lerch shortly before kick-off on Disney+. His team appeared correspondingly courageous from the first minute. The reward was a 1-0 win by the Dutchwoman Beerensteyn, whose deflected shot tumbled into the goal.
The absence of the injured striker Popp was hardly noticeable in this phase. “It’s not the first game without Poppi. We want to deal with it as a collective,” said Lerch. That worked: Lyon had more of the game without ex-Wolfsburg player Jule Brand in the starting line-up, but VfL had the better chances. Beerensteyn again missed a header to make it 2-0 (19th).
Wolfsburg had lost 3-1 to Lyon in the league phase in November, but this time both teams were evenly matched. With its quick switching game, VfL repeatedly put needles against the record winners of the premier class. However, the guests, who were still unbeaten in the league, increased the pressure as the game went on.
This was especially true in the second half. Lyon sometimes restricted Wolfsburg in their own half, and every thwarted attack was greeted with applause by the VfL fans. There was also luck: Kadidiatou Diani hit the inside post in the 59th minute. Brand also came on in the 60th minute and boosted the attack – but the VfL defense held tight.
