The VfL Wolfsburg footballers have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League ahead of schedule. On Wednesday evening, the “Wolves” beat AS Roma 6-1 (1-0) in their own stadium and secured second place in Group A.
Alexandra Popp, Lineth Beerensteyn and the four-time goalscorer Sveindis Jónsdóttir scored the goals for the superior VfL women in front of 2,612 spectators. Only after Valentina Giacinti’s 1-1 draw did it briefly look as if coach Tommy Stroot’s team would have to tremble. But the Wolfsburg women only shook themselves briefly and then achieved a victory that was well deserved.
Popp “proud and relieved”
“We made life unnecessarily difficult for ourselves after the 1-0 defeat in the first leg in Rome. But now we are extremely proud and relieved that we have finally closed the bag with the clear victory,” said Popp, happy after the game. to be in the last eight with their team in the Champions League.
“My mother, my sister and my brother were at the stadium – I scored a goal for each of them, and one is for me.”
— Sveindis Jónsdóttir after her four goals against Rome
The striker also couldn’t resist taking a small swipe at the many critics of the past few days: “We keep hearing and reading that Wolfsburg has already been written off again. And of course we’re happy that we can show again and again that we are are still there.” Despite the upheaval in the team, “you can always see what quality we still have.”
Last group game in Lyon
The last group game day next Tuesday (9 p.m., in the live ticker on NDR.de) only has statistical value. The VfL women can afford a defeat of any size against league leaders Olympique Lyon: a simultaneous win against Galatasaray Istanbul would be of no use to the Roman women, who are then tied on points, because they are in direct comparison with VfL Wolfsburg (1:0, 1:6 ) are clearly at a disadvantage.
VfL dominant – Popp scores early
VfL coach Stroot surprised with his formation, in which Lena Lattwein played centrally in a three-man chain with Marina Hegering and Lynn Wilms. Otherwise, the offensive was the order of the day – the “Wolves” could have taken the lead after just two minutes, but both Beerensteyn and Popp failed with their headers off the crossbar.
But the VfL goal was only postponed: Beerensteyn passed it on with a heel to Popp and the attacker shot the ball into the net to make it 1-0 (6th). The Wolfsburg women then controlled what was happening on the pitch. The offensive pressure was no longer as high as at the beginning, but high crosses repeatedly caused danger to the opposing defense.
VfL Wolfsburg – AS Roma 6:1 (1:0)
VfL Wolfsburg: Frohms – Wilms (88th Wedemeyer), Lattwein, Hegering – Minge, Linder – Blomqvist (89th Kalma), Huth, Brand (67th Endemann) – Beerensteyn (67th Jónsdóttir), Popp
AS Roma: Ceasar – Di Gugliemo (66th Glionna), Linari, Cissoko, Minami – Giugliano, Kumagai, S. Troelsgaard (74th Dragoni) – Thogersen (84th Corelli), Giacinti, Greggi
Goals: 1:0 Popp (6th), 1:1 Giacinti (56th), 2:1 Beerensteyn (65th), 3:1 Jónsdóttir (68th), 4:1 Jónsdóttir (85th), 5:1 Jónsdóttir ( 89.), 6:1 Jónsdóttir (90.+2)
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The Romans, for their part, rarely embarrassed the Wolfsburg defense, and VfL goalkeeper Merle Frohms hardly had anything to do. Rebecka Blomqvist’s shot from the edge of the penalty area, which went just wide, was Wolfsburg’s last opportunity to score in the first half (45′).
Giacinti shocks VfL…
Even after the restart, the hosts continued to set the tone. Although Giacinti scored Roma’s first chance to score (50′), Jule Brand’s shot, which went just over the goal (52′), was far more dangerous.
But an unfortunate defensive behavior by Lattwein resulted in a surprising equalizer for the Italians: the VfL defender not only canceled out the work on a high cross, but in her attempt to clear it played the ball right into the feet of Giacinti, who hit the empty goal (55 .) – Frohms had been heading into the penalty area.
…, the “She-Wolves” counter with a double strike
But the VfL women had the right answer ready: Brand fed Popp, who passed it straight to Beerensteyn on the edge of the penalty area, who, under slight pressure, shot into the far corner (65′). Shortly afterwards, Popp had a chance to make it 3-1, but shot wide of the goal (67′). The third VfL goal was reserved for Jónsdóttir: The Icelandic, who had substituted for Beerensteyn two minutes earlier, won the ball, stormed unstoppably into the penalty area and finished powerfully – no chance for Rome goalkeeper Camelia Ceasar (69th).
Jónsdóttir with four goals in 25 minutes
The guests didn’t give up, but the Italians didn’t get more than one shot from Giancinti, which Frohms parried safely (80′). Shortly afterwards, Jónsdóttir made everything clear with three more goals (85th, 89th, 90th + 2). The VfL women fully deserved their place in the quarter-finals.
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Sports current | 12/11/2024 | 11:25 p.m
