Until ten minutes before the end, the Dutch champion was ahead thanks to a goal by Jaimy Ravensbergen, but the club from Enschede still lost thanks to a penalty kick and a late counter. Twente also had plenty of chances to win in the final phase.
Lineth Beerensteyn scores in Champions League, world goal Lily Yohannes from 41 meters
FC Twente started the Champions League last week with a nice draw against top club Chelsea. Leuven was the weakest opponent for coach Corina Dekker’s team in advance. Now, to reach the next round, Twente will have to gain points in the remaining matches against Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, Benfica and Arsenal.
FC Twente was the dominant team against the Belgian champion, a debutant in the Champions League. However, there were no great opportunities. Top scorer Ravensbergen proved her worth more than five minutes before half-time by tapping in alertly at the first post after a cross from Alieke Tuin.
Leuven became more dangerous in the second half. A shot by Aurélie Reynders was blocked, Twente goalkeeper Diede Lemey saved from a bet by Jada Conijnenberg. Ten minutes before the end, Ravensbergen made a mistake with a seemingly harmless long shot from outside the penalty area. The attacker stopped the ball with both hands and after VAR intervention, the ball hit the spot. The Dutch Linde Veefkind equalized.
Lynn Groenewegen and Leonie Vliek could have still given Twente the victory, but instead Sára Pusztai scored 2-1 in the sixth minute of injury time.
“We completely dominated the first half, but the second half was super weak. They were closer to 1-1 than we were to 2-0. They were not good today, but neither were we. If we reach our level, we will simply win here,” Twente captain Danique van Ginkel responded at the NOS.
Dutch international Esmee Brugts scored the opening goal for FC Barcelona in the away match against AS Roma on Wednesday evening. That game ended in 0-4.