AUDIO: Wolfsburg win quarter-final first leg against Lyon (1 min)
Champions League
As of: March 24, 2026 10:10 p.m
The VfL Wolfsburg footballers fought to a 1-0 (1-0) win against OL Lyonnes in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League on Tuesday evening. Against France’s series champions, they needed a golden goal at the front – and a bit of luck at the back.
Thanks to their strong and concentrated performance, the VfL women have put themselves in a good starting position for the quarter-final second leg on April 2nd in Lyon. Attacker Lineth Beerensteyn secured the narrow home win in the “Queen’s Class” against the clearly favored “Lyonnaises” with a deflected long-range shot. Coach Stephan Lerch’s team celebrated their fifth competitive win in a row. It was the first defeat of the season for the French.
Despite the success, Wolfsburg midfielder Svenja Huth put the brakes on her euphoria after the game. “It’s only half time now. We’re not resting on our laurels,” the 35-year-old told NDR, and warned: “Playing in Lyon next week, against this quality, will be anything but easy.”
Next Sunday, everyday life in the league awaits the “Wolfs” again – then ninth-placed Union Berlin will be visiting VfL (4 p.m., in the NDR Livecenter).
VfL women start well and reward themselves early
Compared to the most recent 1-0 away win at TSG Hoffenheim, Wolfsburg coach Lerch made three changes to his weakened team: Justine Kielland moved into the starting line-up for Alexandra Popp, who suffered a muscle injury in Sinsheim and will be out for several weeks, while returning Camilla Küver – as captain – and Thea Bjelde were allowed to start in defense for Janou Levels and Guro Bergsvand.
And the “Wolves” took the momentum from four wins from four games in March into the game against the French. The Lerch team went to work with a lot of energy, trying to stress Olympique and prevent them from getting into the game by starting early. And just as the “Lyonnaises” were able to gradually free themselves after a good ten minutes, the ball was suddenly in the goal of guest keeper Christiane Endler.
Wolfsburg’s lead at the break was not undeserved
After a bad pass from Lyon’s Lindsey Heaps in the forward movement, Vivien Endemann initiated the counterattack with speed. Her pass to Beerensteyn, who was running along with her, was a bit imprecise, but fortunately for the “Wolves”, the VfL striker still managed to finish from around 18 meters – and her shot was deflected into the goal by Damaris Egurrola, unstoppable for Endler: 1-0 (14th).
Lyon then increased the pressure further, but Wolfsburg also had good opportunities through counterattacks. However, that didn’t change the result; VfL went into the locker room with a well-deserved lead.
“She-Wolves” in happiness after the break
After the break, OL Lyonnes pushed for the equalizer, but missed it several times: In the 52nd minute, Melchie Dumornay shot from a few meters wide of the goal because she was disturbed by Küver at the last moment. In the 59th minute it was again Kadidiatou Diani who shot low after a nice pass into the penalty area, but only hit the inside post.
After just under an hour, former “she-wolf” Jule Brand came into play at Olympique, but she too was unable to make a decisive impact offensively. In the middle of the second half, Stephan Lerch’s team hardly had any possession of the ball, but they managed to repeatedly stop the guests’ last pass and, if possible, keep the game away from their own box.
In the final phase, the expected game developed into one goal, but OL Lyonnes were denied an equalizer – also because Stina Johannes was able to bury Brand’s last header attempt in stoppage time (90th + 3).
