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Key events
8 min: PSG on the attack once more, with Hendrich asked to make a clearance. The French club dominant here, and playing some neat football.
6 min: Martens’ knockdown really should have been met by a better finish from Fazer. Wolfsburg a bit sluggish so far; still wiping away the cobwebs of losing to Bayern at the weekend?
5 min: Opportunist shot by Karchaoui, seizing on a loose ball.
4 min: Jill Roord on the charge, in typical style, but Fazer, the youngster, brings the ball out before a foul by Alex Popp.
3 min: Jonsdottir turns in midfield, only to be robbed in possession. Still, PSG fail to make much of it.
1 min: Away we go, with Wolfsburg immediately sitting back. They’re asked to do some early defending and clear the danger.
The scene is set in Wolfsburg as the teams make their way to the field before the anthems. The German team’s shirts are bright to the point of requiring shades.
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Arsenal lie in wait in the semi-finals.
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And Chelsea will later try and get past Lyon to join the last four and face 2021 nemesis Barcelona.
A huge week in the Women’s Champions League, as celebrated in today’s Football Daily.
Big news for Wolfsburg: Ewa Pajor is on the bench, with Sveindís Jónsdóttir replacing her in the starting XI and and Jill Roord leading the Wolfsburg attack. That’s the tournament’s leading scorer sitting much of this match out.
The teams are in
Wolfsburg: Frohms, Wilms, Hendrich, Janssen, Rauch, Oberdorf, Lattwein, Huth, Popp, Jonsdottir, Roord. Subs: Bremer, Pajor, Demann, Wolter, Blomqvist, Wedemeyer, Wasmuth, Brand, Weiss, Hegering, Kiedrzynek.
PSG: Bouhaddi, Lawrence, Jean-Francois, Geyoro, Karchaoui, Fazer, Hamraoui, Baltimore, Martens, Diani, Bachmann. Subs: Albert, Picaud, Thorvaldsdottir, Vangsgaard, Georgieva, Li, Traore, Votikova, Ngueleu, Elimbi.
Here’s what happened in the first leg, as per Rob Smyth.
A forgettable game will be remembered for two penalties at the start of the second half. PSG’s was given and then overturned by VAR; Wolfsburg was awarded after an intervention from VAR and also led to a second yellow card for the PSG centre-back Elisa De Almeida.
Dominique Janssen scored the penalty with aplomb, and Wolfsburg held on comfortably to take a precious lead back to Germany for next week’s second leg.
Preamble
The semi-finals are familiar territory for both these teams, with Wolfsburg hoping to reach them for a second successive season, and PSG for a fourth successive season. The German club, winners of this competition in 2013 and 2014, lead 1-0 from last week in Paris, thanks to Dominique Janssen’s penalty. Both teams are involved in tight title races, Wolfsburg a point behind Bayern, to whom they lost at the weekend while PSG are behind Lyon, the defending Women’s Champions League champions. Feels like the English, German and French leagues are keener competitions than the Spanish league where Barcelona reign supreme. This one threatens to be a tight match, too, but PSG have tough opposition to overcome if they want to return to the semis in search of a first European title.
Kick-off is 5.45 UK time. Join me.
