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Emily Wilson·18 December 2024
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Emily Wilson·18 December 2024
More UEFA Women's Champions League action continued on Wednesday with four scheduled games.
The quarter-finalists are set, but teams wanted to cement their spot as group winners. Here is what went down.
Scorers: Pina 44', Bonmati 56', Putellas 70'
Barcelona topped Group D after cruising past Manchester City 3-0 at home.
As the two heavyweights in the group, this would always be an entertaining contest in Spain, and the hosts lunged forward, needing to win by two goals.
Khiara Keating kept the visitors in the game and saved roughly five first-half efforts as Salma Paralluelo and Ewa Pajor struggled to beat the goalkeeper. Meanwhile, the closest City came to finding the net was when Jill Roord hit the crossbar.
The deadlock eventually broke thanks to some luck when Claudia Pina struck home a loose ball into the far right corner beyond the diving shot-stopper.
Aitana Bonmati then ensured Barcelona were in the driver's seat after racing toward goal and sending the ball under Keating's legs for 2-0 immediately after the restart.
Without Bunny Shaw or Lauren Hemp, a comeback from the English club was virtually out of reach, coupled with only three efforts on target.
The game was then put to bed when two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas finally returned to action after a month and struck a low drive from outside the box.
Scorers: Dubcová 84'; Tandberg 19', Blakstad 22'
It was one-way traffic as Hammarby ensured St. Pölten finished the group stage with zero points after a 2-1 win.
The deadlock broke when striker Cathinka Tandberg finished a thumping header from point-blank range.
Then, in a flash, the visitors ensured they were in cruise control as Julie Blakstad flicked home a low cross into the bottom left of the net.
With zero shots at half-time, St. Pölten would have wanted to ramp up the pressure, and they did so marginally in the second half.
Kamila Dubcová's volley, however, arrived too late in the game to push for a complete turnaround, and Hammarby held on for the victory.
The quarter-finalists are Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern München, Chelsea, Lyon, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Wolfsburg.
📸 JOSEP LAGO - AFP or Licensors
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