UWCL: Roma and Wolfsburg share points | OneFootball

UWCL is back! The leaders in group B met in Rome on Wednesday, November 23rd. AS Roma played hosts against German giants VfL Wolfsburg. An entertaining match between the sides ended in a 1-1 draw and it’s fair to say that either club will feel a tad disappointed.

In this group Wolfsburg were clear favourites given their status in the women’s football game, but something is brewing in Italy and Rome specific. With AS Roma qualifying and their good start in the Serie A, they seem to be a real force to be reckoned with.

The angel of Roma: Giacinti

The game had hardly started and Roma were eager to press Wolfsburg on their own half. Their passion and aggression in constructing the game plan had its effect. In the third minute it was Giacinti who came in an excellent position to hurt the German champions. And as so many times, she didn’t miss: 1-0 to the Romans in this very important match in group B.

The tactical plan worked like a charm and Wolfsburg clearly struggled with the rigid formation AS Roma employed in that first phase of the game.

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Wolfsburg regroups

The first half ended with a 1-0 advantage for the Roman side. Wolfsburg knew they had to take it up a notch to get something of a result in Italy. With great quality players, it just needs a twist in the details and Wolfsburg can make an impact on this stage. With a clinical player like Ewa Pajor in their midst, they only needed half a chance. Quite early in the second half, in the 53rd minute, Pajor managed to come on the scoresheet with a clean strike: 1-1.

Wolfsburg were looking for the winner, but couldn’t capitalise on the momentum. They saw that Roma didn’t have too much problem keeping afloat. Finding solutions to the successful defence of Roma, was a difficult thing.

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Conclusion

Over the whole game, Wolfsburg were the dominant side with 69% ball possession. But in the chances created they had the same number of chances as the more direct approach by the Italian hosts.

It was an interesting tactical battle between the two leading teams in group B. Wolfsburg had more control of the central areas on the pitch, but failed to translate that into high-quality chances. This was due to the strict, defensive discipline of the Italian hosts.

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