Barcelona foiled by Bayern\u2019s block<\/p>\n
Alexia Putellas said Barcelona have to \u201cadapt our game\u201d after a 1-1 draw away to Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals. The game, in which the scorer of Bayern\u2019s equaliser, Franziska Kett, was sent off for pulling Salma Paralluelo\u2019s hair late on, was a far cry from the 7-1 victory the Spanish champions earned over the German champions in their opening match of the league phase of the competition. \u201cWe knew this game would be different. As you\u2019ve seen, we were right,\u201d said the two-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner. \u201cThe first half was different from the second half. In the end, they were in a medium block; we waited for more space in the middle. We have to adapt our game.\u201d The key seems to be to let Barcelona have the ball and Bayern\u2019s Giulia Gwinn said: \u201cThe biggest challenge against Barcelona is to accept that you\u2019ll have very little possession without becoming passive. Every time we managed to go beyond that initial moment of pressing, we were dangerous. In the second half, we had the momentum. We could\u2019ve made more of a couple of chances, but we could tell that they\u2019re not unbeatable, that we can get something done.\u201d Suzanne Wrack<\/p>\n
Arsenal show spirit of trophy win<\/p>\n
Ren\u00e9e Slegers praised the quality of Arsenal\u2019s problem-solving skills after they came from behind against OL Lyonnes to earn a 2-1 win at home<\/a> in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. \u201cIt definitely is [a strength],\u201d said the Arsenal manager. \u201cThe intelligence that we have in the squad. Being on the pitch, seeing and feeling it, is so valuable, then we see the pitch from above, technical views, which has a lot of value as well, to see the spaces. Seeing and feeling it. That collaboration of both perspectives is really good.\u201d The Champions League record scorer Ada Hegerberg called it \u201ca game of two halves\u201d and she was right. After being made to work hard in the first, the Gunners were rampant in the second. The spirit of last season\u2019s battling run to the trophy, which included a 2-1 semi-final first leg defeat to Lyonnes at home before an emphatic 4-1 win away<\/a>, was very much on show at the Emirates Stadium. Key to that was that ability to problem solve, to find the answers to the questions the opposition asked of them, between legs. On Sunday, they seemed to have been able to condense that process and unlock Lyonnes weaknesses mid-match. SW<\/p>\n Lyonnes goalkeeper Christiane Endler and Ingrid Syrstad Engen try to fend off Arsenal\u2019s Olivia Smith. Photograph: Glyn Kirk\/AFP\/Getty ImagesManchester City\u2019s stumble tightens title race<\/p>\n Brighton\u2019s surprise 3-2 victory<\/a> over Manchester City illustrated a slight vulnerability in the league leaders. This game was a clear example of how, if you leave the door ajar, any team in this league can take advantage. Andr\u00e9e Jeglertz\u2019s side should have been out of sight in the first half but registered just two of their nine shots on target. Buoyed up by the opposition\u2019s wastefulness, Brighton pounced. The timing of the hosts\u2019 first two goals was crucial \u2013 Madison Haley\u2019s leveller coming deep into first-half injury time and Kiko Seike giving Brighton the lead two minutes after the restart \u2013 and before the visitors knew it, the momentum had swung away from them. This stumble means that if Arsenal beat Leicester in midweek, City will not be able to lift the trophy at home next Sunday. Sophie Downey<\/p>\n Lowly Foxes outwitted by Lionesses<\/p>\n There is no denying that Leicester are in a bit of a hole and quickly running out of chances to dig themselves out. A second-half capitulation to London City Lionesses<\/a> in Bromley will, therefore, have done little to help the dwindling confidence of Rick Passmoor\u2019s side. The Foxes manager was clearly frustrated with how the game fell away from his team after a bright start. Four of the hosts\u2019 five goals in the 5-1 win came from deliveries from wide areas, exposing a clear frailty in Leicester\u2019s defensive setup. With results around them not going their way, they are seven points behind West Ham, meaning defeat to Arsenal in midweek will guarantee a 12th-place finish and a spot in the playoff with their WSL survival at stake. At the very least, Passmoor will need to find some sort of spark to boost the morale of his team. SD<\/p>\n London City\u2019s Jana Fernandez competes with Leicester\u2019s Ashleigh Neville at Copperjax Community Stadium. Photograph: Yaroslav Dunka\/SPP\/ShutterstockBompastor calls for goalline technology<\/p>\n Sam Kerr\u2019s timely return to her best form not only helped Chelsea take a giant step towards Champions League qualification<\/a> but also served as a reminder of her star qualities as she approaches the final two months of her contract. The Australia striker, who has scored in four games in a row for club and country, has been widely linked with a summer move away from London on a free transfer, most heavily to the NWSL, and Chelsea were shown exactly what they might be missing as she scored twice with instinctive, low finishes in a 4-1 win at Goodison Park. Kerr should have scored a \u201cperfect hat-trick\u201d but her header \u2013 which replays showed had clearly crossed the line \u2013 was not given as a goal by the officials, prompting the Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor to call for goalline technology in the WSL<\/a>. Tom Garry<\/p>\n West Ham take decisive step towards safety<\/p>\n West Ham boosted their hopes of WSL survival with a vital 1-0 win over Liverpool, moving seven points clear of the relegation playoff place. In a contest between two sides hovering above Leicester at the bottom of the table, the result gave the visitors valuable breathing space. An early own goal credited to Cornelia Kapocs proved enough to separate the sides, although the Reds continued pushing for an equaliser until the final minute. West Ham, however, held on to secure only their second away win of the season and a first victory over Liverpool since February 2020. The Hammers are not safe yet, and manager Rita Guarino acknowledged that reality: \u201cMathematically it doesn\u2019t show but of course it is three important points especially with just three games left for Leicester, it\u2019s big. We will have to wait for Wednesday and see.\u201d R\u00e9shma Rao<\/p>\n Another setback for United in race for Europe<\/p>\n Manchester United\u2019s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League are now in the hands of their rivals after a goalless draw at Tottenham. United were lucky to leave north London with a point after conceding 22 shots and having less possession than their opponents. They now have to rely on Chelsea to drop pointsat Leicester to have any chance of qualifying for Europe. \u201cWe weren\u2019t at the speed of the game we needed to be \u2013 the pressing wasn\u2019t good enough,\u201d said the United head coach, Marc Skinner. \u201cTottenham edged it in the first half, second half it ebbed and flowed. It was back and forth. It\u2019s obviously in Chelsea\u2019s hands but we play them [on the final day]. We still have to beat Brighton and Chelsea. We\u2019re disappointed about dropping points today but in reality we needed to do more to get the three points.\u201d Emillia Hawkins<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Barcelona foiled by Bayern\u2019s block Alexia Putellas said Barcelona have to \u201cadapt our game\u201d after a 1-1 draw…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":634173,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-634172","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}