While Eintracht Frankfurt almost made it through the group stage of the Champions League with a clear and relaxed result, VfL Wolfsburg must still tremble next week. There were mistakes on both sides during the match in Paris.
Paris FC – VfL Wolfsburg 3:3 (3:2)
Crazy match in Paris: VfL took the lead in the 4th minute, Ewa Pajor put pressure on Parisian goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, whose bad pass from Vivien Endemann shot directly into the empty goal. But Gaëtane Thiney was played on the other side by Julie Dufour after winning a running duel – and putting the first try on the post. But the rebound passed Lisa Schmitz, in the goal of the absent Merle Frohms, to return to Thiney, who now scored to equalize 1-1 (8th).
Wolfsburg seemed unclear, Clara Matéo played in front of Mathilde Bourdieu and Kathrin Hendrich slipped the ball to her feet as she tried to clear. Bourdieu brings the score to 2-1 (15th). After an error by Schmitz in the 26th minute, Wolfsburg were lucky that the goalkeeper was able to recover Matéo’s long shot from the corner. In the 30th minute, Alexandra Popp rose highest to head the ball and equalized again. Nnadozie didn’t look good when she conceded that goal either.
Lena Oberdorf, who was last rested against Nuremberg, had to be treated in the 34th minute after Dominique Janssen accidentally fell on her leg, but was then able to continue. In Wolfsburg, however, the distances between midfield and defense were often incorrect. So, in the 44th minute, Dufour had enough space to cross, Hendrich and Janssen did not bother either of them and after their shot, Paris FC led again at 3-2 at the break.
Uncertainties on both sides
In the second half the match was a little less wild, but there was still a lot of uncertainty on both sides as one team decided to put pressure on the last line of defense or run at the goalkeeper opponent. Pajor had the chance to shoot from distance, but the ball went straight to Nnadozie. It was therefore necessary to have a standard and an infamous header to remedy this: Rauch’s cross free kick towards Popp, goal, 3:3 (73rd)!
Until then, Paris had done little in attack, but now ventured forward more often; the most notable player in recovering the ball and counterattacking was Lou Bogaert. But it also opened up counterattacking opportunities for Wolfsburg. Jule Brand and Ewa Pajor should have given VfL the lead in the 81st minute, but Pajor was offside after his pass and Brand played it in anyway, so the supposed 4:3 didn’t count for Wolfsburg . .
This wasn’t the only situation Wolfsburg could have taken advantage of more, but VfL players repeatedly got lost in direct duels against well-placed French players or were simply too imprecise. In the 4th minute of added time, Jule Brand offered a counterattack with an inaccurate pass that would have otherwise left Pajor alone in front of Nnadozie. Subsequently, Paris even had a few free kicks and corners, but the score remained 3-3. Wolfsburg must tremble in the second leg.
Eintracht Frankfurt – AC Sparta Prague 5:0 (2:0)
Eintracht started early with Nicole Anyomi, who recovered and made it 1-0 in the 6th minute following a pass from Lara Prašnikar after her first pass was blocked. Frankfurt was clearly the team that dominated the match, but also got lucky with some overly harsh decisions from referee Kristina Georgieva. In the 13th minute, Prašnikar sent on Barbara Dunst, who struck again. Aneta Dědinová started the tackle and hit the ball as well as her opponent. No clear penalty, but the referee indicated neutral and Laura Freigang converted with a powerful shot into the left corner (14th).
Barbara Dunst had the chance to make it 3-0 in the 39th minute, but her deflected attempt hit the crossbar. Apart from a few classic situations, there was still little to see from Prague. In the 52nd minute the match was practically decided when Georgieva showed Aneta Pochmanová the red card after an alleged foul on Laura Freigang – again the situation was not clear enough for such a decision.
Frankfurt can plan group stage
Eintracht tried to clarify everything as much as possible in terms of results and continued to go on the offensive. Dunst crossed for the 57th time in a row for Reuteler, who converted a powerful header to make it 3-0. Even after that, Frankfurt maintained a high tempo and kept the ball. Laura Freigang headed in a cross from Hanshaw in the 76th minute. Prague long tried to limit the damage, but often could not keep up. And Frankfurt and Freigang did not hesitate for long: they scored again in the 77th minute and completed a hat-trick.
But the goal of the day was almost scored by a central defender: Sara Doorsoun simply shot from around 30 meters in the 80th minute because goalkeeper Sydney Schneider was a little far in front of the goal and she headed the ball with her fingertips down. edge of the goal crossbar and supposedly on the goal line. The game continued and without goal line technology it was unclear if the ball was behind the line. In the end, the result was quite clear, Frankfurt got a perfect starting position for the second leg and can now look forward to the group stage of the Champions League.
