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The 2023-24 Women’s Champions League is all the way down to the ultimate 4. With the quarterfinals seeded for group winners vs. group runners-up, it was no large shock to see the larger groups in Europe seal their place within the latter phases.
Eight-time winners Lyon cruised previous Benfica 6-2 on mixture, whereas defending champions Barcelona overcame SK Brann 5-2.
Then we noticed Chelsea punish Ajax for a poor first-leg show and are available away with a 4-1 win, with Paris Saint-Germain taking the ultimate spot with a 5-1 win over Swedish shock package deal BK Häcken
We requested our writers Sophie Lawson, Julien Laurens and Emily Keogh to reply a few of our burning questions from the quarterfinals.
– Stream on ESPN+: NWSL, LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
Semifinals:
April 20-21: Barcelona vs. Chelsea and Lyon vs. Paris Saint-Germain
April 27-28: Chelsea vs. Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain vs. Lyon
1. What stood out for you most throughout the 2 quarterfinal legs?
Lawson: Throughout the 180 minutes of every two-legged tie, the disparity was clear and you may pinpoint the place every match received away from the unseeded groups. Nevertheless, when you think about that Benfica, SK Brann, Ajax and BK Häcken have been all anticipated to complete third or fourth of their respective teams, and that every one 4 have been venturing into new territory within the knockouts with weaker squads on paper than their seasoned opposition, the best way all 4 “minnows” performed themselves was admirable.
Not one of the 4 shied away from the scale of the duty forward of them and all discovered a approach to play their recreation, whereas managing to attain towards a few of Europe’s most cussed defences.
Laurens: The inevitability of the outcomes and the domination of the 4 greatest groups in Europe proper now was clear. Chelsea, Barcelona, PSG and Lyon are forward of everybody else within the competitors they usually confirmed why in these quarterfinals.
With seven wins and one draw (Chelsea drew 1-1 with Ajax after profitable the primary leg 3-0), it was a stroll within the park and there was nothing that the unseeded groups might do.
Keogh: How managed and direct Ajax and SK Brann have been typically. Dealing with the likes of Chelsea and Barcelona, each would have been conscious that they have been up towards two of the hardest of opponents within the quarterfinals, but demonstrated a sheer struggle and willpower that left followers questioning if this might be the second that an underdog grew to become victorious. Whereas that story should wait for one more day, the joy they delivered to the knockouts stood out.
2. Which underdog staff impressed you probably the most?
Keogh: It must be Ajax. Making it out Group C forward of Bayern Munich and Roma was not simple and the Dutch aspect had a number of possibilities to open the scoring towards Chelsea within the quarterfinal first leg, however lacked scientific ending. They may have realized rather a lot from the best way Chelsea confirmed persistence to climate the storm and address the stress.
Going into the second leg 3-0 down, it will have been simple for such a younger squad to have felt discouraged realizing they wanted a miracle to qualify for the semifinals. Ajax didn’t make it simple for Chelsea although, and had constant possibilities that caught the Blues off guard and completed with a good 1-1 draw — a mammoth outcome for them.
In comparison with the place Ajax have been within the qualifiers final season, the expansion and improvement they’ve proven since means they’re now one among Europe’s greatest groups.
Lawson: Benfica most likely managed to regulate extra of their tie towards Lyon than the opposite underdogs did in theirs. The Portuguese champions have been fired up for each legs, however between tiring and being unable to deal with Lyon’s substitutions they light shortly in each video games.
Ajax confirmed actual character of their second leg draw vs. Chelsea to appropriate plenty of what went mistaken of their dwelling recreation, whereas Häcken have been higher at dwelling and apart from two lapses that price them a 2-1 defeat to PSG, dealt with their first recreation effectively.
And, despite the fact that the tie towards Barcelona ultimately received away from Brann, midfielder Signe Gaupset continued to impress and goalkeeper Aurora Mikalsen put in one of many performances of her profession within the first leg.
Laurens: All of the favorites received by fairly comfortably. Nevertheless, Benfica have been most spectacular towards Lyon. They took the lead at dwelling within the first leg and have been in entrance till previous the hour mark. Regardless of dropping 2-1 within the first recreation, they have been degree at 1-1 on the break within the second leg and completed the match with extra possession and extra passes accomplished than the French champions, which by no means occurs to Lyon.
Regardless of a 6-2 defeat on mixture, the Portuguese champions confirmed their progress and left the competitors with their heads held excessive.
3. After two French groups made the semis… is France the very best place for ladies’s soccer in Europe?
Laurens: Jean-Michel Aulas, the previous Lyon proprietor who did a lot for the ladies’s recreation on all fronts and is now the top of girls’s soccer in France, stated final week that he wished to make the Division 1 Féminine (D1F) the very best league on the earth. It isn’t there but and there’s a lot of labor to be finished to overhaul England’s Women’s Super League and America’s NWSL, however the progress is obvious.
Lyon and PSG being within the Champions League semifinals reveals it. They may face one another within the semifinals, which signifies that France are assured a membership within the closing. And with the third power of French soccer Paris FC rising to knock out the giants of Arsenal and Wolfsburg within the Champions League qualifiers earlier this season, the dynamic is tremendous optimistic.
Lawson: In a phrase: non. Lyon have been a powerhouse of the ladies’s recreation for near twenty years and in that point the panorama has advanced a lot. The French giants have helped map the trail into the skilled world, however there are different groups that may provide gamers the identical requirements that made Lyon so innovative for therefore lengthy, and the house league is stuffed with disparity.
As Jules factors out, Aulas is eager to push the envelope with D1F, probably breaking the Lyon/PSG duopoly and ushering in an period of professionality throughout the division. However because it stands as we speak, even with that juggernaut of girls’s soccer in Lyon main the cost, D1F is not a vacation spot league.
Keogh: On paper, France actually look to be main the pack within the Champions League, not less than this season. However final season, there have been two English groups within the semifinals. The UWCL is an ever-changing local weather.
Lyon have been such a powerhouse for therefore lengthy, whereas PSG have tried to imitate the success of the boys’s staff to little impact. One factor is for sure: there will likely be a French staff within the closing. Trying on the greater image, with Paris FC’s triumph to achieve the group stage, France is actually up there in terms of improvement and historical past within the competitors. Nevertheless, the structural integrity of the league and sustainability of the latest development should be judged within the coming seasons.
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