Bayern stun Arsenal, Utd sink PSG in Women’s Champions League

Arsenal’s defence of their Women’s Champions League title is not going to plan after a second-half collapse against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Arsenal wasted an early two-goal lead as Bayern surged back to win 3-2 at Allianz Arena, handing the visitors their second loss in three games in Europe’s elite club competition.

“It’s not good enough,” Arsenal coach Renée Slegers said. “We don’t want to concede three goals in one half in the Champions League.”

Arsenal fell to 11th in the 18-team Champions League standings led by Barcelona at the mid-point of the new format. Barcelona and Manchester United both won Wednesday to join OL Lyonnes - who won at Arsenal last month - as the only teams with three straight wins.

Barcelona cruised to a 3-0 at home over OH Leuven. The title winner in three of the the past five seasons had 43 attempts on goal compared to zero for the Belgian debutant.

Man United won 2-1 against Paris Saint-Germain P(PSG), which have zero points in 16th place. The top-four teams in December enter the quarterfinals and teams placed fifth to 12th join the knockout playoffs round.

Bayern have answered with back-to-back wins after an opening-day 7-1 loss at Barcelona.

“Unbelievable feeling, these three points are so important for us,” Bayern forward Pernille Harder said. “After the first half we were a little bit down and thinking, ‘What’s going on? Where are we at?’”

Bayern captain Glodis Viggosdottir scored in the 86th minute from a cross that bounced into the goalmouth to complete the comeback.

Substitutes Alara in the 67th and Pernille Harder in the 80th, with a deft, looping left-footed shot, had tied a game that was in Arsenal’s control. All three goals were from assists by Germany attacker Klara Buhl.

“It feels good but it’s also a bit of a relief,” Bayern midfielder Georgia Stanway said. “We were very unsatisfied with the first half and I think second half was just a completely different game, and a massive show of character.”

Stanway suggested Bayern players have had trouble adjusting to playing in the club’s main stadium and tend to get “a little bit over-excited” in the first half.

United States defender Emily Fox rose in the fifth minute to head in Arsenal’s opening goal from a high-bouncing ball and Mariona Caldentey struck an exquisite second in the 23rd.

Caldentey, the Ballon d’Or runner-up in September, was perfectly balanced to find space on the edge of the Bayern penalty area and curl a rising right-footed shot.

Still, Arsenal lost again in Munich, one year after Harder’s late hat trick keyed a 5-2 rout that proved just a footnote by the time the Gunners beat Barcelona in the final in May.

Barcelona swept aside Leuven though took until first-half stoppage time to score first from a penalty kick by Alexia Putellas.

An own goal by left back Kim Everaerts made it 2-0 before center back Irene Paredes’ deflected header into the net after a corner.

“We have to be happy,” Paredes said. “It’s true that maybe we deserved more (goals).”

Man United took the lead against PSG when a France forward, Melvine Malard, scored past a former England goalkeeper, Mary Earps, at Old Trafford.

PSG’s defender Olga Carmona - whose goal past her now-teammate Earps won the 2023 World Cup final for Spain against England - fired a stunning equalizer from 25 meters (yards) in first-half stoppage time.

The decisive goal for United was Fridolina Rolfö’s header in the 58th.

Juventus rose to seventh in the standings, above Bayern, by winning 2-1 at Atletico Madrid. Benfica and Twente drew 1-1 in Lisbon to both stay in the bottom six elimination places.

Meanwhile, Caroline Weir scored a dramatic late goal for Real Madrid to salvage a 1-1 draw with Paris FC.

Weir scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time - there were only supposed to be six - to deny Paris another win in Madrid with the visitors desperately trying to hold on after Lorena Azzaro had scored a penalty before the break.

The French team had won 1-0 with a penalty in 2023, when they completed home and away wins over the Spanish club.

The Spanish side dominated the opening half-hour with Linda Caicedo hitting the crossbar after working her way through a host of defenders, and goalkeeper Mylène Chavas denying an effort from Naomie Feller.

But Filippa Angeldahl was penalized for a foul on substitute Sheika Scott and Azzaro dispatched Paris’ penalty in the 41st.

The home team’s frustration grew as its second-half pressure failed to yield a dividend with Caicedo drawing a good save from Chavas, who went on to make more stops. Goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez was booked after complaining about a questionable referee’s decision.

Weir finally made a chance count at the last when she squeezed the ball past the otherwise faultless Chavas.

“The performance was decent enough. We just couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net,” the Scotland star told ESPN.

Hegerberg grabbed two goals five minutes apart in the first half and team captain Wendie Renard scored a penalty as eight-time champion Lyon dismissed Wolfsburg’s challenge by dominating from start to finish in the teams’ 11th meeting.

Lineth Beerensteyn scored the German team’s consolation.

It was Lyon’s seventh straight win over Wolfsburg. Renard, who played in all of their previous meetings, became the first player to clock 100 wins in UEFA club competitions.

Hegerberg extended her record as the competition’s top scorer, taking her tally to 69 goals.

Stine Brekken scored and Vålerenga held on to celebrate an unprecedented win for the club in Rome.

Roma made the better start before the visitors grew in confidence with Sara Hørte hitting the post with a deflected header in the 34th minute.

Brekken, a 20-year-old midfielder, scored six minutes later when she eluded a defender with a smart turn and surged forward past more static defenders before firing the ball inside the top left corner.

“We have been fighting so long to get better and to get some points here in Champions League. So to finally get that (win) is a really, really good feeling for the team,” Brekken said.

Agencies