Her slap on the Real Madrid crossbar early in the first half seemed like the harbinger of a spectacular night in the Champions League. But after 90 minutes, Lieke Martens and Jackie Groenen withdrew with an unsatisfied feeling.

In a sparsely occupied Alfredo di Stefano stadium, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain – with the two Orange internationals – held each other 0-0.

Real Madrid may be one of the biggest names in international football, but the women’s division has only been around since 2020. But in those two years, thanks in part to big transfers like Scotland’s Caroline Weir and Brazil’s Kathellen, Real Madrid Femenino have made impressive progress worked.

In 2021, Paris Saint-Germain managed to break the hegemony of Olympique Lyonnais in their own country for the first time. That failed in the 2017 Champions League final (the second for PSG after 2015) when Lyon won the game only on penalties.

burned to success

The Parisian superpower is therefore just as keen on the men’s Champions League successes and brought in Martens (from Barcelona) and Groenen (from Manchester United) to do so.

Martens had to miss last week due to a corona infection. She watched her side lose 1-0 to Chelsea. Martens and Groenen showed up in the game against Real Madrid.

However, Real showed that they have grown since last season’s group stage when PSG were too strong 2-0 and 4-0. After Martens hit the bar before half-time, the home side were closest to opening the scoring after half-time. A shot by striker Esther González hit the post.

In the same group, Chelsea beat Albanian side FC Vllaznia 8-0. Australian goalscorer Sam Kerr made four. The Danish Pernille Harder came to three pieces. Aniek Nouwen stayed on the bench throughout the game.

Roord, Janssen and Wilms stay clean

Jill Roord, Dominique Janssen and Lynn Wilms are still clearly in the Champions League with VfL Wolfsburg after two games. After the 4-0 home win against Austria’s St. Pölten, there followed a 2-0 win at Slavia Prague.

With 34 to 5 shots on goal in Prague one can speak of one-way traffic, but the Czech defense and above all goalkeeper Olivie Lukásová kept the damage within limits. In the end only Jule Brand and Ewa Pajor found the net.