The VfL Wolfsburg footballers have to worry about making it to the group stage of the Champions League. The previous season’s finalists failed to score more than 3:3 (2:3) in the first leg of the last qualifying round at Paris FC on Tuesday evening and are under pressure in the second leg on Wednesday next week (6.45 p.m./DAZN). Eintracht Frankfurt, on the other hand, can already plan for the premier class after a 5-0 (2-0) win against Sparta Prague.
Alexandra Popp (73′) at least saved Wolfsburg’s draw in Paris. In a wild first half, Bundesliga leaders Wolfsburg initially took the lead through Vivien Endemann (4th). The French then mercilessly exploited large gaps in the VfL defense: Gaetane Thiney (8th) and Mathilde Bourdieu (16th) turned the game around and found another answer through Julie Dufour (44th) after Popp (30th). balanced for the first time.
Before the encounter, VfL coach Tommy Stroot emphasized that participation in the group phase was “non-negotiable”. However, Paris lived up to its reputation as an unpleasant opponent: in the previous round, the club had already prevailed against last year’s semi-finalists FC Arsenal. The German Cup winner was unusually erratic without national goalkeeper Merle Frohms, who did not travel to the French capital due to a concussion. In particular, the defense in front of substitute goalkeeper Lisa Schmitz couldn’t cope with the pace of the Parisians.
Frankfurt, however, left no doubt about their success at Deutsche Bank Park from the start. The early lead by Nicole Anyomi (6th) increased her national team colleague Freigang (14th/foul penalty) and thus ensured a lot of security for the hosts. Geraldine Reutelers (58th) and Freigang (76th/77th) with a double strike further extended the lead. After a red card against Aneta Pochmanova (53rd), Braga played almost the entire second half outnumbered. The second leg in the Czech Republic will take place on Wednesday next week (6.30 p.m./DAZN).
Bayern Munich, as champions, has already qualified for the group stage of the premier class. The draw will take place in Nyon on October 20th and the group phase begins in mid-November.
