The VfL Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt women’s football teams have missed out on qualification for the UEFA Women’s Champions League leagueround following dramatic extra-time and penalty-shootout defeats, according to reports from sports outlets covering the fixtures.
VfL Wolfsburg Falls to Inter Milan in Penalty Shootout Drama
VfL Wolfsburg missed out on the Champions League leagueround after losing 4–5 on penalties following a 1–3 defeat after extra time against Inter Milan, according to match reports. Despite taking a 2–0 aggregate lead from the first leg in Sesto San Giovanni, Wolfsburg struggled during a difficult first half in Italy. Elisa Bartoli opened the scoring for Inter in the 39th minute by capitalizing on a counterattack. Later in the second half, former Wolfsburg player Lina Magull—who entered the match as a substitute after an hour—set up Elisa Polli for Inter’s second goal in the 84th minute.
In extra time, Inter lost goalscorer Bartoli due to a thigh injury, forcing the hosts to play with ten players. Wolfsburg substitute Weronika Arasniewicz scored in the 111th minute with a scrappy effort to narrow the deficit, but Inter’s Marija Milinkovic equalized in the 120th+1 minute to force a penalty shootout. In the shootout, Mara Alber missed her attempt for Wolfsburg, while Magull successfully converted her spot-kick to secure Inter’s progression.
Eintracht Frankfurt Overwhelmed by Paris Saint-Germain in Extra Time
Eintracht Frankfurt suffered a 1–5 defeat (0–1 after regular time, 1–1 on aggregate) against Paris Saint-Germain on the PSG Campus, according to match accounts. Frankfurt entered the second leg missing injured first-leg goalscorer Larissa Mühlhaus. PSG capitalized on a counterattack in the 36th minute when Merveille Kanjinga struck the post before turning the rebound into the net. Ereleta Memeti missed an opportunity to equalize for Frankfurt in the 57th minute.
Following a second yellow card and subsequent dismissal for Frankfurt defender Hayley Raso in the 66th minute, Rebecka Blomqvist leveled the score at 1–1 in the 76th minute after a give-and-go with Memeti. However, numerical disadvantage caught up with the visitors in extra time. Kanjinga scored her second in the 95th minute, Sakina Karchaoui added goals in the 105th and 113th minutes, and Rasheedat Ajibade netted in the 120th+1 minute to seal the victory for the French side.
Bundesliga Representation and Broader European Context
As a result of the qualifiers, the Frauen-Bundesliga will be represented in the Champions League leagueround solely by the pre-qualified double-winners Bayern Munich, according to tournament tracking. Bayern reached the semi-finals of the previous tournament edition before exiting against eventual champions FC Barcelona. Reports note that this marks the lowest German club representation in the top tier of European competition since the 2017/18 season, when only Wolfsburg reached the final 16 under a different tournament format. Both Wolfsburg and Frankfurt will continue their European seasons in the Europa Cup.
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In other qualification matches, Chelsea advanced to the leagueround by defeating Real Sociedad 1–0 away, adding to their 5–2 victory in the first leg, with Keira Walsh scoring the decisive goal in the 54th minute, as reported by sports correspondents. The draw for the main tournament phase is scheduled to take place on Friday.
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