Now on sale: Womens Football Book 2016/17 with Foreword by Kim Little
Alex Morgan has a successful beginning to her UEFA Champions League career in Germany.
Camille Abily and Dzsenifer Marzosan were on target for her Olympique Lyon’s Women beat Wolfsburg 2-0 in the UEFA Champions League. The win should see the French side progress to the semi-final after the return leg in Lyon on March 29th. The sides have won five of the last six tournaments so this was in some ways, ‘the final before the final’.
Although not on the score sheet, Morgan was impressive, hitting the post in the first half. French football newspaper L’Equipe wrote in its in game report at minute 72:
“Alex Morgan is distinguishing herself in the second half with her competitiveness,and incessant activity, with or without the ball.”
L’Equipe praised Alex Morgan
After the match, she talked to Prost’s Asif Burhan, calling it a tough game but expressing her joy at winning her first Championship game.
She also revealed she has been learning French for three months and certain things have been lost in translation but not as yet on the field.
Match Report – Wolfsburg 0 : 2 Olympique Lyonnais
While Manchester City placed one foot into the semi-finals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League with a 1-0 away win to Fortuna Hjørring in Denmark, the two finalists from last season, reminded them of the challenge ahead with a match of the highest standard at the AOK Stadium.
Between them, VfL Wolfsburg and Olympique Lyonnais have won five of the last six tournaments and they demonstrated why in an absorbing first half. Both clubs had strengthened their already formidable squads with an international star striker. Denmark’s Pernille Harder has been a revelation since joining Wolfsburg, while Lyon have added to their roster possibly the biggest name in women’s sport, American, Alex Morgan, for her first taste of European football.
Both forwards demonstrated their quality in the first half, Harder a constant threat to Lyon’s strong back-line with her pace and movement, Morgan showing a rare quality on the ball allied to an impressive work-rate which saw her chest down a long ball late in the first half only to strike the post with a right-foot shot. Moments later French international striker Eugénie Le Sommer also broke clear but shot narrowly wide of the same post.
Such was the European champions strength in depth, Lyon were able to bring on UEFA’s Best Player of last season, Norwegian Ada Hegerberg to play alongside Morgan and Le Sommer for the second half yet the manner in which they took the lead was a surprise as Camille Abily’s free kick from wide on the left, curved over Wolfsburg keeper Almuth Schult and into the far corner. German international, Dzsenifer Marozsán, also nominated for the UEFA award and recruited since last year’s final, rubbed salt into Wolfsburg’s wounds by superbly beating her marker before drilling in a second goal from outside the area 16 minutes from time.
World and Olympic champion, Alex Morgan reflected on her first-ever experience of UEFA Women’s Champions League football, “it was very difficult coming into my first match in Wolfsburg playing against what we think was something like a final because of last year. We wanted to come in and play our style, play possession. I think that in the first half it was pretty even but we eventually wore them down and scored some amazing goals. I’m happy to have my first win in my first Champions League game”.
Their opponents Wolfsburg, now have a mountain to climb in the second leg. ”
It was a game with a high level, it was fun to play. We had a lot of chances but we didn’t get a goal” admitted Harder afterwards “but I believe in us, we can do something in Lyon”.
There the second leg will be played in the French club’s magnificent new 59,186 stadium Parc OL, the venue for the next FIFA Women’s World Cup Final.
“It’s such an amazing stadium”, said Hegerberg “the pitch is so nice, two of the best teams in Europe and we’ve got a great advantage so we won’t sit on those two goals for sure”.
Now on sale: Womens Football Book 2016/17 with Foreword by Kim Little
