Frankfurt almost in CL group
Popp saves overwhelmed she-wolves against top club
October 11, 2023, 12:14 a.m
Paris FC lives up to its reputation as an unpleasant opponent: VfL Wolfsburg struggles against the top French club, only national player Alexandra Popp gives the Wolves hope again. Meanwhile, Frankfurt is easily heading towards participation in the Champions League.
Thanks to top scorer Alexandra Popp, Champions League finalist VfL Wolfsburg can hope to reach the group stage in the new season of the premier football league. Thanks to two goals from the national player, the German cup winners fought their way to a 3-3 (2-3) draw in the second round first leg against top French club Paris FC in the evening. The second leg will take place on October 18th.
Eintracht Frankfurt’s starting position is even better. Coach Niko Arnautis’ team safely defeated AC Sparta Prague 5-0 (2-0) in the first leg of the playoffs. FC Bayern, as German champions, are in the group stage, as are FC Barcelona, FC Chelsea and Olympique Lyon.
In the French capital, Vivien Endemann gave the Mittellandkanal team the lead in the fourth minute after a serious goalkeeping error. However, Gaetane Thiney (8th) and Mathilde Bourdieu (15th) turned the game around for Paris within just seven minutes. After Popp’s lucky equalizer (30th), Wolfsburg fell behind again before the break thanks to Julie Dufour (44th). But Popp managed to equalize again (73′).
Pack of three makes eagles soar
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.
Right from the start, Frankfurt left no doubt about their success at Deutsche Bank Park. 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, Braga played almost the entire second half outnumbered after a red card against Aneta Pochmanova (53rd). The second leg in the Czech Republic will take place on Wednesday next week (6.30 p.m./DAZN).