Arsenal have overcome the odds to defeat Barcelona in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
The result means that Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross become the second, third and fourth CommBank Matildas to lift the prestigious trophy.
Elsewhere, Melbourne City fell agonisingly short of claiming a contintental trophy of their own, while Amy Sayer continued her successful return from injury with a goal for Kristianstads DFF.
Read our review of all the action below.
UEFA Women’s Champions League
Arsenal 1 – 0 Barcelona
Arsenal triumphed against the odds over the weekend, defeating Barcelona 1-0 and lifting the UEFA Women’s Champions League trophy for the first time in nearly two decades.
Barcelona dominated possession as expected, but a mighty defensive performance from England international Leah Williamson and Steph Catley in the heart of defence shut the door on the path to goal.
The only goal of the game came in the second half, when substitute Stina Blackstenius became the hero for the Gunners and scored the winning goal.
Steph Catley played the full game at centre-back for Arsenal. Caitlin Foord started on the left side of the attack and played 86 minutes, while Kyra Cooney-Cross was an unused substitute.
AFC Women’s Champions League
Melbourne City 1 – 1 Wuhan Jiangda (Penalties: 4-5)
Melbourne City have lost their AFC Women’s Champions League final in heartbreaking circumstances, losing 4-5 on penalties to Wuhan Jiangda.
CommBank Young Matilda Shelby McMahon gave City the lead in the second half after what was a mostly dominant performance to that point. They thought they had sealed the result in stoppage time thanks to Bryleeh Henry, but the goal was called back after a VAR review.
From the resulting free kick, Wuhan won a penalty – also after a VAR review – and slotted it home to take the game into extra time.
City came agonisingly close to putting away a number of chances in stoppage time, but could not do so, and Wuhan were able to win on penalties in front of their home crowd.
Holly McNamara, Bryleeh Henry, Leah Davidson and Karly Roestbakken all started the game for City. Laura Hughes was an unused substitute after suffering from illness throughout the week.
CONCACAF W Champions Cup
Club América 0 - 3 Portland Thorns
Portland Thorns secured a third-place finish at the CONCACAF Women’s Champions Cup with a 3-0 victory over Mexican side Club América.
Pietra Tordin, Payton Linnehan and Olivia Moultrie were the goal scorers as the Thorns were able to walk away from the tournament with a medal.
Kaitlyn Torpey started and played the full match at right-back while Mackenzie Arnold remains unavailable due to injury.
United States
Angel City FC were defeated 3-2 by Racing Louisville over the weekend. Louisville were ahead 3-1 when Kayla Fischer was sent off in the 67th minute. Alyssa Thompson was able to get a goal back for Angel City from the penalty spot but they were not able to equalise against ten players, and Louisville held on for the win. Alanna Kennedy started and played the full match for Angel City.
Morgan Aquino's DC Power went down 2-0 to the Tampa Bay Sun. Sydny Nasello and Cecilie Fløe scored on either side of the break to give Tampa Bay the win. Aquino played the full game in goal.
Sweden
Jada Whyman kept yet another clean sheet – her fourth in six games – as AIK Fotboll defeated Växjö DFF 2-0. Matilda Plan and Daniella Rachel Famili were on the scoresheet for AIK as they seem to be putting last season’s thoughts of relegation well and truly behind them. Whyman started and played the full game between the sticks.
Kristianstads DFF showed that they have more than recovered from their early-season wobbles, defeating high-flying Hammarby 2-0. Amy Sayer scored the first goal of the match early in the second half before Katla Tryggvadóttir sealed the result late in the game. Sayer started before being withdrawn in the second half, while Remy Siemsen was a second-half substitute.
Denmark
FC Nordsjælland have won their first game in five, defeating Odense Boldklub 2-1. Anna Walter scored a first-half brace to help her side to the all-important three points. The result means that Nordsjælland are now three points clear of third place as they hope to finish in the top two and qualify for European football next season. Winonah Heatley started and played the full game for Nordsjælland.
Canada
Kahli Johnson scored the equaliser to help the Calgary Wild FC to a 1-1 draw against the Vancouver Rise FC. This is Johnson's third goal of the inaugural Northern Super League season, putting her equal first at the top of the goalscorers list.
