Domestic Leagues
Sam Kerr was on the scoresheet as Chelsea drew 2-2 away to Real Madrid in the UEFA Women’s Champions League while her Australian teammate Caitlin Foord scored in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in the Women’s Super League at the weekend.
With the men’s leagues not in action due to the international break, it was Asia’s women who took centre stage in Europe over the past week. The-AFC.com brings you up to speed with how they performed.
Italy: Kumagai stars for Roma
Saki Kumagai’s fine start to life at AS Roma continued as she returned to her former club Bayern Munich to help her new team come from two goals down to seal a 2-2 in Germany as the Italian side got off to an impressive start to their 2023-24 UEFA Women’s Champions League campaign.
The Nadeshiko skipper then continued her excellent week by finding the back of the net in Sunday’s 2-0 win at Sassuolo as Roma – who also featured Japan defender Moeka Minami in both games – remained three points clear at the top of the standings.
England: Kerr strikes in Europe
Sam Kerr struck her first goal in this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League to put Chelsea 2-1 up away at Real Madrid but Olga Carmona’s second goal of the night secured a point for the Spanish side, who featured Kerr’s international teammate Hayley Raso as a late substitute.
Chelsea netted five times but Kerr was surprisingly not on the scoresheet as the Blues beat a Liverpool side featuring Japan’s Fuka Nagano 5-1 on Saturday to remain three points clear at the top of the Women’s Super League standings.
Arsenal are in second after Caitlin Foord scored in a 3-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion with her Australian teammates Kyra Cooney-Cross – who was named the Player of the Match – and Steph Catley also appearing.
But the most notable result of the weekend was Manchester City’s 3-1 derby day win at Manchester United as the side featuring Yui Hasegawa, Alanna Kennedy and Mary Fowler moved above their city rivals into third.
France: Carpenter’s Lyon remain perfect
Australia full-back Ellie Carpenter was part of the side that eased to a 9-0 away win at Slavia Prague in the UEFA Women’s Champions League last Tuesday before being rested for the 4-1 win over Dijon at the weekend as the French giants made it eight wins from eight in the league this season.
Their closest challengers Paris FC defeated Bordeaux 1-0 to remain just three points back, with Australia’s Sarah Hunter coming on as a half-time substitute, while third-placed Paris Saint-Germain, featuring another Matildas star in Clare Hunt, edged Fleury 91 2-1.
Scotland: Chinese duo help Celtic stay second
China PR internationals Shen Mengyu and Shen Menglu both started as Celtic powered to a 5-0 win over Hamilton Academical on Sunday as the Glasgow side stayed a point behind city rivals Rangers after 13 games of the Scottish Women’s Premier League campaign.
Photo: AS Roma
