Bayern Munich won 2-1 away to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, moving into second place in the league phase and handing the French side its first defeat of the campaign. Pernille Harder forced an own goal just before the half hour and then created the second for Klara Buhl before halftime, and Bayern held on through a Paulina Dudek penalty to take all three points in the French capital, according to UEFA’s official fixtures and results page.
Both clubs went into the match on five points, level and chasing the top four places that bring a direct route into the quarter finals. Bayern leave Paris ahead of Chelsea on goal difference, with their prospects of a top four finish strengthened for a second straight season, UEFA.com reported.
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Harder Runs The First Half
The breakthrough came just before the half hour mark. Harder’s cutback caused chaos in the Paris box and goalkeeper Katarzyna Kiedrzynek turned the ball into her own net, giving the visitors a lead their pressure had earned. Shortly before halftime Harder turned provider in a different way, floating a precise ball through for Buhl to finish with precision and double the advantage.
Buhl was named player of the match, and her record against this opponent keeps growing. She has now scored or assisted in five of her six Champions League appearances against Paris Saint-Germain, with two goals and three assists in that run. For a Bayern side that needed a statement result on the road, the two Danes and Germans in its attack delivered it in the space of one half.
Paris responded after the break. Dudek converted a penalty in the second half to cut the deficit and set up a tense finish at the Parc des Princes, but Bayern held firm, protecting the 2-1 scoreline and closing out a win that reshapes the top of the table.
City Finally Win, Chelsea Finally Stop Scoring
The night’s other headline came in Italy, where Manchester City beat Inter 4-1 for their first victory of the league phase after three straight draws. Elisa Bartoli headed Inter in front, but Aoba Fujino scored twice before halftime to turn the match around. Captain Kerstin Casparij extended the lead and Grace Clinton added her first Champions League goal, as City scored four times in a single league phase match for the first time in the competition. Laura Blindkilde Brown was named player of the match.
Chelsea, meanwhile, left Gothenburg frustrated after a 0-0 draw with Hacken. The English champions attempted 27 shots to five for the Swedish side, struck the crossbar twice and saw goalkeeper Jennifer Falk marshal a defence that refused to break. Chelsea sit on eight points from four matches and still have not conceded a goal in the competition, but two dropped points in a match they dominated will sting.
Real Madrid beat Paris FC 3-0 in the Spanish capital with three second half strikes, and Roma held on to beat Servette 2-1 in Rome, completing a Tuesday slate that UEFA’s matchday four schedule continues on Wednesday with Juventus against OL Lyonnes, before Barcelona face Arsenal on Thursday.
The Table Tightens At The Top
Four matchdays into the league phase, the picture at the top is crowded and unforgiving. Bayern’s win lifts them to second, ahead of Chelsea on goal difference and one point behind defending champions and pacesetters Barcelona, who hold a game in hand. Paris drop to ninth on five points after their first defeat, a reminder that in this format one bad night at home can cost a team its direct path to the last eight.
Bayern travel to Austria Wien next on November 19, while Paris face a difficult trip to Chelsea the night before. On the evidence of Tuesday in Paris, Bayern have the momentum, the away win and the player in Harder who can decide a tight European night almost on her own.
The result also matters beyond one night in Paris. Bayern began the evening level with Paris on points and knowing that the away fixture was the harder half of this pairing, with the return meeting still to come in the knockout race. Winning it away, with Harder involved in both goals and Buhl continuing her personal hold over this opponent, gives the German champions both the points and the psychological edge in a league phase where the margins between a direct quarter final place and a playoff round are measured in single results.
