{"id":14910,"date":"2023-12-15T14:54:20","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T11:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/14910\/uwcl-talking-points-psg-fight\/"},"modified":"2023-12-15T14:54:20","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T11:54:20","slug":"uwcl-talking-points-psg-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/?p=14910","title":{"rendered":"UWCL talking points: PSG fight back; can Chelsea win it all?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>UWCL talking points: PSG fight back; can Chelsea win it all?\u060c<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"inline inline-photo full\">\n<figure><picture><source data- media=\"(min-width: 376px)\"><source data- media=\"(max-width: 375px)\"><img class=\" lazyload lazyload\" data-image-container=\".inline-photo\" height=\"320\" width=\"570\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"photoCaption\">PSG star Grace Geyoro scored in the key win over Roma. <cite>FRANCK FIFE\/AFP via Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n<p><em>Day three of the 2023-24 Women&#39;s Champions League group stage is over and we&#39;re halfway through as things <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/tag\/start\/\"   title=\"start\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">start<\/a> to get really interesting.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Swedes BK H\u00e4cken are the main surprise, still leading Group D after a 0-0 draw against <\/em><em>Chelsea, while <\/em><em>Paris FC recovers with a 2-1 victory in the face of a disappointing match <\/em><em>Real Madrid will relaunch their campaign. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Group C is wide open since <\/em><em>Bayern Munich drew with <\/em><em>Ajax Amsterdam and <\/em><em>Paris Saint-Germain wins its first victory, 2-1 <\/em><em>Roma. <\/em><em>Barcelona secured a 6-0 victory <\/em>Rosenga<em>th of group A, while <\/em><em>Benfica secured a 1-0 victory<\/em> <em>Eintracht Frankfurt which puts them in pole position for second place. <\/em><em>Elsewhere, Lyon beats <\/em><em>SK Brann <\/em><em>3-1 in Group B, but <\/em><em>Slavia Prague and <\/em><em>St. P\u00f6lten failed to close the gap to second place by more than a point with a 0-0 draw.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We asked our writers Sophie Lawson, Sam Marsden and Connor O&#39;Halloran to answer some of our burning questions.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8211; Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)<\/strong><br \/><strong>&#8211; UEFA Women&#39;s Champions League rankings<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2>1. We&#39;re halfway there, so what&#39;s your biggest takeaway so far?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Sophie Lawson: <\/strong>I am sad that we will lose the group stage of the Champions League as UEFA strives to adopt a new &#8220;Swiss&#8221; format for the men&#39;s and women&#39;s tournaments.  We&#39;re only in the third year of the reformatted women&#39;s competition and the group stage has been a blast since its introduction, with each season only bringing a fiercer level of competition.<\/p>\n<p>This season has only added to the twists and turns, with teams seemingly just one result away from getting back into contention.  In this <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/tag\/series\/\"   title=\"series\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">series<\/a> of matches, we saw Benfica edge Eintracht Frankfurt;  Ajax continues to get results with draw against Bayern Munich;  PSG put their first points on the board, which further complicated Group C;  and Paris FC take their first victory while the underdog H\u00e4cken is still in a fantastic position.<\/p>\n<p>It&#39;s not quite &#8220;anyone can beat anyone&#8221; in the group stage &#8212; especially when we look at Slavia Prague&#39;s difficulties or Roseng\u00e5rd&#39;s delay &#8212; but if we look at the nature unexpected from Group D, it is clear that there are few.  easy to play games.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"inline editorial float-r\" data-behavior=\"article_related\">\n<h2 class=\"editorial-title\">Editor&#39;s Choice<\/h2>\n<p>2 Related<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p><strong>Sam Marsden: <\/strong>As expected, Barcelona and Lyon are a step ahead of the rest of the field.  After three matches, the two have three victories, 14 goals scored and only one conceded.  If the draw does not interfere, it is difficult to imagine them not reaching the final.<\/p>\n<p>What is interesting, however, is the increased level of competition among the pursuers.  The signs were there with Arsenal and Wolfsburg collapsing in the qualifying phase, with Group C and Group D further emphasizing the point now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Connor O&#39;Halloran: <\/strong>Real Madrid don&#39;t have the same history in the Champions League as the men in the women&#39;s format, but this season it seems to be another step backwards.  Since merging with CD Tac\u00f3n in 2020, Madrid has played three tournaments.  First, they were eliminated 8-3 on aggregate in a <em>Clasico <\/em>quarter-final against rivals Barcelona, \u200b\u200bfollowed by a third-place finish in the group stage last season.<\/p>\n<p>This year is another unwelcome retirement.  Madrid sit bottom of Group D after Thursday&#39;s loss to Paris FC and have just one point from three matches.  This is despite a squad that includes eight of Spain&#39;s 2023 Women&#39;s World Cup winning teams, such as Olga Carmona, Athenea del Castillo and Ivana Andr\u00e9s, as well as Golden Girl nominee Linda Caicedo and Hayley Raso, shortlisted for the Golden Ball.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody expects Madrid to compete for the title straight away, but they should do better than that.<\/p>\n<h2>2. Chelsea suffered their first WSL defeat this weekend, but do they have enough to go all the way in Europe and win it in Emma Hayes&#39; final season?<\/h2>\n<aside class=\"inline inline-photo full\">\n<figure><picture><source data- media=\"(min-width: 376px)\"><source data- media=\"(max-width: 375px)\"><img class=\" lazyload lazyload\" data-image-container=\".inline-photo\" height=\"320\" width=\"570\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"photoCaption\">BK H\u00e4cken did enough to keep Chelsea 0-0 on Thursday. <cite>Warren Petit\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n<p><strong>Lawson: <\/strong>What we&#39;ve seen so often from Chelsea over the years is an ability to bounce back from defeats and attack in their next few games, but that response wasn&#39;t really there against a very organized team by Hacken.<\/p>\n<p>In the 4-1 victory against Paris FC last month, we saw the Blues regain a little more bite in attack, but everything was a little flat against the surprise leaders of the group.  I think romantics will want to see Hayes lift the one piece of silverware that eluded her highly decorated Chelsea team before taking charge of the USWNT this summer \u2013 even though, as she is keen to point out, she was an assistant .  Vic Akers&#39; first-team coach for the historic Arsenal team that won the Champions League in 2007.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, it would be a nice parting gift from him to Chelsea fans, but even beyond navigating this now tricky group, the path to the final in San Mam\u00e9s will be strewn with pitfalls.  If the Blues are to do what they have never done before, the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/tag\/football\/\"   title=\"football\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">football<\/a> needs to be better than what we have seen so far.<\/p>\n<p><strong>O&#39;Halloran:<\/strong> Hayes won everything at Chelsea and the 2021 final defeat to Barcelona will still hurt;  Last season&#39;s 2-1 aggregate elimination against the Catalans in the semi-final probably does too, when Hayes claimed: &#8220;The best team lost.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As Hayes&#39; farewell season unfolds, I wonder if this Champions League campaign could become a binding or breaking force.  Chelsea players shouldn&#39;t need motivation anymore, but maybe winning for their beloved manager just might.<\/p>\n<p>Chelsea haven&#39;t been good enough so far and may not be instilling the same fear in their opponents as in previous years, but the Champions League group stage has never been about that.  It&#39;s a hurdle to clear, and so far, they&#39;re on the right track&#8230; even if H\u00e4cken eclipses them at the top of the group.  The Blues will need to warm up at the right time in the round of 16, but perhaps this year they will have an extra narrative to take that extra step.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Marsden: <\/strong>I don&#39;t think Chelsea have enough to beat Barcelona or Lyon to complete Hayes&#39; fairytale farewell.  However, they are one of the few teams who could be considered underdogs if they obtain a favorable draw in the round of 16.<\/p>\n<p>The key to that will be winning the group to avoid Bar\u00e7a and Lyon in the quarter-finals, so Thursday&#39;s draw against H\u00e4cken was a setback in that sense.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, to <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/tag\/win\/\"   title=\"win\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">win<\/a> the competition they will probably have to beat Barca and Lyon, or both, but a quarter-final victory against another opponent would give them more time before facing one of the big two.<\/p>\n<h2>3. Which team ranked third or fourth do you think has the best chance of making it now?<\/h2>\n<aside class=\"inline inline-photo full\">\n<figure><picture><source data- media=\"(min-width: 376px)\"><source data- media=\"(max-width: 375px)\"><img class=\" lazyload lazyload\" data-image-container=\".inline-photo\" height=\"320\" width=\"570\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"photoCaption\">Ajax took points from Bayern to keep things interesting in Group C. <cite>Adam Jolie\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n<p><strong>Lawson<\/strong>: With the exception of St. P\u00f6lten and Slavia, who didn&#39;t really take their chance to close the gap with Brann in Group B, the third-placed teams (and even PSG, fourth in a tight Group C ) are right in the mix.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"inline float-r inline-track\">\n<h2 class=\"img-title\">LIVE ON ESPN+ (SELECTED GAMES)<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Beautiful game lives here.  Stream the best leagues, tournaments and teams.<br \/><b>Sign up for ESPN+<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>SATURDAY DEC  16 (all times ET)<\/b><br \/>\u2022 Augsburg against Borussia Dortmund (9:00 a.m.)<br \/>\u2022 Southampton v Blackburn (10:00 a.m.)<br \/>\u2022 Athletic Club against Atletico Madrid (12:00 p.m.)<br \/>\u2022 RB Leipzig against Hoffenheim (12:00 p.m.)<br \/>\u2022 Valencia against FC Barcelona (3:00 p.m.)<\/p>\n<p><b>SUNDAY DEC  17 (all times ET)<\/b><br \/>\u2022 West Brom Albion v Stoke (7:00)<br \/>\u2022 Real Sociedad v Real Betis (10:00 a.m.)<br \/>\u2022 Bayer Leverkusen against Eintracht (11:00 a.m.)<br \/>\u2022 Royal Antwerp against Anderlecht (12:00 p.m.)<br \/>\u2022 Bayern Munich against Stuttgart (1:00 p.m.)<br \/>\u2022 AZ against PSV (3:00 p.m.)<br \/>\u2022 Real Madrid against Villarreal (3:00 p.m.)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Before the group stage, many were eagerly waiting to see if Paris FC could continue their giant killing streak after knocking out Arsenal and Wolfsburg in the qualifying rounds.  Two defeats from two suggests not, but we finally saw some of their best football against Real Madrid on Thursday.  It will be a tough task to qualify ahead of in-form Hacken or Chelsea, but another performance like next week&#39;s in Madrid and top of Group D will be really interesting heading into January.<\/p>\n<p>Barcelona will be top of Group A and Roseng\u00e5rd is far behind, but next week&#39;s match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Benfica is important.  Frankfurt have tended to blow hot and cold in recent years, so it was no surprise to see them strive for victory at the Est\u00e1dio da Luz.  But if they manage to secure a home win, then the race for second place will be wide open.<\/p>\n<p>However, we are in Group C.  Two points separate Bayern (1st) from PSG (4th), and we have the impression that it&#39;s a group for anyone.  Next <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/tag\/week\/\"   title=\"week\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">week<\/a>, Ajax will look to take more points from Bayern, while Roma will look for revenge against PSG.  This is a bunch of chaos and I&#39;m sure there will be at least one more twist before it&#39;s over.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Marsden<\/strong>: I&#39;m leaving for Eintracht Frankfurt.  It will be between the Germans and Benfica second place in Group A behind Bar\u00e7a.  Benfica dominated the meeting between the two teams in Portugal this week, but Frankfurt will be keen to try their luck in the remaining matches.<\/p>\n<p>Their two winnable matches against Benfica and Roseng\u00e5rd both came at home, where they were very good in the first half against Bar\u00e7a before finally succumbing to the might of the Catalans.  It could ultimately come down to Thursday&#39;s match against Benfica at Deutsche Bank Park.<\/p>\n<p><strong>O&#39;Halloran<\/strong>: Everything points to Group C. The final positions of Bayern, Roma, Ajax and PSG can end in several ways.<\/p>\n<p>It will only take one mistake from Bayern, who failed to take advantage of Lea Sch\u00fcller&#39;s opener in the second minute and drew 1-1 against Ajax at home on Thursday, to radically change the outlook for the standings .  PSG came away with two defeats from their first two, but a victory against Roma opened things up again.<\/p>\n<p>It&#39;s up to everyone to win&#8230;or lose.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UWCL talking points: PSG fight back; can Chelsea win it all?\u060c PSG star Grace Geyoro scored in the key win over Roma. FRANCK FIFE\/AFP via Getty Images Day three of the 2023-24 Women&#39;s Champions League group stage is over and we&#39;re halfway through as things start to get really interesting. Swedes BK H\u00e4cken are the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14911,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2687,1076,1079,3641,1078,3013,10],"class_list":["post-14910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-sports","tag-chelsea","tag-fight","tag-points","tag-psg","tag-talking","tag-uwcl","tag-win"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14910"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14912,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14910\/revisions\/14912"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}