Roma's Verena Hanshaw, right, vies for the ball with Galatasaray's Eda Karatas during the women's Champions League group A soccer match between Galatasaray and Roma at Ataturk Olympic stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 17, 2024. Roma defeated Galatasaray 6-1.Huseyin Yavuz/The Associated Press
Chelsea, Lyon and Roma all stayed perfect in the Women’s Champions League by cruising to away victories on Thursday.
Roma routed Galatasaray at Istanbul 6-1, Chelsea beat Twente in the Netherlands 3-1 and eight-time champion Lyon won 2-0 at Wolfsburg.
Real Madrid claimed its first victory of the campaign by easing past Celtic 4-0.
Roma and Lyon both have six points in Group A. Two-time champion Wolfsburg and Galatasaray, the first Turkish team to reach the group stage, have no points.
In Group B, Chelsea leads with six points, with Madrid and Twente on three and Celtic last without a point.
Renard strikes on Popp’s day
Wolfsburg striker Alexandra Popp made her 100th competition appearance – becoming only the second player to reach the mark – but it was Lyon defender Wendie Renard, the only one who has played more, who stole the show. Renard’s header found the back of the net early on in her 118th game in the competition. U.S. international Lindsey Horan netted from the penalty spot in the second half. Lyon is the competition’s record eight-time champion but last won the trophy in 2022. It was runner-up last season to Barcelona.
Roma rout
In a matchup between the Italian and Turkish champions, Roma dominated in Istanbul. Summer signing Hawa Cissoko scored in the seventh minute to mark her debut game in the competition. The France defender who transferred from West Ham headed home off Manuela Giugliano’s corner. Valentina Giacinti made it 2-0 in the 24th minute when she was left unmarked near the spot to head in Verena Hanshaw’s cross. Giugliano failed to convert from the spot in the first-half stoppage time but Emilie Haavi got Roma’s third with a right-footed blast past goalkeeper Gamze Yaman early in the second. Giugliano finally found the back of the net from close range for a 4-0 lead before Andrea Staskova scored the consolation goal for the hosts. Roma substitutes Marta Pandini and Alice Corelli also scored.
Blues win again under Bompastor
Chelsea struck early in another winning performance under new coach Sonia Bompastor, who joined from Lyon. Agnes Beever-Jones put the Blues ahead with a long-distance deflected strike in the seventh minute and Maika Hamano made it 2-0 a short time later by lifting the ball over goalkeeper Olivia Clark from outside the area. Substitute Guro Reiten added the third in the second from the spot just past the hour mark. On Saturday, Chelsea beat city rival Arsenal 2-1 in the Women’s Super League.
Real Madrid bounces back
Real Madrid scored three second-half goals in 11 minutes against Celtic in Group B. The Spanish team had lost to Chelsea 3-2 in the first round and drew with Atletico 1-1 in the Madrid derby over the weekend. Caroline Weir fired a long-range left-footer from outside the box into the far top corner in the seventh minute. The visitors kept if close until the 72nd minute, when Signe Bruun headed home the second goal followed eight minutes later by Caroline Moller’s lob of goalkeeper Kelsey Daugherty for a 3-0 lead. Linda Caicedo then converted from the penalty spot. It’s back-to-back losses for Scottish club Celtic, making its debut in the group stage. It has yet to score.