Wolfsburg finished the league phase of the Women’s Champions League in ninth place after a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.
The two-time winners had a decent start to the game as they were pushing for a top-four spot. There were nervy moments from Chelsea in the first ten minutes, with experienced duo Lucy Bronze and Millie Bright making strong challenges on Kessya Bussy, while Erin Cuthbert nearly scored an own-goal.
She-Wolves get their reward in the 16th minute with Alexandra Popp’s tenth goal in all competitions. The hosts should’ve had a corner-kick when Lineth Beerensteyn’s shot was blocked by Bright, but Livia Peng gave the ball back with a poor goal-kick. Popp, who is in the top-ten list of all-time Champions League scorers, happily took the opportunity to score her second goal of the European campaign.
With the lead, Wolfsburg overtook Chelsea in the live table as they’re now in a place that saw them progress directly to the quarter-finals. The WSL giants created their first real clear-cut chance through Sam Kerr after that, but Wolfsburg continued with their good spell as Beerensteyn came close with a good header.
Chelsea’s talismanic striker was presented with another great chance from Sandy Baltimore’s excellent cross, but Camilla Küver made it very difficult for the Australian to strike the ball cleanly from close range. A minute later, Lauren James also missed a sitter as the visitors improved after the half-hour mark. At the other end, Bronze kept Chelsea in the game with two excellent interventions to deny Beerensteyn and Bussy.
Remarkably, Bronze was also influential at the other end of the box. The right-back scored in back-to-back Champions League games with a stunning header from Cuthbert’s corner-kick. Despite their impressive first-half display, Wolfsburg had to do it all over again as Chelsea climbed back to the top-four at their expense with only 45 minutes left to play.
The equalizer meant Wolfsburg are down to ninth place, which would mean they will not even have a home advantage for the second-leg in the additional knockout stage round. And Sonia Bompastor’s side started the second-half with a real ascendancy. Alyssa Thompson was denied by the woodwork, and Stina Johannes denied Cuthbert inside the first five minutes.
Wolfsburg recovered well after escaping those moments, but Chelsea controlled the tempo unlike in the first-half. Keira Walsh was the next to try her luck before Johannes made another superb save from Cuthbert’s effort. At the other end, Peng made an equally impressive save from Sarai Linder’s powerful shot. The Swiss goalkeeper kept her place despite the return of Hannah Hampton, who just added “The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper” accolade to her name.
Chelsea also missed the services of Kerr up front earlier in the season, but one of the best strikers in women’s football hardly struggled since her long-awaited return. With her usual aplomb from headers, Kerr put Chelsea in front with 25 minutes left to play. However, She-Wolves only created chances in a scrappy injury-time as the woodwork denied them an equalizer.
Wolfsburg finished the league phase in ninth place, while Chelsea are directly through to the quarter-finals. The draw for the knockout stage playoff round will be made on Thursday. Wolfsburg could face either Juventus or Real Madrid, but they will not have a home advantage in the return leg. The two-legged playoff ties will be played in February 2026.
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