WCL and WSL talking points: Arsenal show super strength but Manchester pair stumble

Barça’s need to adapt on show in Bayern draw, while Sam Kerr’s ‘perfect hat-trick’ is denied by a lack of technology

Alexia Putellas said Barcelona have to “adapt our game” after a 1-1 draw away to Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals. The game, in which the scorer of Bayern’s equaliser, Franziska Kett, was sent off for pulling Salma Paralluelo’s hair late on, was a far cry from the 7-1 victory the Spanish champions earned over the German champions in their opening match of the league phase of the competition. “We knew this game would be different. As you’ve seen, we were right,” said the two-time Ballon d’Or winner. “The first half was different from the second half. In the end, they were in a medium block; we waited for more space in the middle. We have to adapt our game.” The key seems to be to let Barcelona have the ball and Bayern’s Giulia Gwinn said: “The biggest challenge against Barcelona is to accept that you’ll have very little possession without becoming passive. Every time we managed to go beyond that initial moment of pressing, we were dangerous. In the second half, we had the momentum. We could’ve made more of a couple of chances, but we could tell that they’re not unbeatable, that we can get something done.” Suzanne Wrack

Continue reading...