After a disastrous summer at Women’s Euro 2022, there was finally some good news in the world of Italian women’s football on Thursday night with both Juventus and Roma taking positive steps and progressing in the Women’s Champions League.
Juventus Women, who were competing in the Champions Path, took on Luxembourgish side Racing-Union.
Roma Women, meanwhile, are seeking qualification via the League Path. The Giallorosse faced a tricky test away at Tournament 1 hosts Glasgow City.
Juventus step towards Women’s Champions League group phase
Expectedly, Juventus looked strong in what was their first competitive game of the 2022/23 season, having fallen in the quarter-finals to eventual European Champions Lyon in the 2021/22 Women’s Champions League.
Racing-Union were no match for the Bianconere and the Serie A champions flexed their muscle early as unlikely goalscorer Martina Rossucci put them ahead. Cristiana Girelli, Arianna Caruso, and Agnese Bonfantini sealed a 4-0 win adding goals of their own.
Roma get the job done in Glasgow
Things were considerably more difficult for Roma, who didn’t have the luxury of playing at home. Instead, the Giallorosse travelled to Scotland to take on Glasgow City, who put up a fight for most of the evening.
Benedetta Glionna showed her burst of pace and tricky footwork to work space from the right before firing in an early opener, though an own goal from Moeka Minami saw that undone. Glionna got a second on the hour mark, combining with second-half substitute Paloma Lazaro. The two then linked up again as Glionna repaid the earlier favour by assisting the centre-forward for Roma’s third.
How does Women’s Champions League qualification work?
Qualification for the Women’s Champions League looks tricky at a first glance, but it’s more a case of it being a longer path than it being hard to understand, and it can be split into two rounds.
Both Juventus and Roma are into the finals of their respective first-round tournaments. The Italian champions take on Kiryat Gat, while last season’s Serie A runners-up will have to overcome Paris FC to make it into Round 2.
Should they advance, they will then join 22 other teams in Round 2 – split between the Champions Path (14 teams) and the League Path (10 teams). The first legs of the Round 2 games will be played on September 20/21 and the second legs on September 28/29.
From Round 2, a place in the Women’s Champions League group stage will be on offer. The seven winning Round 2 Champions Path teams and the five Round 2 League Path teams will qualify for the group stage proper.
Lyon, Barcelona, Wolfsburg and Chelsea have already booked their respective places in the group stage.
