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Half-time reading
Half time: Paris Saint-Germain 0-0 Wolfsburg
Let us never speak of that first half again.
45 min Here’s that Frohms save, described rather generously by the DAZN social media team.
43 min Karchaoui is fouled by Huth, then puts hands on the ball as she falls. The referee gives a free-kick to Wolfsburg for handball, which amuses Karchaoui not one jot.
40 min Lattwein’s cross is chested off by Popp towards Pajor, but Geyoro reads it well and clears. The two defences are well on top at the moment.
37 min De Almeida is booked for dissent.
33 min: Chance for Diani! Baltimore pops up on the left wing and teases a brilliant cross beyond the far post. It clears Janssen and is headed wide from close range by Diani. She may have been unsighted because of Janssen’s presence, but it was still a really good chance.
32 min: Good save by Frohms! That’s more like it. Bachmann surges into the area from the left, cuts outside Hegering and hits a low, left-footed drive from a tightish angle. Frohms, well positioned at the near post, turns it round the post.
31 min I’m struggling to think of anything to write. The last 15-20 minutes have largely been a stop-start midfield battle, with both teams commititng the necessary fouls to stop their opponent generating any attacking momentum.
27 min Groenen is booked for a bad tackle on Huth.
26 min De Almeida makes a good interception in her own area and PSG break four on three. Bachmann takes a bit too long, however, and then pokes a poor pass towards Diani that is cut out by Popp.
25 min Huth’s inswinging corner from the left is headed over by Hegering at the near post. Again, it was a pretty difficult chance because she was running away from goal when she made contract.
There’s a VAR check for a potential Wolfsburg penalty. I’ve no idea what that was about, but the check is complete.
22 min Huth’s flat, driven free-kick is headed wide from the edge of the area by Hendrich (I think). This is all a bit disappointing.
19 min Hamraoui’s cross from the right is behind Baltimore, who tries an overhead kick but can only divert the ball away from goal. It was a pretty awkward chance.
18 min Groenen and Karchaoui combine to find Diani, whose early shot from the edge of the area is blocked. Diani, who already has a career-best 25 goals this season, looks in no mood for niceties, or assists.
14 min Wolfsburg have settled down a little after a nervous start. The last few minutes have been much cagier, in fact; there’s clearly a fair amount of mutual respect.
11 min: Great defending from De Almeida! Out of nothing, Wolfsburg almost take the lead. A grisly pass from the keeper Bouhaddi goes straight to Pajor, eight yards from goal. She returns it with interest, and De Almeida stretches in front of Bouhaddi to make a vital block.
10 min The PSG fans are making a cracking noise. That’s it, that’s all I’ve got.
7 min Groenen moves forward and finds Karchaoui on the left. Her cross is chested down by Diani, who hits a shot on the turn that is too close to Frohms. Another good attack from PSG, though, who have started extremely well.
6 min Bachmann’s free-kick is headed well wide by Diani, running away from goal when she makes contact.
5 min Bachmann is fouled on the left wing by Hendrich. PSG have made a superb start, and Wolfsburg are struggling to get out of their half.
3 min Now Frohms has to charge from her area to beat Diani to a long ball forward.
2 min Janssen makes a vital tackle on Diani, who had evaded Hendrich (I think) in the area and was about to shoot. Diani did the first part brilliantly but was then slightly indecisive, whbich gave Janssen the chance to come across.
1 min Peep peep! Amid a lively atmosphere at the Parc des Princes, Wolfsburg get the fourth quarter-final under way.
Full time: Lyon 0-1 Chelsea
Guro Reiten’s goal gave Chelsea a terrific victory over the holders in their quarter-final first leg. Long way to go and all, but it’s a helluva result for a Chelsea team who seem to have gone up a level in Europe this season.
The winners of this tie will meet either Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the semi-final. That - like all four quarter-finals, especially the one that hasn’t kicked off yet - is finely poised.
Sophie Downey’s match preview
Wolfsburg make no secret of their ambitions. Twice champions of Europe, they are hoping to progress to the semi-finals yet again. They have the squad to do it with Alexandra Popp, Lena Oberdorf and Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir in their armoury. The Poland forward Ewa Pajor is the competition’s top scorer with seven.
The She-Wolves will be favourites, but there have been glimmers of frailties on which PSG could capitalise. They were held to draws by Roma and Slavia Praha in their group and suffered their first domestic defeat a fortnight ago.
This will be enough to give the French side hope, especially with the firepower of Kadidiatou Diani. It is, however, hard to shake off memories of the comprehensive loss to Chelsea in December. Plus, as always seems to be the case in Paris, rumours are swirling. The latest involves the manager, Gérard Prêcheur, who has been heavily linked with the vacant national team role.
Despite the drama, PSG have it in them to pull off a result. Backed by the vociferous Parisian Ultras, the opener at Parc des Princes will be the perfect opportunity to do just that.
Lyon v Chelsea
There’s another heavyweight quarter-final taking place in France right now, which you can follow with Luke McLaughlin. I won’t give out spoilers, just in case.
Team news: Diani returns, Oberdorf fit to
PSG rested a number of players for Saturday’s Coupe de France semi-final win over Thonon Evian, including Kadidiatou Diani and the captain/emergency centre-back Grace Geyoro. They’re back tonight, obviously.
Great news for Wolfsburg: their brilliant midfielder Lena Oberdorf, who was doubtful after suffering a knee injury against Potsdam at the weekend, is fit to start.
PSG (possible 4-3-3) Bouhaddi; Lawrence, De Almeida, Geyoro, Karchaoui; Jean-Francois, Hamraoui, Bachmann; Groenen, Diani, Baltimore.
Substitutes: Picaud, Votikova, Albert, Fazer, Vangsgaard, Martens, Georgieva, Li, Traore, Elimbi, Ngueleu.
Wolfsburg (possible 4-2-3-1): Frohms; Hendrich, Hegering, Janssen, Rauch; Oberdorf, Lattwein; Huth, Roord, Popp; Pajor.
Substitutes: Weiss, Kiedrzynek, Wilms, Bremer, Demann, Wolter, Blomqvist, Jonsdottir, Wedemeyer, Wassmuth, Brand.
Referee Rebecca Welch (England).
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of PSG v Wolfsburg in the Champions League quarter-final. The first game is in Paris tonight, with the second leg in Germany a week tomorrow. This is a heavyweight clash, between last year’s beaten semi-finalists. The good news is that one of them will avoid that uniquely frustrating fate this year; the bad news is that they’ll go out in the quarters instead.
After three consecutive semi-final defeats, PSG – probably the best team never to win this competition – will be desperate to reach another final. They have become the nearly side of European football, fractionally but decisively behind serial winners most of the time.
PSG keep coming back for more, though; this season they are unbeaten in Division 1 Feminine, including a win away to the champions Lyon, and have Kadidiatou Diani in unbelievable form. Yet they’re still not top of the league.
Wolfsburg are involved in an equally relentless title race, two points ahead of Bayern Munich in the Frauen-Bundesliga. Look, it’s pretty simple: when you have a quarter-final involving two teams who are serious contenders to win the whole thing, there’s a fair chance it’ll be a cracker.
Kick off 8pm GMT, 9pm in Paris.
English (US)