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Records and drama in opening games

The UEFA Women's Champions League round of 32 first legs produced records, comebacks, surprises and some awesome performances: we review the opening action.

Athletic attracted the highest-ever round of 32 crowd for their game against Fortuna
Athletic attracted the highest-ever round of 32 crowd for their game against Fortuna ©Iñigo Marín

The UEFA Women's Champions League round of 32 first legs are complete and we review the week's action ahead of the returns next Wednesday and Thursday.

Chelsea 0-3 Wolfsburg
Avaldsnes 2-5 Lyon
Hibernian 0-6 Bayern München
Breidablik 0-1 Rosengård
Athletic Club 2-1 Fortuna Hjørring
Twente 2-0 Sparta Praha
Apollon 1-1 Slavia Praha
Sturm Graz 0-6 Zürich
BIIK-Kazygurt 3-1 Verona

St. Pölten 0-2 Brøndby
SFK 2000 Sarajevo 0-0 Rossiyanka*
Medyk Konin 4-3 Brescia*

Manchester City 2-0 Zvezda-2005
Minsk 0-3 Barcelona
LSK Kvinner 3-1 Paris Saint-Germain
*
Eskilstuna United 1-0 Glasgow City*

All second legs next Wednesday except *Thursday

  • Key points
©AFP

Record crowds
The 9,127 at San Mamés to see Athletic's defeat of former finalists Fortuna was a new record for the round of 32. Meanwhile Austrian debutants Sturm, Bosnian champions Sarajevo, Norwegian newcomers Avaldsnes and Scotland's Hibernian all attracted the highest crowds recorded in their countries for this competition while Chelsea's 3,783 attendance at Stamford Bridge was the best ever in England other than for the 2011 and 2013 finals.

Contenders show teeth
That game at Stamford Bridge looks like being the only European match there this season after Zsanett Jakabfi's hat-trick earned Wolfsburg a 3-0 win that surprised even coach Ralf Kellermann. The side that beat Wolfsburg on penalties in the final last May, Lyon, ended up winning 5-2 at Avaldsnses, with away victories too for Bayern and Rosengård. Although Paris have to overturn a deficit next week, Manchester City's victory, given comfort by Lucy Bronze's added-time goal, underlines that the new English champions may yet challenge to reach Cardiff in June.

©Polska Piłka Kobiet

Medyk comeback
Polish champions Medyk are outsiders to get that far but produced perhaps the result of the round against last season's quarter-finalists Brescia. Trailing 3-1 with 14 minutes to go Medyk came back to prevail 4-3, the winner from Liliana Kostova direct from a corner. Verona's loss at BIIK has left both Italian sides with tough home second-leg tasks.

Leon roars
Matching Jakabfi's hat-trick was Adriana Leon for Zürich at Sturm, the recently-signed Canada winger also making two more goals. She emulated compatriot Josée Bélanger, who got three goals and one assist in Rosengård's 7-0 defeat of PK-35 Vantaa at this stage last season.

Mixed fortunes for debutants
Sturm and qualfiying round winners Avaldnses were given lessons by tournament stalwarts Zürich and Lyon in their maiden knockout ties on Wednesday, but the following night Manchester City and Eskilstuna both beat established competition forces, even if they still have jobs to do in the returns.

  • Pick of the tweets