Women’s football round-up: Barcelona shocked by resilient Bristol Academy in Champions League showdown

A look at the best action from the last week in women’s football, including the latest Champions League results

Bristol Academy caused an upset in the Women’s Champions League last-16 knockout round after beating Barcelona 1-0 at the Mini Estadi on Saturday. Despite being outplayed for the majority of the match, an own goal from Marta Corredera gave the WSL outfit a great chance of advancing to the quarter-final. Glasgow City will have their work cut out if they are to progress after losing 2-1 to Zurich in Switzerland. Fiona Brown’s strike either side of goals from Fabienne Humm and Julia Sterli was not enough to save them from defeat but could be crucial in deciding the tie.

The Canada Soccer Association (CSA) have refused to hold talks regarding the row over the use of artificial pitches at the World Cup next year. The hosts are being sued for sex discrimination by several high-profile players including Abby Wambach and Nadine Angerer, and had initially indicated a willingness to hold talks. But the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal have ruled out any swift action on the case. Attorney Hampton Dellinger, representing the players, said they will ask the tribunal to “reconsider their decision”.

i player of the week: Fabienne Humm (Zurich)
Players like Humm tend to go under the radar when clubs like Wolfsburg dominate the Champions League, but the 27-year-old forward is currently joint-top goalscorer in the competition. Having scored twice in both legs against Osijek in the previous round, the Switzerland international added to her tally with the opener against Glasgow City to keep up her record of scoring in every game she has started so far.

Moment of the week
Many thought Barcelona would make easy work of Bristol Academy when the teams were paired together in last month’s Champions League draw. But the Spaniards’ profligacy in front of goal, combined with the sheer determination of their opponents, saw the European giants collapse to a surprise defeat, and England’s only remaining representative now hold the advantage ahead of a crucial second leg on Thursday.

They said...
"They have such a big name as a club, but it was 11 players in Bristol shirts against 11 in Barca shirts and we played the game, not the name." Bristol Academy manager Dave Edmundson was delighted with the professionalism of his players as they secured a shock 1-0 victory over Barcelona.

Is stat true?
55 – Barcelona’s 1-0 defeat against Bristol Academy was their first loss at home in 55 games.

Look out for…
Womens Champions League - Wednesday: Glasgow City vs Zurich (7.30); Thursday: Bristol Academy vs Barcelona (7.30)