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23 min: Chelsea 1-0 Twente The hosts, I should add, could have gone 2-0 up a little earlier in this half, with Erin Cuthbert blasting a volley high from not far out after a fine cross from the right by Ève Périsset.
17 min: Celtic 0-0 Real Madrid Celtic’s Morgan Cross is down on the ground getting treatment after a nasty aerial clash. Madrid have had much of the ball so far, but neither goal has been tested.
Aston Villa are in action in the League Cup, by the way, having parted ways with Robert de Pauw earlier today. They’re 2-1 up at half-time against Charlton, courtesy of goals from Rachel Daly and Ebony Salmon.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Twente (Macario 2)
Chelsea are up and running early. Twente give away the ball at the back with Mayra Ramírez intercepting and playing in Catarina Macario. Macario feeds it back, with a wayward pass allowing Twente to retreat inside their area. But Macario’s shot is blocked back to her before she expertly lobs the keeper with a fine volley.
Peeeep!
And we’re off in both of the Group B fixtures. Celtic are still waiting for their first points … they kick things off against Real Madrid.
I hope Group A haven’t taken all our goals. There’s been some real madness at Wolfsburg, where the substitute Sveindis Jonsdottir has scored four (!) goals in a 6-1 win over Roma to secure her side’s passage into the quarters. Lyon have won 6-0 in Istanbul against Galatasaray to make it five wins from five in this year’s WCL.
Tom has also written today’s Moving the Goalposts piece, on the ambitions of Hera United, aiming to make history as the first independent women’s club in the Eredivisie.
Away from the WCL for a moment … Tom Garry and Suzanne Wrack have this report on Robert de Pauw leaving Aston Villa.
Robert de Pauw’s departure from his role as Aston Villa’s women’s team manager on Wednesday came amid concerns regarding the way he had allegedly spoken to his players, including about their appearance, the Guardian has been told.
It is understood concerns were raised internally about the Dutchman’s allegedly unprofessional remarks and that this was looked into by the club. De Pauw and Aston Villa were contacted for a response.
Chelsea make seven changes from the side that started in the 4-2 win over Brighton on the weekend, with Millie Bright, Nathalie Björn, Erin Cuthbert and Aggie Beever-Jones remaining in the lineup. Twente go the other way, with just one change after their 4-0 win over Heerenveen on Saturday: the forward Nikée van Dijk makes the XI.
Celtic v Real Madrid teams
Celtic: Daugherty, Lawton, Clark, Hayes, Barclais, McGregor, Cross, Cavanagh, Gallacher, Ashworth-Clifford, Agnew
Subs: Rodgers, Richardson, Ross, Smith, Signe Carstens, Mathilde Carstens, Kerner, Noonan, Bruna, Luana, McAneny, Logan
Real Madrid: Misa, Hernández, Gálvez, Méndez, Carmona, Toletti, Weir, Angeldahl, Feller, Bruun, Caicedo
Subs: Chavas, López, Abelleira, Antônia, Redondo, García, Møller, Camacho, Navarro, Del Castillo
Chelsea v Twente teams
Chelsea: Musovic, Périsset, Björn, Bright, Charles, Cuthbert, Jean-François, Hamano, Macário, Beever-Jones, Ramírez
Subs: Hampton, Cox, Nüsken, Reiten, Lawrence, Kaptein, Rytting Kaneryd, Bronze, Brown
Twente: Clark, Vliek, Knol, Carleer, Tuin, Van Dooren, Van Ginkel, Peddemors, Hulst, Ravensbergen, Van Dijk
Subs: De Jong, Vissers, Everaerts, Diekman, Andradottir, Te Brake, Proost, Verdaasdonk, Galic, Van der Vegt, Ivens.
Preamble
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to tonight’s WCL clockwatch. While the two Group A games have already kicked off – Galatasaray v Lyon and Wolfsburg v Roma – we’re focusing on the two Group B fixtures: Real Madrid are off to Celtic while Chelsea host Twente.
Admittedly, there’s not a great deal of jeopardy here, with Chelsea and Madrid both through to the quarter-finals. But there’s still a battle for first place in the group, and Sonia Bompastor’s side are still carrying a 100% record across competitions – a crack at the perfect season continues.
Here’s to GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! throughout the evening.
