Lauren James (Chelsea) and Olga Carmona (Real Madrid)
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Round 1 of UWCL Fantasy is done and dusted and here’s what we learned and what we can look forward to in Round 2.
Round 1 Review
As expected, Barcelona and Lyon secured comfortable wins on the opening day and are set to sail through the group stage. Conversely, for Benfica and Slavia Prague the next four matches should be easier as they won’t face the favourites again until Round 6. Also in Group A, Eintracht Frankfurt gave up a late goal but maintained a 2-1 win over Rosengård. Brann started their campaign to make it out of Group B in good form beating St. Pölten 2-1.
In Group C, Chelsea were unlucky not to get a win over Real Madrid with a questionable penalty and disallowed goal. PSG failed to find the back of the net against group underdogs Ajax, who walked away 2-0 victors. Ajax currently top the Group C, but how much longer will it last.
Group D also has unlikely leaders at the end of Round 1 with Häcken on top thanks to a 2-1 over Paris FC. After big wins against Arsenal and Wolfsburg many were surprised to see Paris FC fall to Häcken 2-1 who on paper should have been an easier opponent. In the other Group D match, Roma’s Manuela Giugliano scored a late equaliser against Bayern coming back from 2-0 down.
Girls on the Ball, All rights reserved
Top Performers of Round 1
Aside from the Team of the Round some of the top performers from Round 1 include
Best of the non-winners and goal-scorers
- Gaëtane Thiney (Paris FC, MF, 400K, 11 points)
- Julie Soyer (Paris FC, DF, 500K, 9 points)
- Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain, MF, 250K, 8 points)
- Ria Öling (Rosengård, MF, 300K, 8 points)
- Molly McLaughlin (Slavia Prague, MF, 250K, 9 attack + defense points)
Best points per 100k players
- Signe Gaupset (Brann, MF, 200K, 7.0 points/100K)
- Perle Morroni (Lyon, DF, 400K, 5.5 points/100K)
- Natasha Anasi (Brann, DF, 200K, 5.0 points/100K)
- Marit Bratberg Lund (Brann, DF, 350K, 4.9 points/100K)
- Kay-Lee de Sanders (Ajax, DF, 300K, 4.7 points/100K)
Round 2 Preview
How teams did in at the weekend:
Three teams did not play at the weekend. The Damallsvenskan 2023 season is complete so Rosengård and Häcken will not play domestically until 2024. Slavia Prague also did not play.
Group A:
Barcelona beat Real Madrid 5-0 with goals from Aitana Bonmatí, Caroline Graham Hansen, Mariona Caldentey, Clàudia Pina, and Vicky López. Alexia Putellas (knee) and Irene Paredes (tonsillitis) did not play and are not in the squad travelling to Frankfurt.
Eintracht Frankfurt won 2-0 with goals scored from Laura Freigang and Lara Prašnikar. Both goals were assisted by Barbara Dunst.
Benfica beat Braga 1-0 with a goal scored by Kika Nazareth.
Group B:
Lyon won 4-1 and rested many players including Wendie Renard. Ada Hegerberg and Sara Däbritz scored when they came on as subs.
Brann tied 2-2 with goals from Rakel Engesvik and Amalie Eikeland
St. Pölten won 7-0 which included a hattrick from Diana Lemešová
Group C:
Bayern Munich won 2-0 with goals from Magdalena Eriksson and Katharina Naschenweng.
Roma won 2-0 with goals from Manuela Giugliano and Saki Kumagai.
PSG won 2-1 with goals from Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Jackie Groenen. Sandy Baltimore also had an impressive 8 chances created.
Ajax lost 1-0 to Eredivisie leaders Twente.
Group D:
Chelsea won 5-1 with goals from Sjoeke Nüsken, Agnes Beever-Jones, and a hattrick from Lauren James. Millie Bright was not in the matchday squad but Emma Hayes confirmed she was rested and not injured.
Paris FC won 1-0 with Clara Matéo scoring in the 41’ minute.
Round 2 Targets
We are expecting Lyon and Barcelona players to go deep in the tournament so getting them in your squad early may earn you a lot of points but also prevent any transfer deductions if you decide you want them later. Conversely, you may want to avoid St. Pölten and Eintracht Frankfurt players this round as they play Lyon and Barcelona.
Benfica players will be good targets now they are passed the first match against Barcelona and will not face them until Round 6. They match up this round against Rosengård who are on paper the easiest match up in the group stage.
Molly Mclaughlin managed to get 9 attack and defence points against Lyon. She’s a cheap pick up from Slavia Prague and should get more points now they are past Lyon and won’t face them again until round 6.
Marit Bratberg Lund most attack and defense points last round, a match up against Slavia Prague will determine if Brann are the best of the rest in Group B.