Wolfsburg Women 1-2 Chelsea Women: Lucy Bronze and Sam Kerr goals secure quarter-final spot in Women's Champions League
Report as Chelsea Women go straight into the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after a win at Wolfsburg; they finish third in the table, while Wolfsburg finished ninth; Lucy Bronze and Sam Kerr scored for the Blues, while Alexandra Popp opened the scoring for the Germans
Thursday 18 December 2025 00:09, UK
Chelsea Women have secured a quarter-final spot in the Women's Champions League after they came from behind to beat Wolfsburg 2-1 in their final league phase game, finishing third in the table.
It will see the Blues avoid a play-off in mid-February, allowing an ease in their busy fixture schedule. They will find out their potential opponents in the final eight when the draw for the knockout rounds is made on Thursday (12pm).
Chelsea began the evening in third too, but their spot in the top four - which ensured a direct entry into the quarters - was under threat early on as Wolfsburg capitalised on a dominant spell.
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Livia Peng's attempted clearance was tapped into Alexandra Popp's path. She turned past Keira Walsh before sending a low, hard shot past the goalkeeper.
Both sides continued to trade blows, although Wolfsburg had the better openings. Lucy Bronze twice kept Chelsea in the game with her defending too - she cleared Lineth Beerensteyn's effort off the line before a well-timed tackle inside the box kept Kessya Bussy from striking.
Then, moments later, she equalised at the other end, nodding home Erin Cuthbert's corner just before half-time.
Chelsea had more control after the break, and pushed for the winner from the restart, with Alyssa Thompson hitting the post before Cuthbert was denied by Stina Johannes.
Sam Kerr made sure of the three points in the 64th minute. She was unmarked at the near post to nod home a cross from Johanna Rytting Kaneyrd, scoring her 20th Champions League goal for Chelsea.
Wolfsburg did not make it an easy finish either. In five minutes of added time, Janou Levels smashed an effort onto the top of the crossbar with Peng beaten, but they could not find the equaliser they wanted.
The result still sees Wolfsburg into the knockout rounds, but they finish in ninth by a point. It means they will be unseeded for Thursday's draw, and they will face either Real Madrid or Juventus.
Bompastor: We wanted top four and did that
Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor said: "We're really pleased with the result. It's never easy to come here so it's a great result, especially because we wanted to qualify directly for the top four. We did that.
"The performance was tough, especially in the first half. We were under pressure because Wolfsburg came at us with a lot of physicality.
"That made it difficult for us to perform. In the second half we did enough to score two goals and win the game.
"Lucy's goal was really important, she scored at a crucial moment of the game and that gave a lot of belief to the team. That was the best thing that could have happened before half-time.
"We then corrected some tactical and positional aspects and that brought confidence to the players. The players were mentally very resilient and created enough for us to win."
Bronze: A tough game that was enjoyable to play in
Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze speaking to Disney Plus: "You put the work in now in the first half of the season and I think it saves you a little bit in the second half.
"It was definitely a tough game today, one of our hardest in the Champions League. Coming here to Wolfsburg has never been easy.
"Someone said it is the first time an English team has actually won here, so that's a good record to have finally cracked. Overall a really tough game. Both teams went really strong until the end and it was quite enjoyable to play in."
What are the Champions League key dates?
The draw for the knockout phase, quarter-finals and semi-finals will be made on December 18 at 12pm GMT.
Knockout phase play-offs
- First leg: February 11/12
- Second leg: February 18/19
Quarter-finals
- First leg: March 24/25
- Second leg: April 1/2
Semi-finals
- First leg: April 25/26
- Second leg: May 2/3
Final
May 23 at the Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo
