Paris Saint-Germain Women beat Eintracht Frankfurt Women 5:1 in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Women's Champions League at the Campus PSG on Tuesday. The hosts secured their passage to the next stage with a result that would have looked modest on paper but told a different story on the pitch. Frankfurt had shared a 1:1 draw with PSG just weeks earlier in August, but this time the balance shifted decisively.
Merveille Kanjinga opened the scoring in the thirty-sixth minute, a moment that paid for a sloppy opening from the visitors. And here's the thing — Frankfurt's red card came before the break, leaving them to chase the game for the remainder. By then PSG had already established enough of an advantage to control proceedings.
Rebecka Blomqvist doubled the lead in the seventy-sixth minute, and the visitors were forced into defensive mode. Sakina Karchaoui made it three in the hundred-and-fifth minute, keeping her side in it as Frankfurt's spirits appeared to fade. The French side threw everything at it once the visitors were reduced to ten players.
Karchaoui added a penalty in the one hundred and thirteenth minute, punishing Frankfurt for a mistake inside the area. Rasheedat Ajibade pulled one back for the visitors in the hundred-and-twenty-first minute, but it was too little, too late. Merveille Kanjinga was substituted in the one hundred and fourteenth minute after her brace.
The statistics tell a curious tale. PSG held 57 per cent possession while Frankfurt managed 43, but both sides registered zero shots on target and zero shots off target according to the data. PSG had two yellow cards against Frankfurt's three, though the visitors also received one red card. The figures suggest a match decided by moments rather than sustained pressure.
The 5:1 scoreline puts PSG in a strong position to progress from the qualifying round. Frankfurt's defeat ends their hopes of advancement and leaves them with questions to answer. The gap between the two sides, usually narrow, has widened considerably on this occasion.
