PARIS (AP) — OL Lyonnes thrashed Inter Milan 6-0 after a hat trick by Vicki Bècho in the Women’s Champions League on Wednesday, while Arsenal also stayed undefeated in the league phase by beating Benfica 3-0 on a three-goal performance from England striker Alessia Russo.
Lyonnes and Arsenal are on seven points from three matches like Chelsea, which beat Roma 2-0 after Wieke Kaptein set up goals for defenders Ellie Carpenter and Kadeisha Buchanan.
Barcelona, the defending champion, will move back atop the standings on Thursday if the defending champion can beat Danish minnow HB Køge for a third straight win.
Long-range strike by Yohannes
Bècho might have scored three times for Lyonnes but the highlight of the win by the record eight-time champion was the long-range strike by U.S. midfielder Lily Yohannes, who saw the goalkeeper was off the line and floated a shot over her into the net in the 59th.
Marie-Antoinette Katoto scored the other two goals for the French giant and is the competition’s top scorer with five.
Russo makes history
Russo scored in the 39th, 66th and 79th minutes for Arsenal and made some history in the process.
She surpassed Fran Kirby to become the leading English scorer in the competition with 23 goals. That is now two more than Kirby, who scored her goals in the Champions League for Chelsea.
Real Madrid draws again
Bayern Munich rallied to draw 2-2 with visiting Real Madrid, which has now drawn all three of its games.
Athenea’s early opener and fellow forward Lineth Beerensteyn’s close-range header — against her former club — put Madrid 2-0 up midway through the first half.
But Spain forward Edna Imade scored in the 31st with a header from a corner and Japan midfielder Momoko Tanikawa equalized early in the second half for Bayern, which has five points.
Stylish Servette
After leaking 13 goals in two games Swiss champion Servette earned its first win in style with a 5-1 victory over winless Belgian side OH Leuven.
Midfielder Paola Hernández and forward Gloria Marinelli had two goals each and Joana Marchão completed the rout.
How to qualify
The competition has six match days, with the top four teams advancing to the quarterfinals and those finishing between fifth and 12th entering the knockout-phase playoffs.
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SOC–Women’s Champions League-Preview
