Arsenal, Man City and Bayern Advance to Women's Champions League Quarterfinals

Arsenal celebrate after scoring the 1-0 goal during the UEFA Women's Champions League soccer match between Arsenal Women and Juventus Women at the Emirates Stadium in London, Britain, 21 November 2024.  EPA/NEIL HALL
Arsenal celebrate after scoring the 1-0 goal during the UEFA Women's Champions League soccer match between Arsenal Women and Juventus Women at the Emirates Stadium in London, Britain, 21 November 2024. EPA/NEIL HALL
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Arsenal, Man City and Bayern Advance to Women's Champions League Quarterfinals

Arsenal celebrate after scoring the 1-0 goal during the UEFA Women's Champions League soccer match between Arsenal Women and Juventus Women at the Emirates Stadium in London, Britain, 21 November 2024.  EPA/NEIL HALL
Arsenal celebrate after scoring the 1-0 goal during the UEFA Women's Champions League soccer match between Arsenal Women and Juventus Women at the Emirates Stadium in London, Britain, 21 November 2024. EPA/NEIL HALL

Arsenal, Manchester City and Bayern Munich all advanced to the Women’s Champions League quarterfinals with with two games to spare on Thursday, The Associated Press reported.
Late substitute Lina Hurtig scored the winner in Arsenal's 1-0 victory over Juventus in London.
Khadija Shaw scored twice for City in a 2-1 win at Swedish club Hammarby. City stayed perfect in Group D with four victories and reached the last eight for the first time since 2021.
Bayern Munich was held 1-1 at Vålerenga in Norway and still earned a quarterfinal berth after Juventus' loss.
Arsenal, Bayern and City join Chelsea, Lyon and Real Madrid in the quarterfinals.
Two-time defending champion Barcelona routed Austrian champion St. Pölten 4-1. The Catalan club trails City by three points in their group and is in a strong position to advance.
Bayern tops Group C with 10 points, Arsenal has nine followed by Juventus (3) and Vålerenga (1).
Back to winning Man City responded to its first loss of the season, 2-0 at Chelsea in the Women's Super League on Saturday.
Still without injured star Vivianne Miedema, Shaw took charge, proving her scoring instincts after half an hour.
The forward scored from inside the penalty area with a deflected shot that flew over goalkeeper Anna Tamminen to frustrate more than 20,000 noisy fans at the Stockholm Arena in the Swedish capital.
Ellen Wangerheim equalized soon after the interval from close range to rejuvenate the crowd but Shaw struck again to restore the lead just minutes later.
This time, she delivered a powerful right-footed finish from the edge of the area.
Bayern and Harder contained Bayern dominated possession but could not translate it into goals until the 75th minute. It had to rely on substitute Jovana Damnjanović, who gave the visitors a late lead after connecting on a pass from Giulia Gwinn.
The Norwegians, who have retained their domestic title, equalized in the 88th on Elise Thorsnes' header following a corner.
Pernille Harder, who found the back of the net five times for Bayern in the previous three games, could not do it again on Thursday and was substituted.
Hurtig's night Hurtig came on with 10 minutes remaining and made her presence immediately felt with several headers.
She finally made the breakthrough with a minute remaining in regulation, tapping in from close range after Juventus’ poor clearance of a low cross by Stina Blackstenius.
Hurtig won the Italian title with Juventus in 2021 and 2022 before joining the Gunners.
Juventus seemed to learn a lesson from its 4-0 loss to Arsenal last week as its defense held firm till Hurtig’s arrival.
Putellas scores her 200th Barcelona goal In an 11-minute span in the first half, Francisca Nazareth netted twice and 18-year-old Vicky Lopez scored once to put Barcelona in control.
Nazareth's double was followed by Lopez hitting the third with a shot high into the net for her first Champions League goal.
Alexia Putellas made it 4-0 in the second half, finishing a fast attack that tore apart the defense in Vienna. It was her 200th goal for Barcelona and the 100th the club scored in the Champions League’s group stage.
Valentina Mädl, an 18-year-old forward, netted a consolation goal for the hosts.
Barcelona has scored 20 goals in its past three games and can still become the first club to win its group in all four years since the introduction of the format.



Guardiola Signs 2-year Contract Extension at Man City, Eyes 'More Trophies'

(FILES) Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola gestures on the touchline during the UEFA Champions League, league phase football match between Manchester City and Inter Milan at the Etihad stadium, in Manchester, north-west England, on September 18, 2024. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)
(FILES) Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola gestures on the touchline during the UEFA Champions League, league phase football match between Manchester City and Inter Milan at the Etihad stadium, in Manchester, north-west England, on September 18, 2024. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)
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Guardiola Signs 2-year Contract Extension at Man City, Eyes 'More Trophies'

(FILES) Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola gestures on the touchline during the UEFA Champions League, league phase football match between Manchester City and Inter Milan at the Etihad stadium, in Manchester, north-west England, on September 18, 2024. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)
(FILES) Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola gestures on the touchline during the UEFA Champions League, league phase football match between Manchester City and Inter Milan at the Etihad stadium, in Manchester, north-west England, on September 18, 2024. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

Pep Guardiola committed himself to Manchester City for another two years on Thursday and quickly set his sights on adding to his record-breaking reign.
Guardiola ended uncertainty about his future by signing a contract extension that would prolong his tenure as City manager to 11 seasons.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for," said the 53-year-old Catalan coach, whose current deal was due to expire at the end of this season. "Hopefully now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Guardiola has overseen a period of unprecedented dominance since joining City in 2016. He has gone on to win six Premier League titles in seven years at the Etihad Stadium and also won the Champions League. In total, he has won 15 major trophies at the club.
He has set new benchmarks, with City becoming the first team to win four-straight English league titles and the first to amass 100 points in a single season in 2018. He also led City to the treble in 2023, winning the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in one season — matching Manchester United's achievement in 1999.
“Manchester City means so much to me. This is my ninth season here. We have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club,” Guardiola added in his statement. “That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.”
Publicly, Guardiola gave no indication about whether he would stay on even as he entered the final months of his contract, The Associated Press reported. That led to speculation about potential successors, but City remained hopeful he could be convinced to sign another extension.
He has already managed City for longer than any his former clubs, having spent four years at Barcelona and three at Bayern Munich.
City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said he was “delighted” that Guardiola is staying.
“His hunger for improvement and success remains insatiable and the direct beneficiaries of that will continue to be our players and coaching staff, the culture of our club, and the English game at large,” he said.
“This renewal will take Pep beyond a decade of coaching Manchester City and the opportunity to continue to re-write the managerial record books.”
Guardiola's new deal comes at a time when City's Premier League dominance appears to be under threat. The four-time defending champion has lost four games in succession in all competitions — the worst losing streak of Guardiola's managerial career.
Guardiola is widely considered one of the greatest managers of all time, having been a serial winner at Barcelona, Bayern and City. He has won 33 major titles with those clubs, including three Champions League trophies.