Late drama amid headline clashes - WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
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Top-of-the-table contests were a recurring theme in Germany and Italy with some decisive results, and no little drama marking several of the matches. FIFA.com’s weekly look at the latest in women’s club football also takes in news from France where the top three remain unrelenting in their pursuit of league glory.
Germany: Drama and intrigue
The big four shaped up in the Frauen Bundesliga and the two matches provided suitable drama with pivotal eleventh-hour goals in each. Wolfsburg relied on a 90th minute equaliser in Bavaria as Tessa Wullaert cancelled out Melanie Behringer’s second-half opener for Bayern. Meanwhile further north in the outskirts of Berlin there was even more drama as 1.FFC Frankfurt took home the points at the expense of old rivals Turbine Potsdam by the odd goal in seven. Frankfurt and Germany star Dzsenifer Marozsan netted the winner in injury time to allow her side to leapfrog into second ahead of Wolfsburg, though still ten points shy of Bayern. Six-time Bundesliga winners Turbine, however, still languish in mid-table following their poor start to the season.
Top three: Bayern Munich (38 points), 1.FFC Frankfurt (28), Wolfsburg (26)
Italy: Contrasting experiences for leading quartet
The four teams at the top of the standings in Italy have enjoyed consistent results all season, so in that context a heavy defeat for one of the quartet over the weekend came as a massive shock. Verona, despite having lost just twice in 13 league outings this season, slipped to a 5-1 home defeat against fifth-placed Tavagnacco. The result was an unexpected godsend for both Brescia and Mozzanica who duly opened up a four-point lead at the summit. Brescia were another to secure a headline-grabbing result as they dispensed with fourth-placed Fiorentina by a 4-1 scoreline. Mozzanica cruised past struggling Vittorio Veneto by hitting six unanswered goals, including a treble from Valentina Giacinti which helped stretch her lead at the top of the goalscorers chart.
Top three: Brescia (35), Mozzanica (35), Verona (31)
France: Leaders march on
There was little change at the summit in France as the leading trio all collected comfortable wins. Leading the charge as always were Lyon who were 3-0 victors at Saint-Etienne, thus maintaining their three-point hold on top spot in their chase of a tenth successive title. Second-placed Paris Saint-Germain, however, remain unrelenting in their chase of Lyon with the capital side securing a 5-0 victory at Nimes. Third-placed Montpellier also remained on track though they endured a tougher time before outlasting newly-promoted La Roche-sur-Yon with two unanswered goals. The league will take a break next weekend with cup quarter-finals scheduled.
Top three: Lyon (60), Paris Saint-Germain (57), Montpellier (55)