22 September 2026
Juventus Women’s UEFA Women’s Champions League campaign begins with a defeat. At the Juventus Stadium, the Bianconere were beaten 2-1 by Benfica, with a Bratberg Lund brace proving decisive before Redondo pulled one back late on.
THE FIRST HALF
Juventus immediately took control of possession, looking to find spaces in the Portuguese defence. In the 5th minute, Serturini delivered a dangerous ball into the box that D’Auria was unable to reach, before the first big chance of the game arrived in the 10th minute: Redondo drove forward and shot from a tight angle, striking the post.
The Bianconere continued to push and, in the 20th minute, Carbonell delivered an excellent cross for Redondo, whose header flew just over the crossbar. Benfica looked to respond mainly on the counter-attack and, in the 27th minute, Dorsin tried her luck from distance without finding the target.
Juventus created another huge opportunity in the 34th minute, when Sarriegi found Redondo, who was unable to hit the target from an excellent position. Two minutes later, De Jong was called into action at the other end, doing well to turn Davidson’s left-footed effort from the edge of the box behind for a corner.
In the 37th minute, the referee was called to the VAR monitor to review a challenge between Rosucci and Csiki inside the penalty area and awarded Benfica a penalty. Bratberg Lund made no mistake from the spot, putting the Portuguese side ahead in the 39th minute. Juventus looked to respond before the break and, in stoppage time, Sarriegi fired an effort from distance wide. The teams headed into the dressing rooms with Benfica leading 1-0.
THE SECOND HALF
Juventus began the second half immediately looking for an equaliser. In the 48th minute, Sarriegi tested Pauels with a powerful right-footed effort, before Stølen Godø found space to play in Redondo in the 52nd minute, but the Spaniard’s shot was turned behind for a corner by the Benfica goalkeeper.
Davidson headed home what looked to be Benfica’s second goal in the 54th minute, but it was ruled out for a foul on Salvai. The Portuguese side did double their lead in the 61st minute, however, as Bratberg Lund curled a superb free-kick into the top corner to complete her brace.
The Bianconere tried to find a way back into the game. Sarriegi went for goal again in the 65th minute, while Stølen Godø tried a curling right-footed effort in the 75th without troubling Pauels. In the 81st minute, Juventus appealed for a possible Amado handball, but the referee awarded only a corner.
The goal that reignited the Bianconere’s hopes arrived in the 86th minute: Stølen Godø drove forward and found Redondo, who beat Pauels with a low right-footed strike into the corner to make it 2-1. In stoppage time, however, Benfica went close to a third through Ziqin, who was denied by an excellent sliding intervention from Noordman.
The score remained unchanged at the final whistle: Juventus Women-Benfica finished 2-1, with the Bianconere beginning their European campaign with a defeat.
POST-MATCH COMMENTS
MARTINA ROSUCCI
“I think we dominated the game and created a lot of chances, but that’s football: mistakes are punished, especially in the Champions League. We still have to be pleased with the performance because it is through our performances that we are building our identity. Results come from what we do on the pitch, although that doesn’t always happen: tonight it didn’t, also because we didn’t make enough of the chances we created.
“After a defeat, you have to react in exactly the same way as after a win: go back to training with the same energy. It’s important to focus on the positive things, but also on what we need to improve. Football gives us the opportunity to get back out on the pitch straight away: we have another game in a few days and we have to be ready. We have to generate that energy ourselves, because every game is important to us. Of course, nights like this are extremely valuable because you learn so much from them.”
ISAAC GUERRERO
“I think we started the game well. In the first half, we tried to dominate the game, moving the opposition around and getting into their penalty area several times. We were a little unlucky with the penalty incident: it was a penalty, of course, but it came from one of the very few situations in which Benfica had managed to get into our box. In the second half, we tried to take advantage of the spaces we had identified between their lines, but we probably needed to be a little more patient. We were too focused on attacking those spaces and ran more than we needed to. Once again, set pieces decided the game. Now is the time to understand what we can improve and continue along the path we are on.
“I have nothing to reproach the girls for: they kept trying until the very end and perfectly embodied ‘Fino alla Fine’, the motto of this Club. This is an amazing group, very united and fully focused on what we are building. We have to learn that matches are long, be more patient when we need to come from behind and learn from this experience, especially in a competition like the Champions League. We are coming off a very intense period, with a lot of matches in a short space of time, but the girls keep pushing and trying. Today the result didn’t come, but I’m sure it will. From tomorrow, we will recover, learn from our mistakes and get back to work.”
EVA SCHATZER
“It was a difficult game and perhaps we should have done a little more, but now we have to work to get a better result in our next match. It’s just part of our journey: this year we have started something new and we know that we have to keep working. It’s always great to play in the Champions League against the best teams in Europe, and you can feel that the level is a little higher than what we are used to in Italy. Every game is a challenge for us: we will analyse this match and try to learn from what happened.
“We can build on the reaction we showed and also on the support of our fans. If we keep working hard and stay on our path, we can go far. The season is still long and we still have five games to play: there is time to bounce back and hopefully we will.”
ALBA REDONDO
“It was a game in which the result doesn’t really reflect what happened on the pitch. We are disappointed because nobody likes losing, but the good thing about football is that it always gives you another opportunity, and we will be competing again soon. I think today we were also missing a little bit of clinical edge and perhaps that little bit of luck you need for the ball to fall your way. The team put in a very complete performance: obviously there is always room for improvement, but I can only praise my teammates and I’m proud of what we did.
“Now we have to keep doing what we have always done, taking it game by game and focusing on ourselves. We will analyse what we were missing today and try to improve it, knowing that things don’t happen overnight: it’s a process that has to be built step by step.”
