Roma opened its women’s Champions League campaign with a 1-0 win against two-time champion Wolfsburg, while record eight-time winner Lyon beat tournament debutant Galatasaray 3-0 on Tuesday.
All of Lyon’s goals were headers, with France striker Kadidiatou Diani getting two of them in the Group A match.
Roma finished bottom of its group last season but took the lead early on at Tre Fontane stadium through captain Manuela Giugliano’s 14th-minute penalty following a foul by right back Lynn Wilms.
Wolfsburg striker Alexandra Popp made her 99th competition appearance and is one away from becoming only the second player to reach 100, after Lyon’s Wendie Renard.
But it was defender Marina Hegering who was Wolfsburg’s most dangerous threat, and she twice went close with headers as the 2023 runner-up chased an equalizer.
Lyon won the trophy five consecutive times during its heyday and was runner-up last season to Barcelona.
Diani headed in a 34th-minute cross from Mali winger Tabitha Chawinga, who assisted again moments before the break with a looping left-wing cross to give Canada’s Vanessa Gilles an easy header.
Galatasaray goalkeeper Gamze Yaman denied Lyon before Diani nodded in Amel Majri’s left-wing cross in the 77th.
Ada Hegerberg, who won the first women’s Ballon d’Or, went close to adding to her record 64 competition goals when she glanced a header wide in stoppage time.
Later Tuesday, Chelsea hosted Real Madrid and Celtic faced Twente in Group B.
Chelsea’s new coach Sonia Bompastor quit Lyon to replace Emma Hayes, who left Chelsea to lead the United States women’s team to gold at the Paris Olympics.
Bompastor was replaced at Lyon by Joe Montemurro.
French hopes rest with Lyon after Paris Saint-Germain — a semifinalist last season — was eliminated by Juventus in qualifying. ___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Jerome Pugmire, The Associated Press