Duisburg draw as past champions prosper

Simone Laudehr scored with four minutes left to secure a draw for last season's UEFA Women's Cup winners FCR 2001 Duisburg at home to Linköpings FC in the first leg of the UEFA Women's Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday. There were away wins for Italy's ASD Torres Calcio and former European champions Umeå IK and Arsenal LFC but most ties look finely balanced ahead of the 11 November returns. The other match-up between Fortuna Hjørring and Olympique Lyonnais is played out over the next two Thursdays.

FCR 2001 Duisburg 1-1 Linköpings FC
Duisburg kept their 12-match unbeaten UEFA competition record alive against a team fresh from clinching the Swedish championship for the first time at the weekend with a 4-0 win against Umeå. The home side were on top early on but Kosovare Asllani struck for Linköping on the half-hour. It seemed Duisburg would not be able to turn the tie but Laudehr had other ideas.

1. FFC Turbine Potsdam 1-0 Brøndby IF
Reigning German champions Potsdam, European title-winners in 2004/05, have the upper hand against two-time semi-finalists Brøndby but could have ended the first leg even further ahead. Tabea Kemme set up Fatmire Bajramaj to break the deadlock on 17 minutes from just inside the box, and Potsdam continued to dominate, Nadine Kessler hitting the bar early in the second half and shooting centimetres over in added time.

Montpellier Hérault SC 0-0 FC Bayern München
The French side, whose last European campaign was ended in the 2005/06 semi-finals by Bayern's compatriots 1. FFC Frankfurt, will go to Germany next week with a chance of progress after this goalless draw. Bayern were on top in the first half although Marie-Laure Delie hit the post for the home side on 16 minutes and Montpellier pushed hard after the break.

WFC Rossiyanka 0-1 Umeå IK
Two-time UEFA Women's Cup winners Umeå bounced back from losing the Swedish title at the weekend by defeating Russian runners-up Rossiyanka. Sofia Jakobsson scored the only goal early in the second half, making the most of a long pass from Anna Paulson. "This outcome represents a good starting point," said Jakobsson.

Røa IL 0-0 Zvezda-2005
Having completed a hat-trick of Norwegian titles on Saturday with a 0-0 home draw with Stabæk IF, Røa repeated the scoreline against last season's UEFA Women's Cup finalists. The Russian champions, who beat Røa 3-1 in the 2008/09 edition, nearly fell behind in the first half when Elise Thorsnes and Marie Knutsen both came close, though home goalkeeper Caroline Knutsen had to be alert to keep her side level after the interval. "It is a good starting point," she said. "As long as we did not concede away goals, that's good. We just need a goal next week."

AC Sparta Praha 0-3 Arsenal LFC
Arsenal secured the biggest aggregate win of the round of 32, 18-0 against FC PAOK, and the 2006/07 European champions are in control of this tie after a comfortable victory in Prague. Gilly Flaherty broke the deadlock eleven minutes in as she beat the Sparta offside trap and Ciara Grant doubled doubled the lead before the break with a header from Rachel Yankey's corner. Kim Little, scorer of seven goals against PAOK, converted a 55th-minute penalty after Yankey was fouled. "Prague are a decent team who can suck you in then hit you on the break, so we'll be taking nothing for granted in the second leg," Arsenal manager Tony Gervaise said.

SV Neulengbach 1-4 ASD Torres Calcio
Torres raced into a 3-0 lead inside 27 minutes in rainy Austria despite the absence of suspended striker Patrizia Panico, Sandy Iannella scoring twice in that period, either side of a Silvia Fuselli effort. Nadine Novotny pulled one back on 43 minutes only for Iannella to immediately complete her hat-trick and leave the Sardinian club in a good position to match their quarter-final run of 2004/05.