“Little lesson”: She-wolves are threatened with elimination from the premier class

Alexandra Popp gave the all-clear shortly before the final whistle after her injury, but was disappointed with the 0-2 loss against Lyon.

Wolfsburg – Alexandra Popp was at least able to run again after the game. “I’m fine,” she said on the club’s own TV on the sidelines. Shortly before the final whistle of the Champions League game against Olympique Lyon, Popp limped off the pitch with support, “it was actually a brief shock. My foot was numb for a moment.” The attacker’s mood was nevertheless dampened in view of the 0-2 defeat, which is now putting the She-Wolves in trouble in the premier class.

“We are disappointed that we lost,” said Popp. Compared to the convincing 2-0 win against FC Bayern in the Bundesliga at the weekend, the team “didn’t really manage to be aggressive in the duels.” There was also a lack of courage. “You can say it was also a small lesson,” admitted the long-time DFB captain, who wants to play her last game in the German national jersey on October 28th against Australia in Duisburg.

After losing the first preliminary round game in Group A of the Champions League against AS Roma 0-1, VfL already has its back against the wall. Now the parties are up against Galatasaray Istanbul, who also still have no points, and the focus is on “doing our homework and going out with six points,” emphasized head coach Tommy Stroot.

The 35-year-old had seen “the expected difficult game” against Lyon and a “deserved victory” for the French, which was sealed by goals from Wendie Renard (8th) and Lindsey Horan (53rd, penalty kick). In the first half it was hardly possible to set any accents, but in the second half it worked better. Popp found it “annoying that we didn’t push one or the other behind the line. The fact is that we can take a lot and learn from this game.”

Photo: © AFP/AFP/Ronny HARTMANN