Arsenal, PSG advance to Women’s Champions League group stage

• Arsenal defeats Ajax 1-0 to advance to the group stage of the Women’s Champions League.
• Paris Saint-Germain defeats Hacken 2-0 for a 4-1 aggregate victory.
• Albanian club Vllaznia becomes the first team to reach the last 16 in any UEFA competition.

Vivianne Miedema scored the lone goal as Arsenal defeated Ajax 1-0 on Wednesday to advance to the group stage of the Women’s Champions League.

The 26-year-old Miedema scored from 20 yards out in the Netherlands in the 51st minute to secure a 3-2 aggregate victory after the first leg of their qualifier finished in a tie.

The lone Champions League championship won by Arsenal came in 2007, joining holders and eight-time champions Lyon, Barcelona, Chelsea, and Wolfsburg in the group stage.

Also advancing on Wednesday was Paris Saint-Germain, which defeated Swedish club Hacken 2-0 in Gothenburg for a 4-1 aggregate victory.

Lieke Martens and Kadidiatou Diani scored in the second half for the French team that has twice finished second in the championship. Martens and Diani had both scored in the opening match.

Real Madrid, who reached the quarterfinals last season, advanced with a 2-1 victory over Rosenborg for a 5-1 victory on aggregate.

Emilie Nautnes scored after just eight minutes to put Madrid in the hole.

Caroline Weir, who scored twice against her former team Manchester City in the previous round, brought the Spaniards equal in the 48th minute, and Athenea del Castillo scored the game-winning goal in the 60th minute.

Slavia Prague became the first Czech team to go to the group stage after defeating Valur of Iceland 1-0 in the second leg of a scoreless tie.

Vllaznia also made history by becoming the first Albanian club to get to the round of 16 in any UEFA competition since the KF Tirana men’s squad in the 1989-1990 European Cup.

Gresa Berisha was the hero for the Albanians, scoring a magnificent half-volley with two minutes remaining to secure a 2-1 victory over Vorskla-Kharkiv of Ukraine and a 3-2 aggregate victory.

Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir scored for her sixth different team in the tournament as Juventus defeated Koge of Denmark 3-1.

Benfica defeated Glasgow Rangers 2-1 in extra time to win 5-3 on aggregate.

In the 87th minute, 16-year-old Emma Watson tied the game for Rangers, but Cloe Lacasse and Jessica Silva scored in extra time to advance the Portuguese team.

On Monday at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, 16 teams are allocated into four pools for the group round.

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