Man City stuns title holder Barcelona in Women’s Champions League. Bayern’s Harder downs Arsenal

Title holder Barcelona was beaten 2-0 by Manchester City on Wednesday to start its defense in the Women’s Champions League with a rare loss in the group stage.

Man City outplayed the two-time defending champion in the first half, taking a 36th-minute lead when Naomi Layzell was brave at a corner, and had to repel waves of Barcelona attacks before sealing the win.

Jamaica forward Bunny Shaw ran clear in the 77th and rounded goalkeeper Cata Coll, before calmly placing her shot behind a covering defender on the goalline.

“We were very dominant and we probably could have been three or four up,” Man City coach Gareth Taylor said. “It was a phenomenal performance.”

Man City’s performance outshined even that of Bayern Munich and Pernille Harder, who scored a 13-minute hat trick late in a 5-2 win over Arsenal.

Also Wednesday, Hammarby beat St. Pölten 2-0 in the same group as Man City and Barcelona, and Juventus won 1-0 in Norway against Vålerenga in Group C.

Barcelona had lost just once in 18 group-stage games in three previous editions of this Women’s Champions League format, which will change after this season.

The Spanish team’s stellar lineup was hustled out of its rhythm early by Man City, which struck a post in the 16th from Lauren Hemp’s shot at the end of a slick move.

Man City led from a corner forced by Coll’s stunning save to deny Jessica Park. When the cross came in, the goalkeeper lost her bearings and a header back into the goalmouth by Vivianne Miedema got a decisive touch from defender Layzell among a cluster of bodies.

Barcelona stepped up its game in the second half and Man City defender Laia Aleixandri denied star forward Alexia Putellas with her second key block of the game.

Harder stars in Bayern win

A back-and-forth game in Munich that both teams had led was poised at 2-2 in the 73rd when Harder expertly guided in a header from a corner.

The veteran Denmark forward rose highest five minutes later to meet a cross by Klara Bühl with her head, then got her third in the 86th when bundling the ball past Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger at the second attempt.

The result was harsh on Arsenal, which started strongly and deservedly led in the 30th when Spain forward Mariona guided in a left-foot volley from Katie McCabe’s cross.

Another of Spain’s 2023 World Cup winning-squad, defender Laia Codina, leveled the game at 2-2 in the 65th with a header from McCabe’s corner.

Bayern had rallied to level in the 43rd from a looping header by captain Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir, then led for the first time with perhaps the standout goal.

Sydney Lohmann took a pass on a fast break in the 56th and with one touch teed up her shot on the run that she fired low and hard past Zinsberger, who was beaten at her near post.

Harder has lost three finals in the Women’s Champions League — twice with Wolfsburg and once with Chelsea — and Bayern looked like a team Wednesday capable of getting to its first final.

Tuesday results

In Tuesday’s opening games, there were wins for record eight-time champion Lyon, Chelsea, Roma and Twente.

Lyon beat group-stage newcomer Galatasaray 3-0, Chelsea held off Real Madrid 3-2, Roma upset Wolfsburg 1-0 and Twente won 2-0 at Celtic.

New format and second competition

The Women’s Champions League is having a final season in the 16-team group-stage format before UEFA revamps it like the men’s current edition.

Next season, 18 women’s teams will play in a single-standings league phase before the knockout rounds. Each team will play six different opponents in the league phase, with the top four advancing straight to the quarterfinals. Teams placed from fifth to 12th will enter a playoff round.

A second women’s European club competition will launch next season in a knockout format leading to a two-leg final.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer