Champions League

LIVE NOW: Austria Vienna vs. Juventus Turin!

(Bild: GEPA)

The Austria Vienna women’s team faces Juventus Turin today in the Champions League. We’re covering the game live—see the live ticker below. The score is currently 0–1!

Here’s the live ticker:

With the men’s team stumbling from one defeat to the next, the women’s team of Austria Vienna is looking to generate some positive headlines for the club. Today’s Champions League home game against Juventus Turin offers a great stage for that. If Austria’s champions want to have a say in the promotion race, they’ll need to secure their first win in the third of six group-stage matches. With three points, Juve has two more than the Viennese women.

Austria coach Stefan Kenesei thought it was “cool” that the team was even being talked about in terms of promotion. They’ve earned that through strong performances in the 0-1 loss to Chelsea and the 1-1 draw against Inter Milan. “We want to build on those performances,” emphasized the 41-year-old. As underdogs, he noted, they don’t have the luxury of taking it for granted that they need three points in the Champions League. By his calculations, six or seven points should be enough to advance. “If we were to achieve that as well, it would be another entry in the history books. We’re going all out and will make sure we put in our best possible performance.”

Austria Coach Stefan Kenesei(Bild: GEPA)

Schiechtl and likely Schöffel will missthe gam
 The omens, however, aren’t the best. Starting defender Katharina Schiechtl is out with a thigh injury, which will almost certainly also sideline Louise Schöffel, another ÖFB national team player. The latter, in particular, is of enormous importance to the Viennese team’s performance. “We’re also feeling the effects of the season and the intense schedule. We have players with a few niggles,” said Kenesei. That includes Tatjana Weiss, who will likely grit her teeth and play through the pain. “I believe that, in any case, we’ll be strong enough to stand up to Juve,” Kenesei said.

  Elisa Pfattner is raring to go, as a family showdown awaits. Her 21-year-old cousin, Eva Schatzer, plays for Juventus, where Pfattner spent many years in the youth ranks and eventually made it to the first team. In the summer of 2023, the Italian U23 national team player moved to Neulengbach, followed two years later by her “promotion” to Austria. “It’s the first time I’m playing against her—it’s really special,” emphasized the 22-year-old. A very exciting matchup is expected, and the outcome is difficult to predict. “Juventus has a really good team and is extremely strong in terms of play, but we have exactly what it takes to give them trouble—we just have to play to our strengths,” Pfattner analyzed.

At Juve, “it’s just the results that aren’t there”
In the 1-1 draw against Inter, they managed to do that for long stretches; the bitter equalizer didn’t come until stoppage time. On paper, Juve appears to be slightly weaker, especially since the Turin team has gotten off to a slow start in the Italian league, sitting in ninth place with just three points from four league games. Most recently, they suffered a 2–5 home loss to league leader AS Roma. “You might be tempted to think they’re below Inter, but if you look deeper and analyze the games in detail, you’ll see that the only thing wrong with Juventus right now is their results,” said Kenesei. Even against the Romans, the hosts—where Larissa Rusek is the backup goalkeeper—could have created more chances. “The game was anything but one-sided.”

  Juve’s star player is 30-year-old Spaniard Alba Redondo, who won the World Cup with Spain in 2023. “Another big challenge awaits us. Having a World Cup champion on the team says a lot about the squad,” Kenesei explained. Nevertheless, the team needs to play with courage and take the initiative themselves. Compared to their two appearances in the “Champions League” and their most recent 1-1 league draw against Altach, his team needs to become “more efficient” in front of the net. “If we can just score one or two more goals, a lot of things will be easier.”

At least 4,000 spectators set a recordat the
 For Juve, this is their second appearance of the season in Austria; in the qualifying round, they won 3-0 in the first leg against SKN St. Pölten at the NV Arena, while the teams drew 1-1 in Italy. “We’ll take a different approach than St. Pölten,” Kenesei emphasized. Support from the stands will also be significantly better; at least 4,000 spectators will set a new attendance record. The goal is to inspire the fans and generate positive energy. Kenesei is, of course, aware of the developments with the men’s team. “That has absolutely no impact on me as a coach or on my work. My full focus is on my team.”