Real Madrid strike late to beat Sporting in Women’s Champions League

Real Madrid needed a 96th-minute winner from Melanie Leupolz to secure a 2-1 win at Sporting Lisbon on Thursday in the first leg of round two of qualifying for the Women’s Champions League.

Madrid looked set to host the second leg with the tie finely poised at one goal apiece after Andreia Bravo’s penalty in the fourth minute of first-half added time had cancelled out Athenea del Castillo’s early opener.

But Leupolz struck with virtually the last kick of the match to gave the Spaniards the advantage when she smashed home from close range following a goalkeeping error under Olga Carmona’s looping cross.

There was also late drama in Istanbul as Galatasaray were held to a 2-2 draw by Slavia Prague.

A brace in 10 second-half minutes by Andrea Staskova, an academy product of Slavia’s rivals Sparta Prague, looked to have given Galatasaray a decent lead to defend in the return fixture.

But Tereza Szewieczkova pulled one back for the Czechs before Kristina Kosikova equalised in the eighth minute of injury time.

Austria’s St Polten scored three goals in the second half to take a 3-0 first-leg lead against Mura of Slovenia.

On Wednesday, Manchester City all but booked their place in the group stage by hammering Paris FC 5-0 away from home.

Arsenal went down 1-0 in Sweden against Hacken and Juventus emerged 3-1 victors at home to Paris Saint-Germain.

The second-leg ties will take place next Wednesday and Thursday to decide who will join automatic entrants Barcelona, Lyon, Bayern Munich and Chelsea in the draw for the group stage.