Sara Däbritz and Laura Benkarth will come up against their former teammates in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, with their Olympique Lyonnais side drawn against Bayern Munich.
The pair spoke to the media following Friday’s draw, with Sara Däbritz telling reporters that “obviously it’s a very exciting upcoming match. Especially for us, because it’s a German team. It’s a very tough game. We know that they have strong players in their squad. But we are really looking forward to this game, for this quarter-final, and we can have a lot of friends and family members coming over to see the game.”
Lyon, who have been a powerhouse on the European stage in recent years, will come up against a weakened Bayern Munich side having to make do without some key players, including Georgia Stanway who is currently sidelined following knee surgery.
Benkarth, who made the move to Lyon in 2023, stressed that “[games] against German teams are always difficult because they have a good mentality and are also really good at tactics, defending really well. They have a good squad, [they] also got some new players in this transfer window.”
“I think they still have a really good squad and they are a good team [despite the injuries on the squad]. So yes, it will be a difficult game for us. But that is what we want in the Champions League: only nice games, only nice clubs, big clubs. And that’s the game we’re looking forward to,” she added, “and like Sara said, for us it’s nice to be at home, to see family and friends and especially see some people from the club we played at.”
“We know Bayern Munich. We played for them. So we have a good insight into what we have to expect. We also tell the girls that it will be hard. It’s not an easy team. If we know players from Bayern, and I know their moves, I will tell my teammates. Because I want to win, so I try to help,” Benkarth added.
Les Fenottes have enjoyed a strong start to the competition, winning six out of six games in the group stage, and Däbritz suggested that the team “can be very happy about our group stage, about the games we’ve played. It gives us confidence for the quarterfinals, but we know it’s a knockout game. It’s always a bit of a different character in games. Like Laura said, it’s going to be two very tight games, difficult games. It’s about small details.”
But despite Lyon’s incredibly rich history in the UWCL, neither Däbritz nor Benkarth have lifted the trophy with the French side yet and the pair both fell short last season in Bilbao when they were defeated by Barcelona.
Benkarth told reporters on Tuesday that “it’s a real goal for us to win the Champions League. And of course, with Lyon, you always have a chance to win it, but also do your homework. It will not be easy. In the quarter-final, it’s a knockout game, little details count. We would be so happy if we could lift this trophy.”
“It would mean a lot to go all the way. But it’s still a far and difficult way to go. We are just focused on the quarter-finals and we’re going to use the upcoming weeks to prepare [for] the game very well,” Däbritz emphasised.
The duo will be hoping that their side can continue their fine goalscoring run, having netted 19 goals in six group stage matches thus far. 41% of those goals came through set pieces, and Benkarth highlighted that “we have a lot of height on the team, with Wendy Renard, Vanessa Gilles and Lindsay Horan. We have a lot of players that are really good with their head. It’s a focus for us. Every corner, every set piece is a chance for us to score.”
Olympique Lyonnais will play their first leg away in Munich on 18 March at 19:00 GMT [20:00 CET], before their second leg takes place at home on 26 March at 17:45 GMT [18:45 CET].