Inter Milan punched its first ticket to the Women’s Champions League after overcoming a two-goal deficit to defeat Wolfsburg 5-4 on penalties in the second leg of qualifiers in Milan on Wednesday night.
Goals from Inter fullback Elisa Bartoli in the 39th minute and forward Elisa Polli in the 84th brought the Italian side level on aggregate with Wolfsburg during regulation of the second leg, forcing the match into extra time. The 2023 Champions League finalists had beaten Inter 2-0 at home in the first leg Aug. 26.
On Wednesday night in the 111th minute, Wolfsburg midfielder Weronika Araśniewicz bodied the ball past goalkeeper Cecilía Rán Rúnarsdóttir to put her side back on top. In the 121st minute, Inter center back Marija Ana Milinković’s driven half-volley fired at close range again drew the two sides even, sending it to penalties.
Both sides were immaculate through four rounds of spot kicks, neither Stina Johannes of Wolfsburg nor Rúnarsdóttir getting a glove on the attempts. Mara Alber, Wolfsburg’s fifth taker, was the only shooter to falter. Rúnarsdóttir saved Alber’s shot, pawing it away from goal from an outstretched position. Another Inter center back, Ivana Andrés, was tasked with sealing the game and did so with an emphatic finish.
Inter, along with Roma and Juventus, will form the Italian contingent of the 18-team league phase of the Champions League. As Inter celebrates its upcoming European debut, Wolfsburg will be left to stew in the shock of its absence at such an early stage.
In the 2022-23 Champions League final, Wolfsburg lost 3-2 to Barcelona, which, like Inter, also staged a dramatic comeback victory after falling two goals behind in the first half. Wolfsburg failed to qualify for the Champions League the following year but bounced back in the 2024-25 campaign, reaching the quarterfinals before being battered by Barcelona 4-1 in the first leg and 6-1 in the second.
Wolfsburg peaked at the same place in the 2025-26 campaign, but that time it was OL Lyonnes which eliminated the German team — again, with a comeback — with an aggregate of 4-1.
Wolfsburg joined another German club, Eintracht Frankfurt, in elimination from European competition, meaning Bayern Munich will be the only team from the Frauen Bundesliga represented at the continent’s biggest tournament this season.
Frankfurt, which has four Champions League titles to its name (the most recent in 2015) lost to Paris Saint-Germain 6-2 on aggregate Wednesday night. Bayern was one of nine clubs to qualify automatically for the league phase, along with title holder Barcelona, OL Lyonnes, Arsenal, Häcken, Roma, Benfica, Paris FC and Manchester City.
The league-phase fixtures will be drawn Friday.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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