China PR’s Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC clinched the inaugural AFC Women’s Champions League title in dramatic fashion, defeating Melbourne City FC of Australia 5-4 in a sudden death penalty shootout after the final ended 1-1 at the end 120 minutes on Saturday.
Youngster Shelby McMahon put Melbourne ahead but a Wang Shuang stoppage time penalty sent the match into extra time and eventually the shootout with goalkeeper Chen Chen emerging Wuhan Jiangda’s star with two saves.
The win meant Wuhan Jiangda also sealed their place in the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2026.
Melbourne head coach Michael Matricciani made two changes with McMahon and Lourdes Bosch replacing Laura Hughes and Mariana Speckmaier in midfield and in attack respectively.
His counterpart, Chang Weiwei resisted restoring captain Yao Wei to the starting 11 that saw 10 players retained from their semi-final win on Wednesday, instead opting to shore up the midfield with Dai Chenying starting in place of forward Song Duan.
Wuhan Jiangda started on the front foot with early opportunities falling the way of Tereza Engesha, who had a shot from distance and a header, but neither were on target after some enterprising moves on the flanks.
Melbourne City took time to adjust to the high-intensity tactic adopted by the hosts, needing 20 minutes before creating their first attempt but Bosch’s low cross from the left ballooned over by Bryleeh Henry.
The Australian side then fashioned a much better chance after Holly McNamara was put through in the 27th minute only for Wuhan Jiangda custodian Ding Xuan to win the one-on-one battle before Wang Shuang forced a back-pedalling Malena Garcia to tip over in added time as the stalemate remained going into the break.
After the interval, Wuhan Jiangda replaced Ding Xuan with Chen Chen with the lanky goalkeeper quickly called into action to deny efforts from McNamara and Henry as Melbourne City started to find gaps in their opponents’ defence.
On the hour mark, Song Duan – who was sent on minutes earlier to replace the injured Dai – cut in from the left and unleashed a stinging low shot that Garcia had to push away.
The breakthrough finally came in the 76th minute with Melbourne City taking the lead thanks to a stunning McMahon header off Leticia McKenna’s pinpoint free-kick delivery from the right.
With the clock winding down, Wuhan Jiangda threw caution to the wind but were fortunate not to go further behind after Henry found the back of the net just as the tie went into added time but the goal was ruled out for a foul in the buildup.
The China PR side’s fighting spirit was eventually rewarded in the eighth minute of stoppage time after Speckmaier handled the ball in the box. Wang Shuang stepped up to convert the spot-kick to send the match into extra time.
Despite the best efforts of both teams, extra time yielded no goals though both sides went close with Wuhan Jiangda’s Kim Hye-ri and Deng Mengye denied by stout defending while McKenna was off target by mere centimetres in the 116th minute as the tie went to penalties.
Proven shot-stopper Chen Chen lived up to her reputation in the shootout, saving attempts from Rebekah Stott and Henry to give Wuhan Jiangda the win.
AFC Media
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