Revamped Women’s Champions League: Arsenal vs. Lyon
ROME — The revamped Women’s Champions League kicks off with an exciting matchup between defending champion Arsenal and record eight-time winner Lyon on Tuesday.
The game is a rematch of last season’s semifinals, where Arsenal made a comeback to defeat Barcelona in the finals. Chloe Kelly, after helping Arsenal last season, led England to another Women’s European Championship title in July.
On the domestic front, Kelly scored an equalizer in Arsenal’s recent 3-2 loss to Manchester City. Kelly joined Arsenal permanently in July, following a successful loan spell from City.
Meanwhile, Lyon bolstered their squad by signing 22-year-old Jule Brand from Wolfsburg and Marie-Antoinette Katoto from Paris Saint-Germain. Brand was prolific during Germany’s Euro semifinals run, and Katoto remains PSG’s top scorer with 131 goals in 152 matches.
Barcelona, led by Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas, will face Bayern Munich. Despite some off-season player departures due to financial issues within the men’s team, Barcelona remains strong with young talents like 17-year-old Clara Serrajordi.
In a format shift, the Women’s Champions League now features 18 teams and a 54-game league phase concluding in December. The top four teams advance directly to the quarterfinals, while teams placed 5th to 12th enter a playoff. The bottom six are eliminated.
This week’s other matches include Juventus vs. Benfica and Paris FC vs. OH Leuven, among others. The final is scheduled for May at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, Norway.
A new second-tier tournament, the Women’s Europa Cup, is also underway. It has a new broadcast partnership with Disney, offering some games on free-to-air national networks.