Defending champion Arsenal opens vs. record 8-time winner Lyon in revamped Women’s Champions League
ROME (AP) — The revamped Women’s Champions League opens with a blockbuster matchup between Chloe Kelly’s Arsenal and record eight-time winner Lyon on Tuesday.
It’s a rematch of last season’s semifinals — when Arsenal overturned a first-leg deficit and went on to beat Barcelona in the final.
Kelly then added another trophy when she led England to a second straight Women’s European Championship title in July.
On Saturday, Kelly came off the bench to score a temporary equalizer in Arsenal’s 3-2 loss to Manchester City — her former club. She signed a permament deal with Arsenal in July after playing for the London club on loan from City for the second half of last season.
Lyon has added some scoring power in the offseason by signing 22-year-old Jule Brand from Wolfsburg and Marie-Antoinette Katoto from Paris Saint-Germain.
Brand scored two goals and provided two assists during Germany’s run to the semifinals at the Euros, while Katoto is Paris Saint-Germain’s all-time top scorer with 131 goals in 152 matches.
Barcelona, which has retained three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas amid an offseason exodus of players in fallout from financial problems in the men’s team, opens at home against Bayern Munich.
Barcelona, which reached the past five finals and won three, could also rely on younger players like midfielder Clara Serrajordi, who at 17 became the second-youngest player to score in the Spanish women’s league against Eibar on Saturday.
New format
After the men switched from a group-phase to a league-based format last season, the women’s tournament is making the move, too.
There are now 18 teams — two more than in the old format — for a 54-game league phase that ends in December.
Teams that finish first to fourth in the standings advance directly to the quarterfinals. Those ranked Nos. 5 to 12 go to a knockout playoff round. The bottom six teams are eliminated.
Half of the teams came through qualifying, including Manchester United, Real Madrid, Roma and Paris FC.
The other matches this week are: Juventus vs. Benfica; Paris FC vs. OH Leuven; Twente vs. Chelsea; Real Madrid vs. Roma; St. Polten vs. Atleti; Manchester United vs. Valerenga; and Wolfsburg vs. PSG.
The final will be held at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, Norway, in May.
There’s also a new second-tier tournament called the Women’s Europa Cup, which is finishing up qualifying before a 16-team draw scheduled for next week.
How to watch
The competition has a new broadcast deal with pay-TV operator Disney+ through the 2030 season. Some games will be shown live by free-to-air national networks.
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