Chelsea face Real Madrid in Women’s Champions League
Chelsea will face Real Madrid in the Women’s Champions League group stage.
Emma Hayes’ side, runners-up in 2021, are drawn in Group D alongside the Spanish side, Swedish club BK Hacken and French outfit Paris FC.
Real Madrid were quarter-finalists in 2022, while Paris FC knocked out Arsenal and last season’s finalists Wolfsburg in the qualifying rounds.
Chelsea, beaten in the semi-finals by champions Barcelona last season, were seeded in pot one as English champions.
They are the only British representatives left in the competition after Scottish champions Glasgow City were knocked out in second-round qualifying by Brann. Manchester United were also knocked out in qualifying, by Paris St-Germain, who are drawn in the same group as Bayern Munich.
Barcelona – featuring England internationals Keira Walsh and Lucy Bronze – are in Group A and will face FC Rosengard, Benfica and Eintracht Frankfurt.
The group stages takes place between 14 November and 31 January and the top two sides from each group will progress to the knockout stages.
Women’s Champions League group-stage draw
Group A: Barcelona, FC Rosengard, Benfica, Eintracht Frankfurt
Group B: Lyon, Slavia Prague, St Polten, SK Brann
Group C: Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain, Roma, Ajax
Group D: Chelsea, Real Madrid, BK Hacken, Paris FC
‘English clubs need to do better in Europe’
There has been lots of discussion over the current format of Women’s Champions League qualifying after English clubs Manchester United and Arsenal, as well as German giants Wolfsburg and Italian side Juventus were knocked out of this year’s competition before the group stages.
In the current format, only the champions of Spain, Germany and France qualify automatically for the group stages – Chelsea did so this year by default with Barcelona already in as 2023 champions.
Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor said it was a “shame” to “lose teams of a good standard” before the group stages, while United boss Marc Skinner said it was “crazy” his side had to play PSG in second-round qualifying.
However, Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall, whose side lost to Paris FC in the first qualifying round this season, said English clubs “have not done well enough in Europe”.
“We’re the number four ranked league in Europe [in Uefa’s coefficient rankings],” said Eidevall.
“Why are we number four? Because the English teams have done worse than the Spanish, the German and the French teams have been doing for the past five years.
“We can’t say that’s anyone else’s problem but our own. We need to improve the quality in the league so that when English teams are playing in Europe, they are winning their games.”
Arsenal were semi-finalists last season and they remain the only English side to win the Women’s Champions League.
Meanwhile, United boss Skinner came under criticism for his comments, which stated some ties were “a free-hit” to progress to the group stages.
He later apologised but emphasised his desire for a broader competition – one which United were playing in for the first time this season after finishing second in the WSL in 2022-23.
“I think there should be a broader scope of teams and there should be more teams in this competition so that we can actually then see where the elite level lies within Europe,” said Skinner.
“If you really want the real quality from all of the European leagues to rise, then you’ve got to play them against each other, which I think now other teams are ready for.
“If you enter that stage and are getting through, then congratulations. We’re not there so we can talk about what that looks like, but they are there – so congratulations to everyone who’s gone through.”
Uefa confirms the current format is due to be in place for at least one more season, before being reviewed in 2025.