UEFA European competition wrap up this week, with the final matchday of Women's Champions League. It happens in a day after UEFA announces a ton of changes on their women's competitions, including the introduction of a new competition UEFA Europa Cup, as well as a transformation for next season's Champions League, with 18 clubs instead of 16 and a new League Phase mirroring men's new format that debuted this year.
It is one of the largest push for women's football UEFA has ever done since the creation of the Champions League, then known as UEFA Women's Cup, in 2001. It will mean more opportunities to compete and more money for clubs to grow.
And if you're thinking of catching up on women's football, this week is the best moment to do it. Rarely so many elite European clubs clash at the same time in just a two-day period: Real Madrid vs Chelsea and Olympique Lyonnais - Wolfsburg today Tuesday, Barcelona - Manchester City and Arsenal - Bayern tomorrow wednesday.
This is the final week of the final year UEFA will use the traditional group stage for European competitions, with groups of four playing two-legged games. And it is not hard to see why: after five matchdays, the group winners have been decided.
Looking at all four groups, there are no doubts which two teams will qualify for the quarter-finals, and which two teams will be eliminated. The only thing at stake is who goes in as their group leader which will determine how the pairings will me made, which considering that currently teams like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid may end up as seconds in their group, maybe even going first is not necessarily better.
However, coincidentally, the the eight matches being plated today and tomorrow are all between the 1st and 2nd, and 3rd and 4th of their groups, meaning there will still be plenty of interesting games to see with Europe's top levels.
These are all the Women's Champions League games you can see this week:
Real Madrid - Chelsea: Tuesday 17, 18:45 CET
Twente - Celtic: Tuesday 17, 18:45 CET
Olympique Lyonnais - Wolfsburg: Tuesday 17, 21:00 CET
Roma - Galatasaray: Tuesday 17, 21:00 CET
FC Barcelona - Manchester City: Wednesday 18, 18:45 CET
Polten - Hammarby: Wednesday 18, 18:45 CET
Arsenal - Bayern: Wednesday 18, 21:00 CET
Juventus - Valerenga: Wednesday 18, 21:00 CET
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