Spanning 72 teams from 50 European leagues, the deepest Champions League tournament in UEFA history starts tomorrow with clubs from the UK to Georgia eyeing Lisbon's late-May final.

Four teams gained automatic entry to October's 16-team group stage — defending UEFA champs FC Barcelona and runners-up Lyon, plus top German finishers FC Bayern and WSL title-holders Chelsea — with this month's qualifiers determining the remaining 12.

Lyon's Lindsey Horan kicks the ball in last season's UWCL final
Lindsey Horan and 2023-24 runners-up Lyon take aim at a ninth UWCL title this season. (Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

The road to the Champions League group stage

There are two qualifying rounds played concurrently between two sets of teams: The champions path matches up winners from each non-automatically qualified league, while the league path does the same with second- and third-place finishers.

Each path opens with a series of four-team, single-elimination mini-tournaments, in which 59 clubs will enter Wednesday's semifinals with just 15 moving on from Saturday's finals.

Those 15 will join runners-up from top leagues France, Germany, Spain, England, Italy, and Sweden for Round 2 later this month, all vying for a spot in group stage play.

Paris FC's Thea Greboval and Arsenal's Alessia Russo battle for the ball
Last year, Paris FC snapped Arsenal's 16-season UWCL quarterfinal streak. (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Top European clubs battle for Champions League glory

Set to square off against Denmark's FC Nordsjælland tomorrow, Portuguese powerhouse SL Benfica​ has made the group stage every year since the 2021-22 season.

WSL favorites Arsenal saw their 16-season UWCL quarterfinal streak snapped by Paris FC last year, so they'll be hungry for redemption when they face Scotland’s Rangers FC tomorrow. If victorious, they'll be set to face the winner of tomorrow's match between 2024 Women's Cup runners-up Atlético de Madrid and Norway's Rosenborg on Saturday.

Also brewing tomorrow is a battle of the underdogs between Finnish side KuPS Kuopio and Scottish third-place finishers Celtic.

How to watch UEFA Champions League matches

Champions League action kicks off tomorrow at 5 AM ET, with live streaming coverage exclusively on DAZN.

It was Michelle Betos’ night Wednesday in Louisville.

The Racing Louisville goalkeeper blocked the Chicago Red Stars’ first attempt in the penalty shootout, setting up her side to win and advance to the final of the inaugural Women’s Cup on Saturday. There, Racing Louisville will face FC Bayern Munich, winners of the first game Wednesday night over Paris St-Germain.

In a rainy affair in front of a club-record 7,310 fans at Lynn Family Stadium, the game was tied 1-1 after 90 minutes, sending it to penalty kicks. Ebony Salmon opened scoring in the 10th minute for Louisville. Chicago equalized with a goal from Kealia Watt in the 57th minute, and the score held until the final whistle.

Betos earned Player of the Match honors for her winning efforts in net.

Katie McClure scored the penalty-kick game-winner to send Louisville to the final.

Earlier in the night, Bayern advanced to the championship game after defeating PSG in penalty kicks.

The score was tied 2-2 after 90 minutes, with Bayern winning the shootout 5-4 off a Hanna Glas rocket.

Racing Louisville and Bayern will face off for the Women’s Cup title on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. The Red Stars and PSG will meet in the third-place game at 3 p.m. ET.

Chelsea came into the second leg of the semifinal down 2-1, but a commanding four-goal performance on Sunday helped the Blues overwhelm Bayern and secure their spot in the Champions League final.

Scoring opened up in the 10th minute with a well-executed build-up play by Chelsea. Fran Kirby split the Bayern defenders with a perfectly timed run, giving her space to find the back of the net and put her side up 1-0.

Bayern responded in the 29th minute with a stunning goal from outside the box by Sarah Zadrazil to equalize.

Just before the end of the first half, Ji So-yun put Chelsea back out in front with a goal off a Blue’s set piece.

The next goal wouldn’t come until the 84th minute when Jess Carter’s free kick found the head of Pernille Harder, flicking the ball on frame.

Up 3-1, Chelsea’s job was far from over, as Bayern pressed well into the second half, keeping Chelsea on their toes.

It wasn’t until the 95th minute that Bayern’s fate was sealed. A Fran Kirby shot into an open goal put Chelsea up 4-1, securing their place in the final.

Chelsea will play Barcelona on May 16 in the club’s first-ever Champions League final.

MATCH INFO:

Bayern Munich vs Chelsea (Leg 1 of 2)

FC Bayern Campus Platz 1, Munich, Germany

Kickoff: April 25th, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. EST

Bayern Munich will host Chelsea for the first leg of the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final. Here’s a look at how both teams got here. 

Out of the four semifinalists, Bayern arguably had the easiest opponent in the quarter-finals against Swedish side, FC Rosengård, which was certainly refreshing, given that last season, they were eliminated from the competition by eventual champions Olympique Lyonnais. 

In the first leg, Bayern dominated from the first whistle. Rosengård were set up in a very defensive formation, with hopes that they would be able to keep Bayern out and nick a goal on a counter-attack. However, they situated themselves too deep in their own half, and with Bayern controlling most of the possession, they had ample chances to score. 

The first goal came in the ninth minute from Linda Dallmann, who was left wide open to take the powerful shot. The second goal came about 10 minutes later from Klara Bühl. 

After half-time, Bayern finished it off in the 65th minute with a goal from Lineth Beerensteyn, making it 3-0.

From there on out, they defended well and ensured that Rosengård would not walk away with any away goals.

Going into the second leg, FC Rosengård were much more attacking-minded; they had to be given that they needed to score at least four goals to advance to the semis. However, the match simply became a formality when Bayern’s Lea Schüller scored the only goal of the match, giving Bayern complete control with the crucial away goal.

Going into the matchup against Bayern, Chelsea will already have experienced playing a German team, given that their quarter-final opponent was VfL Wolfsburg, who they beat 5-1 on aggregate. 

Wolfsburg are a team that have had Chelsea’s number in the past in this competition, so the English champions did have a lot to prove going into this tie. The first leg was smooth sailing at first for Chelsea, with Sam Kerr and Pernille Harder scoring in the 55th and 66th minute respectively, giving them a 2-0 lead. 

However, Wolfsburg pulled one back after Dominique Janssen scored a penalty, giving the German side an away goal. 

Going into the second leg with a 2-1 scoreline, tensions were high because of the tight margins. The first twenty minutes of the match was extremely back and forth, and it truly looked like it could be anyone’s game, with both sides getting chances. It was Chelsea who struck first, with Harder scoring a penalty in the 27th minute.

The goal definitely seemed to deflate any optimism that Wolfsburg had, and four minutes later, Chelsea struck again, with Kerr scoring the second.

Fran Kirby made it 3-0 in the 81st minute, ensuring that Chelsea would advance to the semi-finals.

This semi-final matchup will showcase how both teams can handle pressure. Both Bayern Munich and Chelsea have never gotten past the semi-finals in the Champions League. Neither can rely on experience anymore. Instead, it’ll be about who has more grit, determination, and the better tactics to beat the other. Either way, it should be a thriller. 

It seems as though Louisville FC really is looking to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. 

Less than a week after it was reported that Lyon and Barcelona are to play in Portland this summer, the final two squads for The Women’s Cup in Louisville were announced today in a press conference. 

Global soccer powerhouses FC Bayern Munich and Paris-Saint Germain are set to play Louisville FC and the Chicago Red Stars in the inaugural event at Lynn Family Stadium on Aug. 18 and 21. 

“We are very excited to bring two of the world’s best clubs to town for The Women’s Cup,” said TWC director J.P. Reynal in the press conference. “PSG and Bayern will give local favorites Racing Louisville and the Chicago Red Stars a chance to compete on an international stage.”

FC Bayern currently sit atop the table in Germany’s highest division, the Bundesliga. Looking for its first league title since the 2015-2016 season, the club will face Chelsea in the UEFA Women’s Champions league semi finals.

“FC Bayern is the world’s biggest sports family with an incredible following in North America. It is important to connect with our fans on their home soil whenever possible,” said Rudolf Vidal, FC Bayern Munich President of the Americas. “We look forward to bringing our women’s team stars to Louisville and participating in the very first Women’s Cup.”

Meanwhile Paris-Saint Germain currently sit atop Division 1 Féminine in pursuit of its first league crown. They’ll meet Lyon in the Champions League quarterfinal match on April 18th.

The Red Stars are also a force to be reckoned with, finishing runner up to the Houston Dash in last year’s Challenge Cup. 

The announcement was highlighted by Victoire Cogevina, UN Ambassador for Women’s Soccer, who endorsed The Women’s Cup on behalf of the United Nations.

 

Barcelona, Chelsea and Bayern are on to the semi-finals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

  • Lyon and PSG’s second-leg game was postponed due to six COVID cases within Lyon’s camp. They’ll now play April 17th.

Chelsea crushed Wolfsburg 3-0 on Wednesday to win 5-1 on aggregate.

  • Pernille Harder, Fran Kirby and Sam Kerr all found the back of the net.
  • Kerr has now grabbed seven goals and two assist in her last five games for Chelsea. Seems like the all-time leading scorer in both NWSL and W-League history has found her stride in England.

Manchester City beat Barcelona 2-1, but it wasn’t enough to overcome their first-leg deficit, as Barcelona advanced 4-2 on aggregate.

  • Sam Mewis continued to shine, however, scoring a penalty in the 68’ minute, her fourth goal in five games.

Bayern, meanwhile, cruised past Rosengård in both games, winning 4-0 on aggregate while outshooting their opponents 25-10.

Up next: Semi-finals begin May 1st.

  • Chelsea will play Bayern, while Barcelona will face off against the winner of Lyon/PSG.