Two titans are battling for European glory, as three-time champion Barcelona takes on eight-time winner OL Lyonnes in Saturday’s Women’s Champions League final.
It marks the pair’s third UWCL final in the last five years. Lyonnes besting Barcelona in 2022, before the Spanish champions fired back in 2024.
“If you see Lyon vs Barca in the final, I think it’s one of the best games you can wait for,” said Lyonnes midfielder Damaris Egurrola.
“Neither team will change their game,” said Barcelona coach Pere Romeu.
“It’s a final, small details will make the difference. We will try to be as well-prepared as possible to make the most of our strengths and to try to capitalize on the slightest of weaknesses that OL Lyonnes may have.”
OL Lyoness Says Goodbye to Denver-Bound Lindsey Heaps
Lyonnes is bracing for change regardless of the outcome in Oslo, as USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps departs to join the Denver Summit after five years with the French side.
“The goal is to win, and win everything, and Champions League is obviously on the forefront,” Heaps told The Guardian. “That’s the baby that you always want to win.”
Where to Watch 2025/26 UWCL Women’s Champions League Final
Barcelona faces OL Lyonnes at 12 PM ET on Saturday, live on Paramount+.
The Champions League final is set, after Barcelona and OL Lyonnes claimed dominant semifinal victories over the weekend — booking tickets to the May 23rd showdown.
Eight-time champion Lyonnes overturned a 2-1 deficit against defending champion Arsenal with Saturday's 3-1 win to advance 4-3 on aggregate. Highlights include Wendie Renard converting a retaken penalty and Kadidiatou Diani giving Lyon the lead, with Renard becoming the oldest player to score in a Champions League semifinal at 35 years and 286 days.
Arsenal's Alessia Russo equalized the tie in the 76th minute. However, Brand's clinical 86th-minute finish sent Lyon to its 12th UWCL final.
The semifinal marked Lyon's 15th UWCL semifinal appearance.
On Sunday, Barcelona crushed Bayern Munich 4-2 after a 1-1 first-leg draw. The Spanish champion subsequently advanced 5-3 on aggregate, reaching an unprecedented sixth consecutive Champions League final. Veteran midfielder Alexia Putellas scored twice while Salma Paralluelo and Ewa Pajor added goals in front of 60,021 fans at Camp Nou.
Reigning Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí returned from a broken leg sustained in November, entering as a second-half substitute.
"It's hard to explain the feeling I have today," Bonmatí said postgame. "There couldn't have been a better day to come back. It's been a very tough but rewarding five months. It's been a different challenge in my career, which I think has helped me both as a footballer and professionally."
The UWCL final marks the fourth meeting between Barcelona and Lyon in a Champions League final. Lyon holds a 2-1 head-to-head edge, winning in 2019 (4-1) and 2022 (3-1) before Barcelona gained revenge with 2024's 2-0 victory.
The reigning UWCL winner couldn’t be silenced on Sunday, as Arsenal topped OL Lyonnes 2-1 to take the lead in the two-leg Champions League semifinals.
Forward Jule Brand opened the scoring for the French champions. Later, a clumsy defensive breakdown gifted the Gunners an own goal, before forward Olivia Smith scored the second-half game-winner at the Emirates.
“The first half was quite even. We gave away a cheap goal,” captain Leah Williamson said. “But what you saw second-half was a team on a mission, fueled by the crowd.”
Lyon isn’t the only side hunting a second-leg spark, as three-time UWCL winner Barcelona settled for Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich.
The German champions battled for a result after goal-scorer Franziska Kett was dealt a red card in the 79th minute. However, the Spanish side ultimately could not capitalize on Bayern’s loss.
“I think in general we defended our goal pretty well,” Bayern captain Glódís Viggósdóttir told UEFA.
“We followed the game plan, we closed the spaces that we wanted to close and then we wanted to get them on the counter, and obviously it’s a fantastic goal from start to finish. I’m just incredibly proud of how we handled every single situation today.”
“We’re heading back to Barcelona with a draw that feels like too little, given the chances we had,” said Barcelona manager Pere Romeu.
How to Watch Arsenal in the UWCL Champions League Semifinals
The UWCL semifinals finish up this weekend, as Arsenal visits OL Lyonnes on Saturday at 9 AM ET. Afterwards, Barcelona hosts Bayern on Sunday at 10:30 AM ET. Both matches air live on Paramount+.
The Champions League final kicks off on May 23rd in Oslo, Norway.
USWNT stars take center stage this weekend, as the UEFA Women's Champions League semifinals kick off with UWCL clashes featuring US talent on both sides.
OL Lyonnes advanced behind dominant US midfield trio Lindsey Heaps, Lily Yohannes, and Korbin Shrader, who powered the French club past Wolfsburg in the quarterfinals. They now face reigning UWCL champion Arsenal — and USWNT defender Emily Fox — on Sunday.
"We know Arsenal are a top side," Yohannes said. "But we're not really thinking about the opponent — we're focused on ourselves and we know that if we put in our top performance, we can beat anyone."
Sunday's UWCL semifinals matchup repeats October's Champions League league-phase opener. That's when OL Lyonnes topped the Gunners 2-1 in London, while both teams eventually advanced to the quarterfinals.
Bayern Munich hosts Barcelona on Saturday, hunting its first-ever Champions League final berth after winning a fourth straight Frauen-Bundesliga title. Barcelona previously routed Bayern 7-1 in the league phase, entering the UWCL semifinals in dominant form with just one loss this season.
The Spanish club is seeking a sixth consecutive final appearance. Barcelona will hope for superstar Aitana Bonmati’s healthy return, as the midfielder continues her injury recovery.
Second-leg matches take place in May, with the final set for Oslo on May 23.
Where to Watch UWCL Champions League Semifinals
The UWCL semifinals kick off with Bayern Munich vs. FC Barcelona on Saturday at 12:15 PM ET. Afterwards, Arsenal faces OL Lyonnes on Sunday at 10:30 AM ET. Both Champions League matches air live on Paramount+.
The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League set its quarterfinal matchups this week, after this month's two-leg Round of 16 ties yielded a competitive field full of familiar foes.
Reigning UWCL champion Arsenal advanced via a 7-1 aggregate drubbing of Belgium side OH Leuven on Wednesday, with the Gunners joined in the winners column by fellow WSL titan Manchester United, who ousted Atlético de Madrid on a 5-0 aggregate, and Spain's Real Madrid, who outlasted Paris FC 5-2 across their two matches.
After lodging a 2-2 first-leg draw with Juventus last week, Frauen-Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg also booked a spot in the quarterfinals with a 2-0 win over the Italian side on Thursday.
This week's victors will now join the four already-qualified challengers in next month's quarterfinals — with two heated rivalries taking center stage.
Arsenal will face reigning six-time WSL champion Chelsea FC for the first time in the Champions League knockouts, while Real Madrid takes on fellow Liga F powerhouse Barcelona in an El Clásico rematch.
As for Manchester United, the Red Devils will face Germany's Bayern Munich, while Wolfsburg has drawn perennial French champion OL Lyonnes.
How to watch the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League quarterfinals
UWCL action will return with the first matches of the two-leg quarterfinal round on Tuesday, March 24th.
All 2025/26 Champions League matches will stream live on Paramount+.
Women's soccer clubs are shelling it out, as the 2025 Global Transfer Report from FIFA showed that women's pro team spending reached record highs last year.
Clubs spent a total of $28.6 million on a total of 2,440 international women's soccer transfers, marking a 6.3% year-over-year increase in the number of athletes, but a massive 83.6% bump in spending over 2024 — even without accounting for intra-league deals.
England led the pack on the 2025 FIFA Global Transfer Report, dropping $11 million in fees while taking in $2.1 million in sales, followed by the NWSL's $7.9 million spent.
Notably, US players were in the highest demand at 240 transfers — more than double the 108 British athletes comprising the nationality coming in second.
Reigning WSL champions Chelsea FC sit atop the spending list, racking up high-profile signings like USWNT stars Naomi Girma and Alyssa Thompson.
US billionaire Michele Kang's London City Lionesses trail the Blues at No. 2 in just their first WSL season following last spring's promotion, with the also-Kang-owned French side OL Lyonnes clocking in at No. 3 on the transfer fee list.
Six NWSL teams made the Top 10, led by the Orlando Pride at No. 4, Utah Royals at No. 5, and Washington Spirit at No. 6 — with the Spirit also falling into Kang's portfolio.
Stars of the 2025 Euro stole the EA FC 26 spotlight this week, as the video game giant's fan-voted 2026 Team of the Year recognized some of international soccer's top achievers on Thursday.
Champions England fielded four honorees as forward Alessia Russo joined a trio of Lioness defenders — Leah Williamson, Millie Bright, and Team of the Year captain Lucy Bronze — on the 11-player list.
"Being named the first-ever Women's EA Sports FC TOTY Captain is an honour," Bronze said in a statement. "2025 was an amazing year — winning the Euros again and picking up my first BWSL with Chelsea — so much of that success is thanks to our fans, and it's great to see them recognize my efforts with this award."
The rest of the EA FC 26 Team of the Year also favored European titans, as Euro runners-up and Nations League winners Spain also saw a quartet of players make the roster. La Roja fully owned the Team of Year midfield as stars Aitana Bonmatí, Mariona Caldentey, and Alexia Putellas joined forward Clàudia Pina on Thursday's lineup.
Rounding out the squad were three other European club standouts as EA FC 26 also tapped Chliean goalkeeper Christiane Endler (OL Lyonnes), French defender Selma Bacha (OL Lyonnes), and Polish forward Ewa Pajor (FC Barcelona).
USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps is coming home, with 2026 NWSL expansion team Denver Summit FC announcing the signing of the star midfielder to a multi-year deal on Monday.
Heaps plans to join the squad in June, kicking off the second half of the NWSL season after finishing up her current campaign with French side OL Lyonnes.
"Lindsey has won at every level of the game," Denver head coach Nick Cushing said in the club's Monday morning statement. "Her leadership, talent, and professionalism will continue to raise the standard for Summit FC when she arrives this summer."
Homegrown in Colorado, Heaps has been leading the Lyonnes midfield since 2022, when the former PSG standout moved back to Europe after winning two NWSL Shields and one championship in her six seasons with the Portland Thorns.
She returns to the US after picking up one UEFA Champions League and three Division 1 Féminine titles with the French titans.
The 31-year-old has also been a consistent presence for the USWNT, winning the 2019 World Cup and the 2024 Olympic gold medal, among other trophies, across her 170 senior national team appearances.
"I'm incredibly excited to come home to Colorado and join Denver Summit FC," Heaps said. "This club represents something special, not just for the league, but for this community and for the next generation of players growing up here."
With the 18-team UWCL league phase now done and dusted, the 12 clubs still standing discovered their paths to the Final in the 2025/26 Champions League knockouts draw on Thursday.
While the top four clubs — No. 1 Barcelona, No. 2 OL Lyonnes, No. 3 Chelsea FC, and No. 4 Bayern Munich — punched their way into March's quarterfinals behind elite league-phase performances, the remaining eight teams must battle in February's playoffs in order to advance.
Thursday's draw has reigning champs No. 5 Arsenal facing Belgian side No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the playoffs, but the Gunners then face a difficult road in the UWCL knockouts, staring down a potential quarterfinal clash with WSL rivals Chelsea as eight-time UWCL winners OL Lyonnes looms on the same side of the semifinal bracket.
Elsewhere, No. 7 Real Madrid have an opportunity to make UWCL history should they win their playoff tie against No. 10 Paris FC, setting up the tournament's first-ever El Clásico with a possible quarterfinal match against perennial winners Barcelona.
How to watch the 2025/26 Champions League Playoffs
The first-leg of the 2025/26 UWCL playoffs kick off with No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven hosting No. 5 Arsenal at 12:45 PM ET on February 11th, with No. 7 Real Madrid visiting No. 10 Paris FC at 3 PM ET.
The following day, No. 8 Juventus will take on hosts No. 9 Wolfsburg at 12:45 PM ET before No. 11
Atlético de Madrid faces the visiting No. 6 Manchester United at 3 PM ET.
All 2025/26 Champions League matches will stream live on Paramount+.
The UWCL's first-ever league phase wraps on Wednesday, when all 18 2025/26 Champions League clubs will square off in a simultaneous afternoon kick-off finale.
Top finishers No. 1 Barcelona and No. 2 OL Lyonnes already secured automatic spots in the quarterfinals, with similarly unbeaten No. 3 Chelsea looking to claim their spot with a result on Wednesday.
The fourth guaranteed pathway will be tougher fight, however, as just three points separate No. 4 Juventus and No. 11 Atletico Madrid on the Champions League table.
While the top four teams will advance directly into the March quarterfinals, clubs finishing fifth through 12th will instead move on to the European competition's first-ever knockout playoffs in February to determine the final quartet of quarterfinalists.
No. 4 Bayern Munich, No. 5 Real Madrid, No. 6 Juventus, No. 7 Wolfsburg, No. 8 Arsenal, No. 9 Manchester United, and No. 10 Paris FC have all netted enough points to at least make the playoffs, leave three teams — Atlético de Madrid, No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven, and No. 13 Vålerenga — battling the final two spots.
Amid Wednesday's high-stakes matchups, Wolfsburg will look to break into the upper ranks against Chelsea, Juventus will try to hold off Manchester United, and 2024/25 champs Arsenal will shoot for a result against Oud-Heverlee Leuven.
How to watch Wednesday's 2025/26 Champions League action
Wednesday's final UWCL league-phase matches will be cutthroat battles for tournament seeding.
The action kicks off at 3 PM ET, with live coverage on Paramount+.