12/18/25 10:07:00
Printable Page
12/18 07:06 CST Titleholder Arsenal drawn on path to face Chelsea in Women's
Champions League quarterfinals
Titleholder Arsenal drawn on path to face Chelsea in Women's Champions League
quarterfinals
NYON, Switzerland (AP) --- Titleholder Arsenal must win a quick rematch with OH
Leuven for the right to face city rival Chelsea in a Women's Champions League
quarterfinal that was drawn on Thursday.
Arsenal beat Leuven 3-0 in Belgium on Wednesday to finish fifth in the
inaugural 18-team standings format, sending the defending champion into the
knockout playoffs round.
Arsenal will go back to Leuven for the playoffs first leg on Feb. 11 or 12,
with the winner over two games hosting English champion Chelsea in the first
leg of the quarterfinals on March 24 or 25.
An all-Spanish quarterfinal path was set up with three-time champion Barcelona
drawn to face the winner of the two-leg playoff between Real Madrid and Paris
FC.
Record eight-time European champion OL Lyonnes is waiting in the quarterfinals
for the winner of the playoff between Wolfsburg and Juventus.
Manchester United meets Atletico Madrid in the playoffs for the prize of facing
Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.
The new Women's Champions League format has followed the men's that launched
last year, with an opening league phase of six rounds instead of eight.
The top four in the standings --- Barcelona, OL Lyonnes, Chelsea and Bayern ---
advanced direct to the quarterfinals. Teams placed fifth to 12th went to the
playoffs rounds and those from 13th to 18th were eliminated.
The final is on May 23 in Oslo, Norway.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
|
