UWCL Quarter Finals Preview: Europe’s Star Clubs battle for Final Four Place
The UEFA Women’s Champions League is hotting up, and soon, we will know the final 4 teams battling it out for European glory.
The Quarter-final second leg matches take place over two nights (Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd April), with each night providing two thrilling encounters.
Bayern Munich vs Manchester United (3-2)
It’s still all to play for in this tie, with Bayern Munich taking a slender one goal advantage into the second leg.
The Red Devils come into this looking to get back to winning ways, their confidence taking a knock following a 3-0 defeat to bitter rivals, Manchester City on Saturday 28th March in the WSL. No matter the outcome, Manchester United can leave their debut UWCL campaign with their heads held high, surpassing many expectations and proving themselves a tough opponent on the European stage.
Lea Schüller joined Manchester United in January after scoring more than 100 goals for Bayern Munich. Fridolina Rolfö and Julia Zigiotti Olme are also former Bayern Munich players, now playing in the red of Manchester United.
The German side will hope for much of the same from the Dane, Pernille Harder. She is the second highest goal scorer overall in the tournament so far, finding the net seven times.
The second leg match between Bayern Munich and Manchester United takes place on Wednesday 1st April, a 17:45 kickoff (BST) at the Allianz Arena.
Chelsea vs Arsenal (1-3)
Chelsea booked their place in the quarter-finals after finishing third in the league phase, scoring twenty goals (matching top side Barcelona’s tally). The blues were undefeated in this league phase, only dropping points (drawing) to Twente and Barcelona.
Reigning UWCL winners, Arsenal, finished fifth in the league phase and faced a play-off against OH Leuven to make the quarter-finals. The Gunners prevailed 7-1 winners on aggregate, with Alessia Russo scoring three. Russo is the competition’s top goal scorer with eight.
Both of these sides won their matches in the WSL last weekend, Chelsea beating Aston Villa 4-3 in a hard-fought tie, with the Gunners overcoming North-London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 5-2.
The second leg match between Chelsea and Arsenal takes place on Wednesday 1st April, a 20:00 kickoff (BST), at Stamford Bridge.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid (6-2)
Barcelona reached the quarter-final stage by topping the league phase (with five wins and one draw). Real Madrid, on the other hand, prevailed after beating Paris FC 5-2 on aggregate in a play-off (their seventh-place finish in the league phase wasn’t enough for automatic qualification to the quarter-finals).
The Spanish champions (Barcelona) take a healthy 6-2 lead into the second leg, which they achieved away from home at the Alfredo di Stéfano Stadium (Madrid). Ewa Pajor got a brace in that first leg, scoring a goal in each half.
As for Real Madrid, they will be hoping their standout attackers, Linda Caicedo and Caroline Weir link up well and trouble the Barcelona defence. Weir has five goals to her name in the UWCL so far, matching Barcelona’s two-time Ballon D’or winner, Alexia Putellas.
The second leg match between Barcelona and Real Madrid takes place on Thursday 2nd April, a 17:45 kickoff (BST) at Camp Nou.
Lyon vs Wolfsburg (0-1)
Lineth Beerensteyn scored the only goal of the first leg, a shot from range taking a wicked deflection off the Lyon defence.
Wolfsburg currently sit second in the Frauen-Bundesliga, a massive thirteen points behind Bayern Munich.
Lyon are eight-time European champions and beat Wolfsburg 3-1 at home in the league phase, so, this 1-0 win for the German side came as a surprise for many.
The second leg match between Lyon and Wolfsburg takes place on Thursday 2nd April, a 20:00 kickoff (BST) at the Groupama Stadium.
All of these fixtures are available to stream live on Disney+ in the UK.
Semi-final and Final draw
The first semi-final will see Manchester United/Bayern Munich facing Real Madrid/Barcelona, with the second semi-final being between Arsenal/Chelsea and Wolfsburg/Lyon.
The semi-finals are two-legged affairs (25th/26th April and 2nd/3rd May), with the winners on aggregate making the UWCL final - Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, on 23rd May.