The draw for the 2025/26 UEFA Women’s Champions League league phase has been made, and we’ve got six matches to look forward to before the end of the year.
Here is a guide to all six of our opponents:
LYON
How they qualified: French champions
Best European Cup performance: 8x winners (2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022)
Last season: Champions League semi-finals
Lyon won last season’s Premiere Ligue as an invincible team, winning 22 matches and drawing just twice throughout the season, scoring 99 goals and only conceding eight in the process. We stopped them from going all the way in Europe, beating Lyon 4-1 away from home in the semi-finals.
Head-to-head: P6 W2 L4
We went into the second leg 2-1 down on aggregate, but it didn’t take long for us to take the lead courtesy of a Christiane Endler own goal. Mariona Caldentey increased our lead on the brink of half-time, before Alessia Russo made it 3-0 right after the break. Caitlin Foord added a fourth and Melchie Dumornay got a late consolation for the hosts as we reached the final.
BAYERN MUNICH
How they qualified: German champions
Best European Cup performance: Semi-finals (2019, 2021)
Last season: Champions League quarter-finals
Bayern won the Bundesliga last season with 19 wins, two draws and just one defeat. They also did the domestic treble, winning the DFB-Pokal as well as the DFB-Supercup, but went out of the Champions League following defeat to Lyon.
Head-to-head: P4 W2 L2
An own goal from Glodis Viggosdottir gave us a seventh-minute lead at home to Bayern in the group stage last season, only for a Magdalena Eriksson brace to give them a 2-1 lead. We responded instantly though through Alessia Russo’s equaliser, and a late Mariona Caldentey penalty gave us all three points.
REAL MADRID
How they qualified: Spanish runners-up
Best European Cup performance: Quarter-finals (2022, 2025)
Last season: Champions League quarter-finals
Real Madrid finished second in Liga F last season, ending up eight points behind Barcelona but 18 ahead of third-placed Atletico Madrid. We knocked them out of the Champions League quarter-finals, coming from 2-0 down on aggregate to win 3-2.
Head-to-head: P2 W1 L1
Going into the tie 2-0 down on aggregate, we had it all to do at Emirates Stadium, but we couldn’t find a breakthrough in the first 45 minutes. It mattered little, as a flurry of three goals in the first 14 minutes of the second half from Alessia Russo and Mariona Caldentey saw us advance to the semis.
BENFICA
How they qualified: Portuguese champions
Best European Cup performance: Quarter-finals (2024)
Last season: Did not qualify
Despite losing the Portuguese Supercup to Sporting CP, Benfica went on to win a women’s record fifth League Cup and fifth league title, undefeated in the topflight with 20 wins and two draws. They didn’t make it into the Champions League last season, after losing 3-2 on aggregate to Hammarby in the qualifiers.
Head-to-head: N/A
TWENTE
How they qualified: Dutch champions
Best European Cup performance: Round of 16 (2016, 2017, 2020)
Last season: Group stage
The title race went right to the wire in the Netherlands last season, Twente ending the season level on points with PSV but just beating them to the top spot on goal difference. They weren’t so successful in Europe, eliminated from the Champions League group stage after defeats to Chelsea and Real Madrid, despite beating Celtic twice.
Head-to-head: N/A
OH LEUVEN
How they qualified: Belgian champions
Best European Cup performance: Group stage (2025)
Last season: Did not qualify
Leuven became Super League champions last season after a tight tussle with RSC Anderlecht, who they beat 2-0 at home on the final day. This is their first season in the Champions League, reaching the group phase by beating SFK 2000 2-1 in qualifying, then Rosengard 3-2, and then Vorskla Poltava 2-0 on aggregate.
Head-to-head: N/A
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