The Women’s Champions League returned this week, and for the three English clubs with designs on winning it, the opening round of fixtures raised more questions than it answered.
On the face of it, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City all got their campaigns off to solid starts. Arsenal and Chelsea each took three points from narrow home wins, while City recovered from two goals down to draw at Bayern München. Scratch deeper, though, and it was an unconvincing week — particularly with last season’s finalists Barcelona and Lyon both opening with commanding victories. The trophy will be lifted in Warsaw next May.
Manchester City’s return to Europe’s elite tier was always going to bring greater tests than the campaign that carried them to last season’s Women’s Super League title, won while they were absent from continental competition. That was immediately true when Bayern München raced into a 2-0 lead. Andree Jeglertz’s side responded to draw 2-2, with summer signings Beth Mead and Carlotta Wamser scoring their first goals for the club. The recovery mattered all the more because Khadija Shaw, City’s usual source of goals, surprisingly proved fallible from the penalty spot. Once she finds her shooting boots, City should be just fine in this competition.
Arsenal’s start to the season has been inauspicious: two goals and five points from three matches for a side that has been bullish about targeting trophies. Against Danish side HB Koge, boss Renee Slegers made a raft of changes, including resting Alessia Russo, and the eight forwards she ultimately featured struggled to breach a resolute visiting backline. Arsenal’s expected goals tally of 1.93 told the story of a performance dominant with the ball rather than one with a cutting edge — they fashioned only two shots on target against opponents they were expected to beat comfortably, and required a 95th-minute penalty, converted by Mariona Caldentey, to steal the points. Dismissing lower-ranked teams at the start of the competition has been an Achilles’ heel for Arsenal, and tougher tests await, so Slegers needs to find a solution.
Chelsea’s opening night brought a brilliant goal from Wieke Kaptein and a promising attacking performance. Summer signing Melvine Malard was bright in her pre-planned 45-minute appearance, while Alyssa Thompson’s electric display showcased what she could offer in her second season at Stamford Bridge, with Ellie Carpenter playing behind her to make Chelsea’s right side a potentially potent weapon. In reality, they ought to have added a couple more goals against Austria Vienna. There were concerns for Sonia Bompastor too: shorn of the injured captain Erin Cuthbert and with Keira Walsh substituted early, Chelsea ceded control in midfield to the Champions League debutants. Vienna came close on a number of occasions to taking a deserved point, hitting the post and having more shots than their esteemed opponents. Chelsea have conceded only one goal in four matches this season, but the fragility on display could cost them against more clinical opponents.
Barcelona and Lyon, by contrast, made statements. The French side won 8-0 away at Servette in Switzerland, with Marie-Antoinette Katoto scoring a hat-trick as they racked up 31 shots and hit the woodwork. They host Chelsea next week. Holders Barcelona actually went behind at home to Paris FC but swiftly turned the game around, scoring four before half-time on the way to a 5-2 win, with last season’s top scorer Ewa Pajor scoring twice on the opening night. Ominous signs from the competition’s favourites.
Whether the Women’s Super League clubs are equipped to challenge this season, what still needs addressing for each of them, and who has the best chance of lifting the trophy in Warsaw remain open questions after a week in which the English trio stuttered and their leading rivals did not.