Rome, Oct 6 (AP) The newly revamped Women's Champions League is kicking off with a highly anticipated matchup on Tuesday as Chloe Kelly's Arsenal takes on the record eight-time winner, Lyon.
This clash is a rematch of last season's semifinals, where Arsenal overcame a first-leg deficit and eventually triumphed over Barcelona in the final.
Chloe Kelly, fresh off her success with England in securing a second consecutive Women's European Championship title in July, has been making headlines.
This past Saturday, Kelly came off the bench to score an equalizer in Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester City, her former club.
She inked a permanent contract with Arsenal in July after spending the latter half of last season on loan from City.
Lyon has bolstered their offensive lineup in the offseason by acquiring 22-year-old Jule Brand from Wolfsburg and Marie-Antoinette Katoto from Paris Saint-Germain.
Brand made her mark by scoring two goals and providing two assists as Germany reached the semifinals at the Euros, while Katoto holds the title of PSG’s all-time top scorer with an impressive tally of 131 goals in 152 matches.
Barcelona, retaining three-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas despite an exodus of players due to financial troubles with the men's team, begins its campaign at home against Bayern Munich.
The Spanish club, which reached the past five finals and emerged victorious in three, could also turn to promising talent like midfielder Clara Serrajordi, who, at 17, became the second-youngest player to score in the Spanish women's league during a match against Eibar on Saturday.
New Format ======== With the men’s tournament transitioning to a league-based format last season, the women’s competition is following suit.
The tournament now features 18 teams—two more than in the previous format—competing in a 54-game league phase that wraps up in December.
The top four teams from the standings will directly advance to the quarterfinals.
Teams ranked fifth to twelfth will enter a knockout playoff round, while the bottom six teams will be eliminated.
Half of the competing teams secured their positions through qualifying matches, including Manchester United, Real Madrid, Roma, and Paris FC.
Other games this week include Juventus against Benfica, Paris FC versus OH Leuven, Twente taking on Chelsea, Real Madrid squaring off against Roma, St. Polten matching up with Atleti, Manchester United clashing with Valerenga, and Wolfsburg facing off against PSG.
The grand final will be held at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, Norway, in May.
Additionally, a new second-tier competition, the Women's Europa Cup, is nearing the end of its qualifying stages ahead of the 16-team draw scheduled for next week.
(AP) AM AM AM
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