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In the Women’s Champions League, this is the era of Barcelona. Winners of three of the last four titles, and finalists in five of the last six seasons, they are the team to beat. The question is, is anyone capable of doing that as the 2024-25 campaign prepares to get underway?
On Tuesday, the group stages of this season’s Champions League will begin. There have already been some big stories on the way to this point, with Paris Saint-Germain the big scalp in qualifying. Ajax and Benfica, two of last year’s quarter-finalists, also crashed out prematurely.
But will there be a big story in the competition proper? Eight-time winners Lyon will be hungry to get back on their perch, while Chelsea might be better-placed than ever before to claim a first European trophy. Or could another team emerge as a serious threat to Barca’s crown?
GOAL ranks the contenders for this season’s Women’s Champions League title…
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Getty Images7Wolfsburg
It’s difficult to know what to expect from Wolfsburg, a two-time European champion, this season. Only two years ago, the German giants were in their sixth Champions League final and led Barcelona 2-0 at half-time. Unfortunately for them though, the Catalans would complete an incredible second-half turnaround to win 3-2 and claim the crown instead.
A lot has changed in the time since. Ewa Pajor, who scored for Wolfsburg that day, is now a Barcelona player, while other stars such as Lena Oberdorf and Jill Roord have also moved on. This was also supposed to be the final season in charge for Tommy Stroot, until a U-turn saw the coach sign a new contract last month.
Is he the right man to take Wolfsburg forward? Stroot won the league in his first season in charge and then reached that Champions League final, but his time in charge of the club has also coincided with Bayern Munich starting to take control of German women’s football with back-to-back Frauen-Bundesliga triumphs.
While this is still a team with some top quality players, a recent 3-0 league defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt emphasised some of the flaws that have plagued them in recent times. In a group with eight-time winners Lyon and Italian champions Roma, Wolfsburg will have to improve just to get to the knockout stages.
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Getty Images6Man City
The last time Manchester City competed in the Champions League proper, they actually beat Barcelona. It was the first defeat in 90 minutes that Barca had suffered in the 2020-21 season, in what was their 30th game. The only other loss had been on penalties against Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, with the Catalans winning the rest of their 28 fixtures to that point in a remarkable campaign which would end in a treble. The caveat, though, is that City’s win was not enough for them to overcome a 3-0 first-leg deficit in their quarter-final tie.
How will the Cityzens stack up against Barca when they meet in this season’s group stage? Starting at home to the reigning European champions is going to be quite a challenge for a team that has lost in qualifying in this competition twice in the last three years, having not even got a spot in the preliminary rounds in the other season. At the same time though, City will be well up for this European campaign after so much disappointment.
Inexperience as a team in the Champions League will likely cost City as the season develops, as some players start to understand the level needed and head coach Gareth Taylor gets to grips with his rotation. That said, they certainly have some weapons that can hurt Barca, be it Vivianne Miedema, Khadija Shaw or Lauren Hemp, who was heavily linked with the Catalans last term.
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Getty Images Sport5Arsenal
Arsenal might’ve crashed out in qualifying for the Champions League last year, but the season before saw them put together a truly remarkable run that was so close to getting them all the way to the final. Despite being plagued by injuries, it was only in extra-time, in the 119th of 120 minutes, that Pauline Bremer scored a goal to break the hearts of the home fans and send the German giants to another final instead.
In no small part due to absences – Miedema, Beth Mead and Leah Williamson all suffered brutal ACL injuries – Arsenal were not at their best domestically that season. The Gunners eventually finished 11 points off eventual champions Chelsea and were in a scrap for a European spot in the final few weeks. It was yet another example that a club’s league form isn’t always a great indicator of what they could do in the Champions League.
However, this is a team that has a lot of experience in this competition, not least since recruiting former Barcelona star Mariona Caldentey in the summer. They face a tough test in getting out of the group stage – drawn in a ‘Group of Death’ with Bayern Munich, Juventus and a dangerously in-form Valerenga – but tend to rise to the occasion in those big games. That should come in handy.
While it’s difficult to mark Arsenal out as a genuine contender for this Champions League title, it’d be a surprise not to see them in the knockout stages, where they have the ability to at least cause Europe’s elite some problems.
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Getty Images4Bayern Munich
A few years ago, it really felt like Bayern Munich were on track to becoming a proper contender for the Champions League. In the 2022-23 season, they were the only team to beat both European finalists, recording a shock 3-1 win over Barcelona in the group stages before defeating Wolfsburg 1-0 in the Frauen-Bundesliga title run-in.
Alexander Straus has implemented a clear and effective style and the club has consistently made statements in the transfer window, signing the likes of Pernille Harder, Georgia Stanway and Oberdorf, the latter from bitter rivals Wolfsburg.
Last season’s Champions League campaign was a real surprise, then. In a group with Ajax, PSG and Roma, Bayern failed to get to the knockout stages, with the former two qualifying instead. It was a real setback for an exciting project, depriving them of the opportunity to experience more of the high-pressure scenarios that the latter stages of the competition provide.
On the flip side, Straus will have learned plenty about himself and his team in that hotly-contested group stage and they will go into this campaign a little under the radar, given that surprise exit. Bayern have started the season sharply and while they might still be a step off the absolute cream of the crop, they will be a factor in this year’s Champions League.
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Getty Images3Chelsea
Is this finally the year that Chelsea win the Women’s Champions League? After five successive WSL titles, it does feel like the Blues are right in the mix for a European triumph this season. They’ve replaced Emma Hayes with Sonia Bompastor, who has won the Champions League as a coach and a player – as has her assistant, Camille Abily. Lucy Bronze, a five-time champion, also adds significant experience to a squad that has racked up a lot of its own in recent European campaigns.
Last season felt like another positive step in the quest to become champions on the continent, as Chelsea were able to beat Barcelona 1-0 in Catalunya. Unfortunately for them, defeat at Stamford Bridge meant they didn’t advance to the final, but it was another sign that they are getting close to that elusive title.
The Blues have a kind group-stage draw and they should be boosted by the return of Sam Kerr in the New Year, hopefully in time for her to have a decent run-up to March’s knockout fixtures after a brutal ACL injury. She’ll only add to a talented Chelsea squad that is hungrier than ever to lift the trophy. They’d still be a slight underdog in any meetings with Barca or Lyon, given the winning experience of both, but they’ve almost completely closed the gap.
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Getty Images2Lyon
Time and time again, so many write Lyon off. The eight-time European champions dominated this competition through the 2010s, and just as they were being discounted amid the rise of teams like Chelsea and Barcelona, and their greater financial clout, they convincingly beat the Catalans 3-1 in the 2022 final, reasserting themselves at the top of the game. Last season, they were there again for a rematch of that encounter, qualifying for the final in Bilbao, but Barca got their revenge this time, winning 2-0 in a tightly-contested affair.
There are reasons to doubt Lyon’s ability to win a ninth title this year. New head coach Joe Montemurro has never been beyond the quarter-finals in this competition, while OL are in a tough group with Wolfsburg, Roma and Galatasaray. But it’s impossible to dismiss the quality, experience and mental strength of this squad, which has only improved in the summer window.
So many names at Montemurro’s disposal – from Wendie Renard to Ada Hegerberg – have triumphed in Europe time and time again. Plus, they achieved that run to the final last year amid a flurry of injuries, including one to an in-form Hegerberg.
With a dominant head-to-head record against reigning champions Barca, who only beat them for the first time in last season’s final, Lyon remain right up there with the reigning champions.
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(C)Getty Images1Barcelona
Only Lyon have had a more dominant spell in the Women’s Champions League than that which Barcelona are currently enjoying. The Catalans have reached five of the last six finals and won three of the last four titles. This year, they’re aiming to become only the second team to win the trophy three times in a row – after OL’s remarkable run of five successive triumphs from 2016 to 2020.
It’s hard to pick any weaknesses in their bid to do so. They have lost some key players, with Caldentey joining Arsenal and Bronze moving to Chelsea, but their summer recruitment means the squad remains just as strong. Pajor, one of the most prolific goal-scorers in the sport, and Kika Nazareth, a wonderful young talent, are the highlights of their transfer business.
There are perhaps only two things to point to when looking for reasons why Barca might not conquer Europe again. The first relates to a change in the dugout, with Jonatan Giraldez leaving for the Washington Spirit. That said, his replacement is his assistant Pere Romeu, who is well-versed in what is needed to win this title. When Barca replaced the outgoing Lluis Cortes with his assistant, Giraldez, it went pretty well too, resulting in back-to-back Champions League wins and an historic quadruple.
The only other reason why the Catalans may not retain their title is because of how hard it is to stay at the top. Lyon and Chelsea, in particular, are elite teams that will fight tooth and nail to take their crown. But Barca have shown that they have the mentality to deal with the pressure and expectation. Yet again, they are undoubtedly the favourites heading into this Women’s Champions League campaign.
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