Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City have all secured their spot in the quarter-final stages of the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) after emerging victorious on matchday four.
Sonia Bompastor’s Chelsea side breezed past Celtic FC at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening, after a comfortable 3-0 victory over the Scottish team saw them stay top of their group standings.
Arsenal and Manchester City scraped by with much finer margins, as an 89th minute winner from Lina Hurtig saw the Gunners clinch a 1-0 victory over Juventus at Emirates Stadium. As for City, Gareth Taylor’s side were challenged by Hammarby, but goals from the inevitable Khadija Shaw led the side to a 2-1 win in Stockholm.
After a cagey affair in north London, the Gunners were able to get the job done and secure their spot in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Despite success, Arsenal’s European campaign hasn’t been without it’s hardships. A treacherous performance in Germany saw the Gunners thrashed 5-2 by Bayern Munich on matchday one- just days before the resignation of former head coach Jonas Eidevall.
Interim head coach Renee Slegers took charge just 24 hours before the side were set to face Valerenga on matchday two. The commotion didn’t deter Arsenal as they sailed through to a 4-1 victory under the lights of Emirates Stadium.
They remained in high spirits come matchday three, yet to lose a game since Slegers’ temporary appointment. The confidence was reflected in their performance, as they breezed past Juventus in a 4-0 triumph in Biella, Italy.
The future of Arsenal’s manager is still unknown, but the side remain undefeated in seven games under Slegers. The Gunners will have an opportunity to top the standings of their group with two games still to play in December against Valerenga and Bayern Munich.
It has been smooth sailing for Chelsea since Sonia Bompastor touched down in west London, having now secured a spot in the Champions League knockouts following a 3-0 victory over Celtic at Stamford Bridge.
The Bridge is where the Blues commenced their Champions League journey, defeating Real Madrid 3-2 on matchday one of the competition. Despite the winning result, fans came away from the game questioning the performance on a whole.
Since then, it’s been a story of complete dominance for the English champions. The side are yet to drop a point under Bompastor, making it eleven straight victories since her arrival. One of which included Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over FC Twente away in the Netherlands, before travelling to Glasgow to slide past Celtic in a 2-1 win on matchday two.
Although some of the performances may have not been the most convincing, Bompastor has managed to go undefeated whilst still leaving room for adequate squad rotation amongst her strong list.
It looks like it is going to be incredibly hard to stop Chelsea this year, and the 2024/25 season may well be the year that they secure Champions League glory on Europe’s biggest stage.
All started swimmingly for Man City in Europe, as they made a show of Barcelona at Joie Stadium on matchday one of the Champions League. City dominated the back-to-back Champions League winners at home, as a statement 2-0 win set the tone for their tournament going forward.
They started as they meant to go on, completing the comeback on matchday two to edge past St. Polten on the road. A double-header with Hammarby saw City come out on top in both games, getting the job done in Manchester with a 2-0 win before travelling to Stockholm and securing a 2-0 victory.
Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw continues to assert her dominance, scoring the brace that got City over the line in Stockholm on matchday four.
After a tough defeat to Chelsea in the WSL last Saturday, City will be eager to stay in touch with the league title race and compete heavily in Europe. An away trip to Barcelona awaits City in December, and if they are to lose, they could come face to face with their league rivals in the quarter-final stages.
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