This season of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, three Spanish teams – Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid – are part of the 12 qualified for the next phase of the top continental tournament after the new and demanding league phase. A format adopted this season in which the first four – Barça, OL Lyonnes, Chelsea and Bayern Munich – directly access the quarterfinals, while the remaining eight play for their continuity in eliminatory playoffs. This Thursday, in Nyon, the UEFA balls squared the three Spaniards on the same side on the road to Oslo, avoiding the titans of OL Lyonnes, Chelsea and Arsenal, the current champion, until the end. A clearer path for Barcelona, a firm candidate again for the orejona Despite the doubts generated in the summer by the short extension of its squad: it closed the league as leader, so it will avoid the previous round and will await the winner of the duel between the . A classic could be repeated in Europe if the white team, which missed the opportunity to sneak into the top four this Wednesday, beats the Parisians. Atlético, for its part, will have to overcome the eliminatory playoff against Manchester United, while Bayern Munich would await them in the quarterfinals. If they overcome their respective qualifying rounds, a Spanish semi-final could take place.
Barcelona, three-time European champion, has managed to overcome a start to the season marked by the accumulation of injuries to key players. He has continued to dominate the national scene and has managed his European commitments with authority and solvency: a single setback, five victories and a goal average of +17. Finishing first also gives them the advantage of playing in the quarterfinals and a hypothetical semifinals at home. The road will not be the most complicated, having the opportunity to redeem themselves from the defeat against Arsenal in Lisbon last year. Thus, they avoid, until a hypothetical end, the gunnersChelsea and OL Lyonnes. The French, eight-time champions, lost the title to Barça in 2023, and fell in the semifinals last year. This year, however, the project has gained new momentum with the arrival of Jonatan Giráldez to the bench, who signed a historic poker in his last season as Barça coach.
Real Madrid, seventh classified, arrived growing up under the direction of Pau Quesada. Finally, the white team signed three victories, one defeat and two draws, this Wednesday, against whom they took the opportunity to get into the top four. The white team will have a more comfortable first step against Paris. The problem would be found in the quarterfinals, a phase in which they lost last season against the current champion, as they would run into an imposing Barça. The image of three years ago could be repeated, a tie that was decided for the Blaugranas at the historic Camp Nou in 2022.
Atlético, eleventh classified, is the biggest loser. The red and white team achieved an extra life this Wednesday despite being beaten by Lyonnes. It took them two wins, three losses and a draw to survive until the playoff round, where they will face each other, one of the great English teams. If they overcome that first obstacle, the challenge would be raised, since Bayern would be waiting for them in the quarterfinals.
On the other side of the draw, the battle will be more raw: Chelsea, eternal contender for the throne despite the enormous wardrobe and talent accumulated in its squad, will await the winner of the match between OH Leuven and Arsenal in the quarterfinals; and the almighty OL Lyonnes, to Wolfsburg or Juventus.
The playoffs will be played in two games in February, with the first leg on the 11th or 12th and the return leg on the 18th or 19th. The four giants will rest until March, when the quarterfinals will be played on the 24th or 25th, and in early April, on the 1st or 2nd. In the semifinals, on April 25th or 26th and May 2nd or 3rd, only the most demanding teams will remain. The three Spaniards will fight to make a place for themselves – among themselves – and try to reach the final on May 23 in Oslo, Norway.
