Women

VfL Women to meet Lyon in UWCL

The She-Wolves will also play against AS Roma and Galatasaray in the group stage.

VfL Women have been placed in Group A with Olympique Lyonnais, AS Roma and Galatasaray in the group stage of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. The draw was made in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday lunchtime. “I think our group is very, very attractive, so it’s a big challenge but an exciting one too,” said VfL head coach Tommy Stroot. “We’re really looking forward to it.” The dates for the matchdays are 8/9 October, 16/17 October, 12/13 November, 20/21 November, 11/12 December and 17/18 December, with the exact schedule to be confirmed on Saturday.

Lyon again

VfL Women have plenty of history with former serial winners Lyon. In the 2012/13 treble season, having qualified for Europe’s premier club tournament for the first time, the She-Wolves caused one of the biggest ever shocks in the competition when they beat the French side 1-0 in the final. Since then, however, OL have always had the upper hand in meetings between the two clubs, most recently in the final in 2020 (L3-1).

Eine Grafik mit den ausgelosten Gruppen der UWCL.

Italian champions

Roma Women claimed the Italian league title with an eight-point lead over Juventus last season and are seen – at least on paper – as the toughest opponents from Pot 3. It’s been a shaky start to the new campaign, though, with two draws and just one win. Roma and Wolfsburg met previously in the group stage in the 2022/23 season, when a 1-1 draw in the Italian capital was followed by a 4-2 victory at the AOK Stadion.

Debutants

The women’s team of Turkish giants Galatasaray are debutants in the UWCL group stage and the first Turkish club ever to reach the final 16. It will also be the first time that the Green-and-Whites have come up against a team from Turkey.