Lakrar dreams of Bernabéu night as Champions returns with Madrid and Barça

The Women’s Champions League is back with a new league phase featuring 18 teams. Each side plays six matches: the top four go straight to the quarter-finals, while teams finishing fifth to 12th must go through a playoff, stretching the competition until 16 December. The final is set for 28, 29 or 30 May 2027 at Stadion Narodowy in Warsaw, as Mundo Deportivo reports.

Champions with a new format

On Tuesday, Real Madrid are one of the headline acts, hosting PSG at the Alfredo Di Stéfano at 21:00. Pau Quesada’s team arrives after a strong start in Liga F and with their fourth consecutive appearance in the competition. Mundo Deportivo adds that Athenea del Castillo returns for the match, while Toletti is out. For PSG, Sakina Karchaoui has asked for “personality” from the first minute and pointed to winning to kick things off.

One of the pre-match voices was Maëlle Lakrar. The French defender, now fully recovered from the injury she carried last season, talked about the prospect of Real Madrid women playing at the Santiago Bernabéu someday. “Everyone has the dream of playing in a stadium like that,” she said, before refocusing on the immediate challenge: “My only thoughts are the game tomorrow and what we want right now is to win and take all three points,” Mundo Deportivo writes.

Weir warns about Barça

Wednesday brings the return of Barça as champions. Barça begin their title defence against Paris FC at the Estadi Johan Cruyff. Mundo Deportivo recalls that last season they lifted their fourth Champions League in six years after beating Olympique de Lyon 4-0 in the final in Oslo.

Caroline Weir, who moved to Lyon from Barça, stressed how hard it will be to face the current holders. “All of us know how good they are on the ball,” Mundo Deportivo quotes the Scot, who also highlighted the physical demands of the champions.

Around the rest of the opening round, Mundo Deportivo lists other high-level fixtures: Inter-Häcken and Bayern Munich-Manchester City at 18:45, and Arsenal-HB Køge at 21:00. On Wednesday, the schedule also includes Barça-Paris FC, OH Leuven-Roma (18:45), Servette-Olympique Lyonnais (18:45) and Chelsea-Austria Wien (21:00). Before the European switch, Liga F momentum continued too: Barça won 0-6 at Deportivo Alavés, Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-1, and Espanyol turned heads with a 5-1 win over Madrid CFF, according to Mundo Deportivo.