A pivotal week awaits in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, headlined by a matchup between OL Lyonnes and Manchester United that exemplifies the excitement of this season’s competition.
Lyon, the record eight-time winners of the competition, continue to demonstrate their title-winning credentials and are tied on points with first place Barcelona heading into the penultimate round of matches in the league phase. Their pedigree is in stark contrast to United, but the hosts are no slouch — they have three wins in their opening four matches and look just about certain for a spot in the knockout rounds, and are in the mix for a top four finish that would send them straight to the quarterfinals.
“The women’s side in Europe, the parity is insane,” said NWSL champion and CBS Sports broadcaster Darian Jenkins. “Manchester United, who you don’t have much expectation for. It’s the first time in this tournament and they’re making history and we get to witness that and champion it and talk about it, I’ve loved that because that’s how the game is going to continue to grow and keep pushing.”
Lyon are still Jenkins’ pick to win the competition, their refresh under new majority owner Michele Kang and new manager Jonatan Giraldez so far providing the spark needed to potentially snap a four-year wait to lift Europe’s top prize. Lily Yohannes remains one of the game’s rising talents and is slowly working her way into a revamped version of Lyon, who are still getting the best out of players who are familiar to the club. Ada Hegerberg is one of the competition’s leading goalscorers with three goals in four games so far, Giraldez, though, boasting enough depth that seven different goalscorers have delivered 11 goals to start the Champions League season.
This season’s most fascinating storylines, though, have been reserved for the underdogs. United are not the only ones who have impressed Jenkins — she is an admirer of Belgium’s OH Leuven, who have gone unbeaten against the likes of Paris FC, Twente and Roma and are in the picture for a place in the knockout phase playoffs. They can underscore the point on Tuesday at Paris Saint-Germain, who have surprisingly lost all four games to start the Champions League season and could be eliminated from the competition before the final round of league phase matches.
“I’m loving Leuven. I love the underdog story,” Jenkins said. They put up a fight against arguably the best team in the world [in a 3-0 loss to Barcelona on Matchday 3] so those are the kind of storylines that I fall in love with, even on the men’s side, the women’s side. That’s what kind of drives me forward.”
Barcelona, meanwhile, will return to the competition without Ballon d’Or Aitana Bonmati, who will miss much of the season after breaking her leg before the second leg of the UEFA Nations League final, which Spain won. The Liga F champions will be missing her midfield talents but Jenkins said the injury is unlikely to dim Barcelona’s overall quality much.
“It’s devastating speaking from a girl that’s broken her leg,” she said. “It’s a difficult injury to come back from. I think Barcelona’s going to be fine. I’m not worried about Barcelona or Spain. I mean, this is a team that has an incredible youth to pro program [with] their younger players. It’s just the nature of this sport — injuries lead to opportunity for those that are on the bubble and I think you see players stepping up … They run deep. I mean, we even talked to Matchday 1 of Champions League. They had to sell off a lot of their players because the men’s team was dealing with financial issues, like they always have been. They’re doing just fine. They have academy players that are stepping [in], that are hungry, that want to make a statement, that want to be the next Aitana Bonmati, that want to be the next Alexia Putellas so i’m not worried about Barca. I would still be terrified to play that team.”
Men’s, Women’s Champions League shows to converge
Matchday 5 of the Women’s Champions League will run concurrently with Matchday 6 of the men’s competition, with CBS Sports providing coverage of both in a unique combination of the studio shows. Plans include a joint edition of the Golazo Show, providing a one-of-a-kind platform for the women’s game.
“I know that we’ll be blending both and I think what’s exciting, too is that it’s a big opportunity to educate and showcase the incredible women athletes and these teams that have made such a rich history in women’s football with the UCL crew, and a lot of the fans and engagement that don’t really watch the women’s side are going to be able to see the most elite teams play each other while the most elite men’s teams are playing each other so It’s just going to grow us so much more, which I’m here for,” Jenkins said. “That [was] my goal when I retired so I want to keep pushing the game forward and this is one of the biggest stages to do that’s what I’m excited for and I expect a lot of fun chaos.”
Matchday 5 TV schedule
All times U.S./Eastern
