Women’s Champions League draw LIVE: Chelsea and Arsenal learn quarter-final and semi-final fate
The draw will be made for both the quarter-final and semi-final stages, plotting the route for the Eindhoven final on 3 June
Chelsea will play holders Lyon in the Women’s Champions League quarter-finals, while Arsenal face Bayern Munich - in a tough draw for both English teams.
Both Chelsea and Arsenal progressed as group winners, but the Blues were handed a nightmare draw against European champions Lyon - who were thumped 5-1 at home by Arsenal and finished as runners-up in Group C.
If Chelsea progress, they will face last year’s runners-up Barcelona or Roma in the semi-finals. Arsenal were put in the other side of the draw and if the Gunners defeat Bayern they will play either Paris Saint-Germain or Wolfsburg in the last eight.
Women’s Champions League draw
The rules of the draw are now read out so that everyone knows how the draw works. There are no constraints other than two teams who played each other cannot be drawn together.
Women’s Champions League draw
Ellen White, England’s leading goalscorer in the women’s game with 52 international goals is introduced as she’ll be conducting the draw.
“I don’t think it will ever sink in, it was such a special moment for us and on home soil too. It’s indescribable really.” says White when asked to reflect on the Lionesses victory at the Euros last year.
Women’s Champions League draw
After a summary of the tournament so far, a video plays featuring all eight of the quarter-finalist with highlights from the group stages focusing on how each side reached the quarter-finals.
Women’s Champions League dates: Road to Eindhoven
The draw for the Women’s Champions League knockout stages is about to begin. Here are the fixtures for the upcoming matches:
Quarter-finals First leg: 21/22 March Second leg: 29/30 March
Semi-finals First leg: 22/23 April Second leg: 29/30 April
Final (PSV Stadium, Eindhoven) 18:00 CET, 3 June
How have the quarter-finalists fared in previous last eight ties?
Arsenal: Won six, lost eight.
Barcelona: Won five, lost three.
Bayern Munich: Won two, lost three.
Chelsea: Won three, lost none.
Lyon: Won 12, lost one.
Paris Saint-Germain: Won six, lost one.
Roma: Appearing in quarter-finals for first time.
Wolfsburg: Won seven, lost three.
The venue for the final
Eindhoven’s PSV Stadium will stage the 2023 UEFA Women’s Champions League final at 18:00 CET on Saturday 3 June.
First opened in 1910, the 35,000-capacity PSV Stadium has a long history of hosting major matches, including the UEFA Cup finals of 1978 (second leg) and 2006, the second leg of the 1988 UEFA Super Cup and three games at UEFA EURO 2000.
On 6 April 2018, 30,238 fans at the home of PSV Eindhoven watched the Netherlands beat Northern Ireland on the way to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, a record crowd for any UEFA-organised women’s qualifier.
On 1 June 2019, a then Dutch record women’s football attendance of 30,640 saw the Netherlands face Australia in a friendly at the stadium.
What are the procedures for the semi-final and final draws?
At this stage of the competition, no teams are seeded and there is no country protection. The balls containing slips of paper ‘winners of quarter-final 1’ to ‘winners of quarter-final 4’ are placed in the central bowl and shuffled.
The first and the second ball drawn designate the first pairing of the semi-finals. In addition, the first ball drawn designates the home team for the first leg.
The same procedure is repeated to designate the second semi-final pairing.
For the final draw two balls containing slips of paper saying ‘winners of semi-final 1’ and ‘winners of semi-final 2’ are placed in the central bowl and shuffled.
The first team drawn determines the ‘home’ team for the final.
What is the quarter-final procedure?
The four balls containing the names of the group runners-up are placed in one bowl and the four balls containing the names of the group winners are placed in another bowl.
A ball is drawn from the bowl with the group runners-up. The team drawn is placed as the home team in the quarter-final 1 tie. A ball is then drawn from the bowl with the group winners. The team drawn is placed as the visiting team to complete the quarter-final 1 tie.
The same procedure is repeated to designate the remaining three quarter-final matches.
If a group winner is drawn against the runner-up from the same group, the group winner is moved to be the visiting team in the next tie and another group winner is drawn to complete the current tie.
Another group runner-up is then drawn to complete the next tie as the home team. Should a clash be possible when drawing the last two ties, the teams will be drawn and will be assigned to the ties.
Who are the group runners-up?
Group A: Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) – Two-time runners-up who are aiming for their seventh success in eight quarter-final appearances.
Group B: Roma (ITA) – This is their debut season in Europe and they’re the 55th different club to reach the last eight.
Group C: Lyon (FRA) – The holders and record eight-time champions have won an unmatched 12 quarter-finals from 13 attempts.
Group D: Bayern München (GER) – They have reached a fifth quarter-final in six seasons but are still aiming for first final appearance.
Who are the group winners?
Group A: Chelsea (ENG) – The 2021 runners-up have won all three of their past quarter-finals.
Group B: Wolfsburg (GER) – These two-time winners have reached a club record 11th consecutive quarter-final.
Group C: Arsenal (ENG) – The 2007 winners will play in their 15th Champions League quarter-finals.
Group D: Barcelona (ESP) – The 2021 winners are aiming for fourth final in five seasons.
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