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2025–26 UEFA Women's Champions League

The 2025–26 UEFA Women's Champions League was the 25th edition of the European women's club football championship organised by UEFA, and the 17th edition since being rebranded as the UEFA Women's Champions League. It started on 30 July 2025 and ended with the final on 23 May 2026. This was the first season under a new format, which had 18 participating teams, playing six games each against different opponents in a league phase, all in a joint group. The winners automatically qualified for the 2026–27 UEFA Women's Champions League league phase, the 2027 FIFA Women's Champions Cup semi-finals and the 2028 FIFA Women's Club World Cup. Video assistant referee (VAR) was used from the league phase onwards.

2025–26 UEFA Women's Champions League
The Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo hosted the final.
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
30 July – 18 September 2025
Competition proper:
7 October 2025 – 23 May 2026
TeamsCompetition proper: 18
Total: 74 (from 50 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsSpain Barcelona (4th title)
Runners-upFrance Lyon
Tournament statistics
Matches played75
Goals scored258 (3.44 per match)
Attendance554,535 (7,394 per match)
Top scorer(s)Ewa Pajor (Barcelona)
11 goals
Best playerAlexia Putellas (Barcelona)[1]
Best young playerLily Yohannes (Lyon)[2]

The Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo hosted the final. Barcelona won the match 4–0 against Lyon for their fourth title.[3]

Arsenal were the defending champions, but were eliminated by Lyon in the semi-finals.

Association team allocation

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The association ranking based on the UEFA women's country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[4]

  • Associations 1–7 each had three teams qualify.
  • Associations 8–17 each had two teams qualify.
  • All other associations, if they entered, each had one team qualify.
  • The winners of the 2024–25 UEFA Women's Champions League were given an additional entry if they did not qualify for the 2025–26 UEFA Women's Champions League through their domestic league.

An association had to have an eleven-a-side women's domestic league to enter a team. As of 2019–20, 52 of the 55 UEFA member associations had organized a women's domestic league, with the exceptions being Andorra (1 club in Spain), Liechtenstein (3 clubs in Switzerland) and San Marino (1 club in Italy).

Association ranking

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For the 2025–26 UEFA Women's Champions League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2024 UEFA women's Association coefficients, which take into account their performance in European competitions from 2019–20 to 2023–24.[5]

Apart from the allocation based on association coefficients, associations could have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below:

  • (TH) – Additional berth for UEFA Women's Champions League title holders
Association ranking for 2025–26 UEFA Women's Champions League
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
1  France 78.333 3
2  Germany 68.999
3  Spain 68.166
4  England 59.999
5  Portugal 34.000
6  Italy 34.000
7  Sweden 24.999
8  Czech Republic 22.332 2
9  Netherlands 22.000
10  Denmark 21.750
11  Norway 21.500
12  Austria 21.250
13  Ukraine 19.000
14  Belarus 18.000
15  Iceland 17.750
16  Scotland 17.000
17  Kazakhstan 14.750
18  Switzerland 14.250 1
19  Serbia 14.000
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
20  Albania 14.000 1
21  Cyprus 12.000
22  Belgium 12.000
23  Russia 10.250 0 [Note RUS]
24  Finland 10.000 1
25  Bosnia and Herzegovina 10.000
26  Hungary 9.500
27  Romania 9.000
28  Slovenia 9.000
29  Poland 9.000
30  Croatia 8.500
31  Lithuania 8.500
32  Republic of Ireland 8.000
33  Kosovo 8.000
34  Turkey 7.500
35  Greece 7.000
36  Israel 7.000
37  Georgia 7.000
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
38  Montenegro 7.000 1
39  Slovakia 6.500
40  Bulgaria 6.500
41  Luxembourg 6.000
42  Wales 6.000
43  Estonia 5.500
44  Northern Ireland 5.500
45  Latvia 5.500
46  Malta 5.500
47  Moldova 4.500
48  North Macedonia 4.000
49  Faroe Islands 4.000
50  Armenia 3.000
NR  Azerbaijan —
 Gibraltar — 0 DNE
 Andorra — NL
 Liechtenstein —
 San Marino —

Distribution

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Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from the previous round
First round Champions Path
(21 teams)
  • 21 champions from associations 30 and 32–51
Second round Champions Path
(28 teams)
  • 21 champions from associations 7–11 and 13–29 (except Russia)
  • 1 champion from association 31 as the team with the highest club coefficient, originally from the Round 1
  • 6 mini-tournament winners from the first round
League Path
(15 teams)
  • 11 runners-up from associations 6 and 8–17
  • 4 third-placed teams from associations 4–7
Third round Champions Path
(8 teams)
  • 1 champion from association 12 as the team with the highest club coefficient, originally from the Round 2 of the Champions Path
  • 7 mini-tournament winners from the second round
League Path
(10 teams)
  • 2 runners-up from associations 3 and 5
  • 3 third-placed teams from associations 1–3
  • 1 runner-up from association 7 as the team with the highest club coefficient, originally from the Round 2 of the League Path
  • 4 mini-tournament winners from the second round
League phase
(18 teams)
  • UEFA Women's Champions League title holder
  • 6 champions from associations 1–6
  • 2 runners-up from associations 1–2
  • 4 winners from the third round (Champions Path)
  • 5 winners from the third round (League Path)
Knockout phase play-offs
(8 teams)
  • 8 teams ranked 5–12 from the league phase
Quarter-finals
(8 teams)
  • 4 teams ranked 1–4 from the league phase
  • 4 winners from the knockout phase play-offs

Due to the suspension of Russia, the following changes to the access list were made:

  • The champions of associations 29 (Poland) entered the second qualifying round (Champions Path) instead of the first qualifying round (Champions Path).

As the Champions League title holders (Arsenal) qualified for the third qualifying round (League Path) via their domestic league's standard berth allocation, the following changes to the default access list were made:

  • BK Häcken as the club with the highest club coefficient that would otherwise have entered the second qualifying round (League Path), entered the third qualifying round (League Path) instead.

Since this season marked the inaugural edition of the UEFA Women's Europa Cup, with no title holders from previous season, the following changes to the default access list were made:

  • St. Pölten as the club with the highest club coefficient that would otherwise have entered the second qualifying round (Champions Path), entered the third qualifying round (Champions Path).
  • Gintra as the club with the highest club coefficient that would otherwise have entered the first qualifying round (Champions Path), entered the second qualifying round (Champions Path).

Teams

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The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:

  • TH: Title holders
  • 1st, 2nd, 3rd: League positions of the previous season

Two qualifying rounds, round 2 and round 3, were divided into Champions Path (CH) and League Path (LP).

Qualified teams for 2025–26 UEFA Women's Champions League[5]
Entry round Teams
League phase England Arsenal (TH) France Lyon (1st) France Paris Saint-Germain (2nd) Germany Bayern Munich (1st)
Germany VfL Wolfsburg (2nd) Spain Barcelona (1st) England Chelsea (1st) Portugal Benfica (1st)
Italy Juventus (1st)
Round 3 CH Austria St. Pölten (1st)
LP France Paris FC (3rd) Germany Eintracht Frankfurt (3rd) Spain Real Madrid (2nd) Spain Atlético Madrid (3rd)
Portugal Sporting CP (2nd) Sweden BK Häcken (2nd)
Round 2 CH Sweden Rosengård (1st) Czech Republic Slavia Prague (1st) Netherlands Twente (1st) Denmark Fortuna Hjørring (1st)
Norway Vålerenga (1st) Ukraine Vorskla Poltava (1st) Belarus Dinamo Minsk (1st) Iceland Breiðablik (1st)
Scotland Hibernian (1st) Kazakhstan BIIK Shymkent (1st) Switzerland Young Boys (1st) Serbia Red Star Belgrade (1st)
Albania Vllaznia (1st) Cyprus Apollon Ladies (1st) Belgium OH Leuven (1st) Finland HJK (1st)
Bosnia and Herzegovina SFK 2000 (1st) Hungary Ferencváros (1st) Romania Farul Constanța (1st) Slovenia Mura (1st)
Poland GKS Katowice (1st) Lithuania Gintra (1st)
LP England Manchester United (3rd) Portugal Braga (3rd) Italy Inter Milan (2nd) Italy Roma (3rd)
Sweden Hammarby IF (3rd) Czech Republic Sparta Prague (2nd) Netherlands PSV Eindhoven (2nd) Denmark Nordsjælland (2nd)
Norway Brann (2nd) Austria Austria Wien (2nd) Ukraine Metalist 1925 Kharkiv (2nd) Belarus FC Minsk (2nd)
Iceland Valur (2nd) Scotland Glasgow City (2nd) Kazakhstan Aktobe (2nd)
Round 1 CH Croatia Agram (1st) Republic of Ireland Athlone Town (1st) Kosovo Mitrovica (1st) Turkey ABB Fomget (1st)
Greece AEK Athens (1st) Israel Kiryat Gat (1st) Georgia (country) Lanchkhuti (1st) Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica (1st)
Slovakia Spartak Myjava (1st) Bulgaria NSA Sofia (1st) Luxembourg Racing Union (1st) Wales Cardiff City (1st)
Estonia Flora (1st) Northern Ireland Cliftonville (1st) Latvia Riga FC (1st) Malta Swieqi United (1st)
Moldova Agarista Anenii Noi (1st) North Macedonia Ljuboten (1st) Faroe Islands NSÍ Runavík (1st) Armenia Pyunik (1st)
Azerbaijan Neftçi (1st)

Notes

  1. ^
    Russia (RUS): On 28 February 2022, Russian football clubs and national teams were suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions.[6] The tables reflect Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA competitions.[7]

Schedule

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The schedule of the competition was as follows.[8]

Schedule for 2025–26 UEFA Women's Champions League
Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying First qualifying round 24 June 2025 30 July 2025 (semi-finals) 2 August 2025 (third-place play-off & final)
Second qualifying round 27 August 2025 (semi-finals) 30 August 2025 (third-place play-off & final)
Third qualifying round 31 August 2025 11 September 2025 18 September 2025
League phase Matchday 1 19 September 2025 7–8 October 2025
Matchday 2 15–16 October 2025
Matchday 3 11–12 November 2025
Matchday 4 19–20 November 2025
Matchday 5 9–10 December 2025
Matchday 6 17 December 2025
Knockout phase Knockout phase play-offs 18 December 2025 11–12 February 2026 18–19 February 2026
Quarter-finals 24–25 March 2026 1–2 April 2026
Semi-finals N/a 25–26 April 2026 2–3 May 2026
Final 23 May 2026 at Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo

Qualifying rounds

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First qualifying round

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Champions Path

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Second qualifying round

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Champions Path

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League Path

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Third qualifying round

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The first legs were played on 11 September, and the second legs were played on 18 September 2025. The winners of the ties advanced to the league phase.

Third qualifying round
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Champions Path
Vålerenga Norway5–1Hungary Ferencváros3–02–1
Vorskla Poltava Ukraine0–2Belgium OH Leuven0–20–0
St. Pölten Austria5–2Denmark Fortuna Hjørring3–12–1
GKS Katowice Poland1–8Netherlands Twente0–41–4
League Path
BK Häcken Sweden2–3Spain Atlético Madrid1–11–2 (a.e.t.)
Paris FC France2–0Austria Austria Wien0–02–0
Brann Norway1–3England Manchester United1–00–3
Eintracht Frankfurt Germany1–5Spain Real Madrid1–20–3
Roma Italy3–2Portugal Sporting CP1–22–0

League phase

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Location of teams of the 2025–26 UEFA Women's Champions League league phase

The league phase draw for the 2025–26 UEFA Women's Champions League took place on 19 September 2025. The 18 teams were divided into three pots of six teams. Each team faced two opponents from each of the three pots, one at home and one away.

Sweden's Damallsvenskan, despite being one of the strongest leagues in the world, was without any Champions League teams this season for the first time in history, after BK Häcken, Hammarby IF and FC Rosengård were knocked out and sent to the Europa Cup.[9]

Table

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The top four ranked teams advanced to the quarter-finals. The teams ranked from 5th to 12th contested the knockout phase play-offs, with the teams ranked from 5th to 8th seeded for the draw. Teams ranked from 13th to 18th were eliminated from all competitions.

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Royal Spanish Football Federation Barcelona 6 5 1 0 20 3 +17 16 Advance to the quarter-finals (seeded)
2 French Football Federation Lyon 6 5 1 0 18 5 +13 16
3 The Football Association Chelsea 6 4 2 0 20 3 +17 14
4 German Football Association Bayern Munich 6 4 1 1 14 13 +1 13
5 The Football Association Arsenal 6 4 0 2 11 6 +5 12 Advance to the knockout phase play-offs (seeded)
6 The Football Association Manchester United 6 4 0 2 7 9 −2 12
7 Royal Spanish Football Federation Real Madrid 6 3 2 1 13 7 +6 11
8 Italian Football Federation Juventus 6 3 1 2 13 8 +5 10
9 German Football Association VfL Wolfsburg 6 3 0 3 13 10 +3 9 Advance to the knockout phase play-offs (unseeded)
10 French Football Federation Paris FC 6 2 2 2 6 9 −3 8
11 Royal Spanish Football Federation Atlético Madrid 6 2 1 3 13 9 +4 7
12 Royal Belgian Football Association OH Leuven 6 1 3 2 5 10 −5 6
13 Norwegian Football Federation Vålerenga 6 1 1 4 4 9 −5 4
14 Italian Football Federation Roma 6 1 1 4 9 19 −10 4
15 Royal Dutch Football Association Twente 6 0 3 3 4 10 −6 3
16 Portuguese Football Federation Benfica 6 0 2 4 4 11 −7 2
17 French Football Federation Paris Saint-Germain 6 0 2 4 4 12 −8 2
18 Austrian Football Association St. Pölten 6 0 1 5 3 28 −25 1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: League phase tiebreakers

Results

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Matchday 1
Home teamScoreAway team
Juventus Italy2–1Portugal Benfica
Arsenal England1–2France Lyon
Barcelona Spain7–1Germany Bayern Munich
Paris FC France2–2Belgium OH Leuven
Twente Netherlands1–1England Chelsea
Real Madrid Spain6–2Italy Roma
St. Pölten Austria0–6Spain Atlético Madrid
Manchester United England1–0Norway Vålerenga
VfL Wolfsburg Germany4–0France Paris Saint-Germain
Matchday 2
Home teamScoreAway team
Lyon France3–0Austria St. Pölten
Vålerenga Norway1–2Germany VfL Wolfsburg
Chelsea England4–0France Paris FC
Roma Italy0–4Spain Barcelona
OH Leuven Belgium2–1Netherlands Twente
Atlético Madrid Spain0–1England Manchester United
Bayern Munich Germany2–1Italy Juventus
Paris Saint-Germain France1–2Spain Real Madrid
Benfica Portugal0–2England Arsenal
Matchday 3
Home teamScoreAway team
Roma Italy0–1Norway Vålerenga
Lyon France3–1Germany VfL Wolfsburg
Real Madrid Spain1–1France Paris FC
St. Pölten Austria0–6England Chelsea
Barcelona Spain3–0Belgium OH Leuven
Bayern Munich Germany3–2England Arsenal
Benfica Portugal1–1Netherlands Twente
Manchester United England2–1France Paris Saint-Germain
Atlético Madrid Spain1–2Italy Juventus
Matchday 4
Home teamScoreAway team
VfL Wolfsburg Germany5–2England Manchester United
Juventus Italy3–3France Lyon
Arsenal England2–1Spain Real Madrid
Vålerenga Norway2–2Austria St. Pölten
Paris FC France2–0Portugal Benfica
Twente Netherlands0–4Spain Atlético Madrid
Chelsea England1–1Spain Barcelona
Paris Saint-Germain France1–3Germany Bayern Munich
OH Leuven Belgium1–1Italy Roma
Matchday 5
Home teamScoreAway team
St. Pölten Austria0–5Italy Juventus
Arsenal England1–0Netherlands Twente
Paris Saint-Germain France0–0Belgium OH Leuven
Real Madrid Spain2–0Germany VfL Wolfsburg
Barcelona Spain3–1Portugal Benfica
Vålerenga Norway0–1France Paris FC
Chelsea England6–0Italy Roma
Manchester United England0–3France Lyon
Atlético Madrid Spain2–2Germany Bayern Munich
Matchday 6
Home teamScoreAway team
Lyon France4–0Spain Atlético Madrid
Bayern Munich Germany3–0Norway Vålerenga
VfL Wolfsburg Germany1–2England Chelsea
Juventus Italy0–1England Manchester United
Benfica Portugal1–1France Paris Saint-Germain
Roma Italy6–1Austria St. Pölten
Twente Netherlands1–1Spain Real Madrid
Paris FC France0–2Spain Barcelona
OH Leuven Belgium0–3England Arsenal

Knockout phase

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Bracket

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Knockout phase play-offs

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The draw for the knockout phase play-offs was held on 18 December 2025, 13:00 CET.[10] The first legs were played on 11 and 12 February, and the second legs on 18 and 19 February 2026.

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Atlético Madrid Spain0–5England Manchester United0–30–2
Paris FC France2–5Spain Real Madrid2–30–2
OH Leuven Belgium1–7England Arsenal0–41–3
VfL Wolfsburg Germany4–2Italy Juventus2–22–0

Quarter-finals

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The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 18 December 2025 (after the knockout phase play-offs draw).[10] The first legs were played on 24 and 25 March, and the second legs on 1 and 2 April 2026.

Quarter-finals
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Manchester United England3–5Germany Bayern Munich2–31–2
Real Madrid Spain2–12Spain Barcelona2–60–6
Arsenal England3–2England Chelsea3–10–1
VfL Wolfsburg Germany1–4France Lyon1–00–4 (a.e.t.)

Semi-finals

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Teams seeded one and two played the second leg at home if they progressed to this stage. If a seeded team was beaten, the team that eliminated them took over their seeding position.[10] The first legs were played on 25 and 26 April, and the second legs on 2 and 3 May 2026.

Semi-finals
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Bayern Munich Germany3–5Spain Barcelona1–12–4
Arsenal England3–4France Lyon2–11–3

Final

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Main article: 2026 UEFA Women's Champions League final

The final was played on 23 May 2026 at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo. The winner of semi-final 1 was designated as the "home" team for administrative purposes.[11][10]

Barcelona Spain4–0France Lyon
 Report[12]
Attendance: 24,258[13]

Statistics

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Statistics exclude qualifying rounds.

Top goalscorers

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Team of the season

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The UEFA technical study group selected the following players as the team of the tournament.[15]

Pos. Player Team
GK Spain Cata Coll Spain Barcelona
DF United States Emily Fox England Arsenal
France Wendie Renard France Lyon
Spain Mapi León Spain Barcelona
France Selma Bacha France Lyon
MF Haiti Melchie Dumornay France Lyon
Spain Patricia Guijarro Spain Barcelona
Spain Alexia Putellas Spain Barcelona
FW Poland Ewa Pajor Spain Barcelona
Denmark Pernille Harder Germany Bayern Munich
England Alessia Russo England Arsenal

Player of the season

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Young player of the season

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See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "Alexia Putellas named 2025/26 UEFA Women's Champions League Player of the Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2026. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Lily Yohannes named 2025/26 UEFA Women's Champions League Revelation of the Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2026. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "Barcelona 4-0 OL Lyonnes highlights: Ewa Pajor and Salma Paralluelo doubles seal fourth Women's Champions League title". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 23 May 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  4. ↑ "2025/26 Women's Champions League entries confirmed". UEFA. 20 June 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Access List for the 2025/26 UEFA women's club competitions" (PDF). UEFA. 19 June 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 September 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  6. ↑ "Ukraine crisis: Fifa and Uefa suspend all Russian clubs and national teams". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 February 2022. Archived from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  7. ↑ "UEFA decisions for upcoming competitions relating to the ongoing suspension of Russian national teams and clubs. However this could change depending on what happens" (Press release). Nyon: UEFA. 2 May 2022. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  8. ↑ "2025/26 UEFA Women's Champions League and new UEFA Women's Europa Cup: Dates, access list, full guide". UEFA. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  9. ↑ "Klart: Här är alla lagen i Women's Champions League". Fotbollskanalen. 18 September 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "UEFA Women's Champions League knockout phase draw, quarter-final and semi-final draw". UEFA. 18 December 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  11. ↑ "2025/26 UEFA Women's Champions League and new UEFA Women's Europa Cup: Dates, access list, full guide". UEFA. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  12. ↑ "Barcelona vs OL Lyonnes". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 23 May 2026. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "Full Time Report Final – Barcelona v OL Lyonnes" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 23 May 2026. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "UEFA Women's Champions League Top Scorers". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  15. ↑ "2025/26 Women's Champions League Team of the Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2026. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
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