Women's Champions League round 1: Fiorentina beat Ajax as Arsenal, Benfica, Paris FC, Galatasaray, Celtic, Sporting go through
Saturday, September 7, 2024
Article summary
Arsenal and Benfica are among the teams into round 2 with Fiorentina knocking out Ajax as the 15 knockout mini-tournaments concluded.
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Arsenal, Benfica, Celtic, Fiorentina, Galatasaray, Paris FC, Sporting CP and Twente are among the teams through from UEFA Women's Champions League round 1 as the 2024/25 season kicked off with 15 one-venue knockout mini-tournaments. Wednesday's semi-finals were followed by Saturday's deciders.
The winners of those 15 finals now go into the round 2 draw at 13:00 CET on Monday, joining nine teams entering at that stage. The two-legged ties later this month decide the 12 teams joining holders Barcelona, Lyon, Bayern and Chelsea in the group stage.
Through to round 2
Champions path
Anderlecht (BEL), Benfica (POR), Celtic (SCO), Galatasaray (TUR), Hammarby (SWE)*, Mura (SVN), Osijek (CRO), Roma (ITA)*, St. Pölten (AUT), Servette FCCF (SUI), Slavia Praha (CZE)*, Twente (NED), Vålerenga (NOR), Vorskla Poltava (UKR)
League path
Arsenal (ENG), Fiorentina (ITA), Häcken (SWE)*, Juventus (ITA)*, Manchester City (ENG)*, Paris FC (FRA), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)*, Real Madrid (ESP)*, Sporting CP (POR), Wolfsburg (GER)*
*Entering in round 2
Finals: Saturday
Former champions Arsenal avoided a second straight round 1 exit as they defeated Rosenborg 1-0 with a goal from Norwegian international Frida Maanum. But having gone from round 1 to the quarter-finals in memorable style last season, Ajax were eliminated this time, 1-0 by Fiorentina and a late Madelen Janogy goal.
However, Benfica's hopes of repeating their run from the opening stage to the last eight remain alive after they defeated SFK 2000 Sarajevo. That made the Eagles the only club to get through round 1 in all four seasons under this format.
Two more of last season's group-stage clubs also progressed. Paris FC beat Sparta Praha 2-0 in Linköping, where they knocked out Arsenal at this stage last year, while St. Pölten won 1-0 against another past group contender, Vllaznia. Servette FCCF, who qualified in 2020/21, also are through.
Galatasaray, on debut, defeated BIIK-Shymkent 5-0 with a hat-trick from recent teenage Senegalese signing Diallo Hapsatou Malado, so becoming the first Turkish team to get through a round in 11 seasons.
Sporting CP followed their elimination of Eintracht Frankfurt by beating Breidablik 2-0 to progress for the first time. Also earning a round 2 debut are Celtic, overcoming Gintra 2-0 a year after the Glasgow side's heartbreaking shoot-out loss to Vålerenga. The Norwegian team themselves are also through, dispatching debutants Farul Constanța 3-1 to win the only three-team group.
Anderlecht, after losing in round 1 finals for each of the previous three seasons of this format, put that right as they defeated Birkirkara 5-0. Mura, Twente and Vorskla Poltava are also all into round 2 for the third time in this competition system while Osijek have matched their 2021/22 run.
Semi-finals: Wednesday
Two of last season's quarter-finalists advanced to the finals by defeating tournament debutants, Ajax coming from behind to beat Kolos Kovalivka in extra time and Benfica seeing off Nordsjælland. Having got past the newcomers, Benfica moved on to a final with Sarajevo, a team entering for a joint-record 22nd time – along with the club the Bosnian group hosts knocked out, KÍ Klaksvík.
Arsenal, who lost in a round 1 final to Paris FC last year, made a winning start as they dispatched Rangers 6-0 with four goals by Caitlin Foord and a debut for Mariona Caldentey, signed after helping Barcelona to her and their third European title last season. Kim Little's penalty was her 43rd goal in the competition, taking her to joint sixth all-time. Rosenborg knocked out Atlético de Madrid on penalties to set up a tie with Arsenal.
Having fallen in the group stage to Benfica last term, four-time champions Eintracht Frankfurt lost their round 1 semi-final against Sporting CP, who also joined the likes of Paris FC, St. Pölten, Fiorentina, Celtic and debutant duo Farul Constanța and Galatasaray in the finals.
Round 1 results
League path:
- Sixteen teams entered at this stage: the runners-up from the associations ranked seventh to 16th and the third-placed teams from the associations ranked first to sixth.
- They competed in four knockout mini-tournaments of four clubs each.
- The winners of the four finals progress to round 2, into which six teams have direct entry (Paris Saint-Germain, Wolfsburg, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Juventus and Häcken). Five group stage places will be on offer in round 2.
Group 1 (hosts: Brøndby)
Saturday 7 September:
Final
Ajax 0-1 Fiorentina
Third-place match
Brøndby 2-1 Kolos Kovalivka
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Ajax 4-1 Kolos Kovalivka (aet)
Brøndby 0-1 Fiorentina
Group 2 (hosts: Linköping)
Saturday 7 September:
Final
Paris FC 2-0 Sparta Praha
Third-place match
Linköping 8-0 First Vienna
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Paris FC 9-0 First Vienna
Sparta Praha 3-1 Linköping (aet)
Group 3 (hosts: Arsenal)
Saturday 7 September:
Final
Arsenal 1-0 Rosenborg
Third-place match
Atlético de Madrid 3-0 Rangers
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Atlético de Madrid 2-2 Rosenborg (aet, 2-3 pens)
Arsenal 6-0 Rangers
Group 4 (hosts: Breidablik)
Saturday 7 September:
Final
Breidablik 0-2 Sporting CP
Third-place match
Eintracht Frankfurt 6-0 Minsk
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Sporting CP
FC Minsk 1-6 Breidablik
Enter in round 2
Paris Saint-Germain
Wolfsburg
Real Madrid
Manchester City
Juventus
Häcken
Champions path:
- A total of 43 teams entered at this stage: the champions of the associations ranked eighth and below.
- They competed in 11 single-venue knockout mini-tournaments: ten with four teams and one with three teams.
- The winners of the 11 finals progress to round 2, into which three teams have direct entry (Slavia Praha, Roma and Hammarby). Seven group stage places will be on offer in round 2.
Group 1 (hosts: SFK 2000 Sarajevo)
Saturday 7 September:
Final
Benfica 4-0 SFK 2000 Sarajevo
Third-place match
KÍ Klaksvík 0-2 Nordsjælland
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
SFK 2000 Sarajevo 3-0 KÍ Klaksvík
Benfica 3-1 Nordsjælland
Group 2 (hosts: Lanchkhuti)
Saturday 7 September:
Final
St. Pölten 1-0 Vllaznia
Third-place match
Lanchkhuti 2-1 Neftçi
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Vllaznia 3-0 Lanchkhuti
St. Pölten 5-0 Neftçi
Group 3 (hosts: Gintra)
Saturday 7 September:
Final
Gintra 0-2 Celtic
Third-place match
KuPS Kuopio 6-0 Anenii Noi
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
KuPS Kuopio 1-3 Celtic (aet)
Gintra 5-0 Anenii Noi
Group 4 (hosts: Birkirkara)
Saturday 7 September:
Final
Anderlecht 5-0 Birkirkara
Third-place match
Crvena Zvezda 3-0 Breznica
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Anderlecht 4-1 Crvena Zvezda
Breznica 1-2 Birkirkara (aet)
Group 5 (hosts: Twente)
Saturday 7 September:
Final
Twente 5-0 Valur
Third-place match
Ljuboten 2-0 Cardiff City
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Valur 10-0 Ljuboten
Twente 7-0 Cardiff City
Group 6 (hosts: Apollon LFC)
Saturday 7 September:
Final
Apollon LFC 2-3 Mura
Third-place match
Glentoran 1-0 Pyunik
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Mura 3-2 Glentoran
Apollon LFC 3-0 Pyunik
Group 7 (hosts: Pogoń Szczecin)
Saturday 7 September:
Final
Servette FCCF 2-0 PAOK
Third-place match
Qiryat Gat 0-1 Pogoń Szczecin
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
PAOK 2-1 Qiryat Gat (aet)
Servette FCCF 1-0 Pogoń Szczecin
Group 8 (hosts: Racing Union)
Saturday 7 September:
Final
BIIK-Shymkent 0-5 Galatasaray
Third-place match
Racing Union 2-0 NSA Sofia
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
BIIK-Shymkent 3-0 NSA Sofia
Racing Union 1-4 Galatasaray
Group 9 (hosts: Osijek)
Saturday 7 September:
Final
Osijek 2-1 Peamount United
Third-place match
Dinamo-BSUPC 3-2 Spartak Myjava
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Dinamo-BSUPC 1-2 Peamount United (aet)
Osijek 2-0 Spartak Myjava
Group 10 (hosts: Ferencváros)
Saturday 7 September:
Final
Vorskla Poltava 2-0 Ferencváros
Third-place match
RFS 0-0 Flora (aet, 6-7 pens)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Vorskla Poltava 5-0 RFS
Ferencváros 2-1 Flora
Group 11 (hosts: Farul Constanța)
Saturday 7 September:
Final
Vålerenga 3-1 Farul Constanța
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-final
Mitrovica 0-4 Farul Constanța
Enter in round 2:
Slavia Praha
Roma
Hammarby
Club facts
• Semi-final opponents KÍ Klaksvík and Sarajevo both entered for a joint-record 22nd season (including the pre-2009 UEFA Women's Cup), and met for the first time. Sarajevo extended their outright record to 22 consecutive appearances. Brøndby, Gintra and Sparta Praha made their 21st entries.
• Eintracht Frankfurt won four titles under their previous guise of 1. FFC Frankfurt.
• Arsenal, who lost to Paris FC in round 1 last year, the first time in 16 entries that they had not reached the quarter-finals, were winners in 2006/07. Rosenborg will be the first Norwegian side they have met in their 112th European game.
• Paris FC beat Arsenal in Linköping, where won a mini-tournament again this time.
• Ajax and Benfica both went from round 1 to the quarter-finals last season.
• Atlético, Breidablik, Linköping, Sparta Praha and Valur are also past quarter-finalists, while Brøndby, Paris FC (in their previous guise of Juvisy) and Rosenborg (when known as Trondheims-Ørn) have reached the semis.
• Linköping had knocked out Sparta in the old round of 16 in 2010/11 and 2017/18.
• Further clubs involved who were in the group stage last season – along with Ajax and Benfica – are Frankfurt, Paris FC and St. Pölten. Meanwhile, Arsenal, Breidablik, Servette and Vllaznia have previously reached the post-2021/22 group stage.
• Birkirkara also beat Breznica in last season's round 1 semi-finals.
• BIIK also defeated NSA in the 2012/13 qualifying round and the 2005/06 first qualifying round.
• Debutants: Crvena Zvezda, Farul Constanța, First Vienna, Galatasaray, Kolos Kovalivka, Neftçi, Nordsjælland, Pogoń Szczecin and Pyunik.
• Neftçi were the first entrants from Azerbaijan since 2007/08.
• RFS previously entered as SFK Rīga.
Season calendar
Round 1 (one-venue mini-tournaments)
Semi-finals: 4 September
Finals/third-place play-offs: 7 September
Round 2 draw
9 September, Nyon
Round 2
First leg: 18/19 September
Second leg: 25/26 September
Group stage draw
27 September, Nyon
Group stage
Matchday 1: 8/9 October
Matchday 2: 16/17 October
Matchday 3: 12/13 November
Matchday 4: 20/21 November
Matchday 5: 11/12 December
Matchday 6: 17/18 December
Quarter-final & semi-final draw
7 February, Nyon
Quarter-finals
First leg: 18/19 March
Second leg: 26/27 March
Semi-finals
First leg: 19/20 April
Second leg: 26/27 April
Final (Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon)
23, 24 or 25 May tbc