Women's Champions League round 1 semi-finals: Arsenal, Ajax, Benfica through, Sporting CP defeat Frankfurt, Rosenborg beat Atlético
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
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Rosenborg surprised Atlético and Sporting CP ousted Frankfurt as they reached Saturday's round 1 finals along with the likes of Arsenal, Ajax and Benfica.
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The 2024/25 UEFA Women's Champions League season has kicked off with Wednesday's round 1 semi-finals setting up Saturday's 15 deciders.
Two of last season's quarter-finalists progressed by defeating tournament debutants, Ajax having to come from behind before beating Kolos Kovalivka in extra time, and Benfica seeing off Nordsjælland. Having got past newcomers, Benfica now take on SFK 2000 Sarajevo, entering for a joint-record 22nd time – along with the club they knocked out, KÍ Klaksvík.
Arsenal, who lost in a round 1 final to Paris FC last year, made a winning start as they defeated Rangers 6-0 with four goals by Caitlin Foord and a debut for Mariona Caldentey, who 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 up to joint sixth all-time. Rosenborg knocked out Atlético de Madrid on penalties and now face Arsenal.
Having last season fallen in the group stage to Benfica, four-time champions Eintracht Frankfurt lost their round 1 semi-final against Sporting CP, who also join the likes of Paris FC, St. Pölten, Fiorentina, Celtic and debutant pair Farul Constanța and Galatasaray in Saturday's finals.
Round 1 is one of two rounds before the 16-team group stage, which starts in October. It is split into two paths: the champions path and the league path. In both paths, round 1 consists of two stages, each of one-off knockout matches played in single-venue mini-tournaments with semi-finals on Wednesday and finals/third-place play-offs on Saturday.
The winners of each final (11 in champions path, four in league path) will progress to round 2, which will decide the 12 teams joining holders Barcelona, Lyon, Bayern and Chelsea in the group stage. The round 2 draw is on Monday 9 September.
All times CET
Round 1 ties
League path:
- Sixteen teams enter 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 compete in four knockout mini-tournaments of four clubs each.
- The winners of the four finals will 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)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Ajax 4-1 Kolos Kovalivka (aet)
Brøndby 0-1 Fiorentina
Saturday 7 September:
Third-place match
Brøndby vs Kolos Kovalivka (12:00)
Final
Ajax vs Fiorentina (16:00)
Group 2 (hosts: Linköping)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Paris FC 9-0 First Vienna
Sparta Praha 3-1 Linköping (aet)
Saturday 7 September:
Third-place match
Linköping vs First Vienna (13:00)
Final
Paris FC vs Sparta Praha (18:00)
Group 3 (hosts: Arsenal)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Atlético de Madrid 2-2 Rosenborg (aet, 2-3 pens)
Arsenal 6-0 Rangers
Saturday 7 September:
Third-place match
Atlético de Madrid vs Rangers (13:00)
Final
Arsenal vs Rosenborg (20:30)
Group 4 (hosts: Breidablik)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Sporting CP
FC Minsk 1-6 Breidablik
Saturday 7 September:
Third-place match
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Minsk (14:00)
Final
Breidablik vs Sporting CP (19:00)
Enter in round 2
Paris Saint-Germain
Wolfsburg
Real Madrid
Manchester City
Juventus
Häcken
Champions path:
- A total of 43 teams are entering at this stage: the champions of the associations ranked eighth and below.
- They compete in 11 single-venue knockout mini-tournaments: ten with four teams and one with three teams.
- The winners of the 11 finals will 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)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
SFK 2000 Sarajevo 3-0 KÍ Klaksvík
Benfica 3-1 Nordsjælland
Saturday 7 September:
Third-place match
KÍ Klaksvík vs Nordsjælland (11:00)
Final
Benfica vs SFK 2000 Sarajevo (17:00)
Group 2 (hosts: Lanchkhuti)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Vllaznia 3-0 Lanchkhuti
St. Pölten 5-0 Neftçi
Saturday 7 September:
Third-place match
Lanchkhuti vs Neftçi (15:00)
Final
St. Pölten vs Vllaznia (18:00)
Group 3 (hosts: Gintra)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
KuPS Kuopio 1-3 Celtic (aet)
Gintra 5-0 Anenii Noi
Saturday 7 September:
Third-place match
KuPS Kuopio vs Anenii Noi (11:00)
Final
Gintra vs Celtic (17:00)
Group 4 (hosts: Birkirkara)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Anderlecht 4-1 Crvena Zvezda
Breznica 1-2 Birkirkara (aet)
Saturday 7 September:
Third-place match
Breznica vs Crvena Zvezda (17:45)
Final
Anderlecht vs Birkirkara (21:15)
Group 5 (hosts: Twente)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Valur 10-0 Ljuboten
Twente 7-0 Cardiff City
Saturday 7 September:
Third-place match
Ljuboten vs Cardiff City (12:00)
Final
Twente vs Valur (18:00)
Group 6 (hosts: Apollon LFC)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Mura 3-2 Glentoran
Apollon LFC 3-0 Pyunik
Saturday 7 September:
Third-place match
Glentoran vs Pyunik (16:00)
Final
Apollon LFC vs Mura (20:30)
Group 7 (hosts: Pogoń Szczecin)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
PAOK 2-1 Qiryat Gat (aet)
Servette FCCF 1-0 Pogoń Szczecin
Saturday 7 September:
Third-place match
Qiryat Gat vs Pogoń Szczecin (12:00)
Final
Servette FCCF vs PAOK (20:00)
Group 8 (hosts: Racing Union)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
BIIK-Shymkent 3-0 NSA Sofia
Racing Union 1-4 Galatasaray
Saturday 7 September:
Third-place match
Racing Union vs NSA Sofia (13:00)
Final
BIIK-Shymkent vs Galatasaray (19:00)
Group 9 (hosts: Osijek)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Dinamo-BSUPC 1-2 Peamount United (aet)
Osijek 2-0 Spartak Myjava
Saturday 7 September:
Third-place match
Dinamo-BSUPC vs Spartak Myjava (11:00)
Final
Osijek vs Peamount United (17:00)
Group 10 (hosts: Ferencváros)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-finals
Vorskla Poltava 5-0 RFS
Ferencváros 2-1 Flora
Saturday 7 September:
Third-place match
RFS vs Flora (12:00)
Final
Vorskla Poltava vs Ferencváros (16:30)
Group 11 (hosts: Farul Constanța)
Wednesday 4 September:
Semi-final
Mitrovica 0-4 Farul Constanța
Saturday 7 September:
Final
Vålerenga vs Farul Constanța (14:00)
Enter in round 2:
Slavia Praha
Roma
Hammarby
Club facts
• Opponents KÍ Klaksvík and Sarajevo both entered for a joint-record 22nd season (including the pre-2009 UEFA Women's Cup), and are meeting for the first time. Sarajevo extend their outright record to 22 consecutive appearances. Brøndby, Gintra and Sparta Praha make 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.
• 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 are 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