UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-finals: Tie by tie

Rivalries renewed, players facing the clubs where they made their name and drama guaranteed: UEFA.com picks out the key storylines from the UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-finals starting on 18 March.

• Holders Barcelona are joined by fellow former champions Arsenal, Lyon and Wolfsburg.
• Chelsea are former runners-up, while Bayern and Manchester City are past semi-finalists. Real Madrid have made the last eight once before.
• Arsenal and Lyon are in the quarter-finals for a joint-record 16th time.
• Barcelona and Lyon are the only two teams to have got through the group stage in all four seasons under this format, while Man City have done so for the first time.
• England is the first nation to have three teams in the quarter-finals in the same season.

Real Madrid vs Arsenal

Madrid reached the quarter-final on debut in 2021/22, losing to Barcelona, and are now back after two consecutive group exits. Both of those were to Chelsea and Madrid began their group campaign this time with a third away loss in London, but then put together a four-game winning run against Celtic and Twente to progress. Although Chelsea have proved something of a nemesis, Madrid did knock out Manchester City in qualifying in their first two campaigns.

Arsenal are in a joint-record 16th quarter-final and like Madrid bounced back from a Matchday 1 defeat (5-2 at Bayern) and ended up overtaking the German team for first place. Those five group wins came after Renée Slegers took over as interim coach and she is now in permanent charge as Arsenal seek to reach an eighth semi-final.

The Gunners' squad includes two former Barcelona players, Mariona Caldentey and Laia Codina, who both have perfect career records against Madrid. Caroline Weir of Madrid first came to England from Scotland to play for Arsenal between 2013 and 2015, while Signe Bruun has happy memories of a 2020 quarter-final against the Gunners, when she scored Paris Saint-Germain's winner.

Bayern München vs Lyon

These teams have previously met in a quarter-final, under unusual circumstances. In 2019/20 the last eight onwards was reformatted into a one-venue tournament due to COVID and Lyon defeated Bayern 2-1 in Bilbao on their way to lifting the trophy for the fifth straight year and seventh overall. The eighth title-winning campaign two years later also featured Lyon versus Bayern, the teams meeting in the 2021/22 group stage and exchanging home wins.

Lyon's return to Bilbao last season resulted in a final loss to Barcelona and a fourth meeting between those clubs in a decider since 2019 remains on the cards after they were placed on opposite sides of the knockout bracket. Under new coach Joe Montemurro, Lyon managed six wins out of six in a group for the first time this season, including two defeats of Wolfsburg, and have since signed Brazil defender Tarciane.

Bayern started the group stage in style when Pernille Harder's hat-trick helped them defeat Arsenal 5-2. Harder was to finish as group stage top scorer, but Arsenal overhauled Bayern for first place. They are facing former Bayern player Sara Däbritz, who helped them to the first of their two semi-finals in 2018/19, when Carolin Simon was at Lyon prior to moving to Munich and scoring against OL in 2020.

Wolfsburg vs Barcelona

With a combined five titles and 11 final appearances between these clubs, all since 2013, it is no surprise that there are a multitude of storylines to pick from as Wolfsburg and Barcelona collide. Their last competitive encounter was the dramatic 2023 final in Eindhoven, when the German side stormed into a 2-0 half-time lead only to lose 3-2, the winner scored by former Wolfsburg player Fridolina Rolfö.

The previous season a world record 91,648 crowd at the Camp Nou watched Barcelona win the first leg of their semi-final 5-1, meaning they could afford a 2-0 defeat away to Wolfsburg, who had knocked out the Blaugrana in the 2019/20 last four and 2013/14 quarter-finals. That latter 5-0 aggregate success was part of Wolfsburg's run to a successful title defence in Lisbon, the city where they hope to end their 11-year wait for a third final win this year.

Of course, first of all they have to end Barcelona's hopes of a third title in a row (and fifth consecutive final), but Wolfsburg did show their grit when recovering from losing their first two group games to make up a six-point gap on Roma. Barcelona themselves were beaten on Matchday 1 at Manchester City but were to score 26 goals in the five straight wins that clinched first place.

Rolfö is not the only former Wolfsburg player in Barcelona's squad as herself, Caroline Graham Hansen and Ingrid Engen were joined in the summer by 2023 final goalscorer Ewa Pajor, who has proved every bit as prolific for her new club as in her nine seasons in Germany. Wolfsburg, who have former Barcelona striker Ariana Arias on their books, are well aware of what a deadly combination Pajor and Graham Hansen are.

2023 final highlights: Barcelona 3-2 Wolfsburg

Manchester City vs Chelsea

Only once before have two English clubs faced off in this competition, Birmingham City beating Arsenal in the 2013/14 quarter-finals. But of course there have been no shortage of big domestic encounters between Manchester City and Chelsea; indeed this tie will be in a run of four consecutive games between the pair. Chelsea won 2-1 on Saturday in the English Women's League Cup final in Derby, and in between the two legs of the European tie they face off on 23 March in Manchester in the Women's Super League. Just five days ahead of the League Cup final, Man City replaced manager Gareth Taylor with interim head coach Nick Cushing, who in his previous spell led the club to two Champions League semi-finals.

In their first meeting with City this season, Chelsea won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge with goals in the last 15 minutes. The teams were both unbeaten up to that point but after the game Chelsea started to move clear in the the league while City, only pipped by Chelsea to the English title on goal difference last season, went on a mixed run that included the loss at Barcelona that left them second in their Champions League group and thus unseeded for the quarter-final draw that matched them with the Blues.

In January, Chelsea signed England midfielder Keira Walsh, who was a key part of City's rise to prominence in her eight years there before moving to Barcelona in 2022 along with Lucy Bronze, who herself signed for the Blues last summer. Chelsea's other winter signing of United States defender Naomi Girma further underlined their ambition in Sonia Bompastor's first season at the helm (though both Walsh and Girma currently have injuries). City's own additions including Brazil forward Kerolin emphasise the depth of a club who began their campaign by beating Barcelona 2-0, though the current injuries to Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp is a concern despite Vivianne Miedema and Khadija Shaw returning from absences earlier in the season.

Women's Champions League dates: Road to Lisbon

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)
24 May

Where is the 2025 UEFA Women's Champions League final being played?



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Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon will stage the 2025 UEFA Women's Champions League final on Saturday 24 May.

The home of Sporting CP opened in 2003 ahead of UEFA EURO 2004 in Portugal, replacing another stadium of the same name. It hosted a semi-final of that tournament, among other games, and was the venue for the UEFA Cup decider the following year.

The 2025 final will be the second Women's Champions League showpiece to be held in Lisbon after 2014, when Estádio do Restelo staged Wolfsburg's 4-3 win against Tyresö.