UEFA Women's Champions League: players to watch on matchday five

The new UEFA Women's Champions League group stage has been the platform for some previously unsung talents to show their abilities.

Ahead of Matchday 5 we look at four who have made an impact and hope to keep doing so as their teams, in some cases against the odds, aim to reach the quarter-finals.

Catarina Amado (Benfica)

When Amado stole in behind the Häcken defence to give Benfica victory in Sweden on Matchday 4 she sparked wild celebrations, another huge step taken by a side who had already broken new ground for Portugal just by being among the final 16 of this competition, regardless of format. And for the 22-year-old it was a particularly special moment, having said when extending her contract in the summer: "Benfica is the club of my heart. Since I was a child, I had the dream of playing here." An energetic, forward-running right-back, she also caught the eye in the impressive opening 0-0 draw with Bayern München, exemplifying the Eagles' status as a revelation in this tournament.

Olha Ovdiychuk (WFC Kharkiv)

Ovdiychuk had an incredible scoring record in Ukraine for Kharkiv when she was snapped up by Atlético in summer 2019. After a year without a goal she returned to Kharkiv, and is now taking the opportunity to prove her true worth at the highest level. She got three goals in the two-legged defeat of Apollon LFC that took Kharkiv to the group stage, and her audacious lob at Breidablik on Matchday 4 secured a win that keeps alive their hopes of securing qualification on 16 December – her 28th birthday – back in the Spanish capital at Real Madrid.

Tabea Wassmuth (Wolfsburg)

Holding off the likes of Sam Kerr, Alexia Putellas, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Vivianne Miedema to sit as outright group-stage top scorer on five goals is a 25-year-old in her debut UEFA club competition season. Wassmuth was developed at Hoffenheim, rising up the ranks just as her club did until their third-place finish last season, when she was snapped up by Wolfsburg. Doubles against Chelsea and Servette, following by a strike at Juventus, have now demonstrated her eye for goal at the pinnacle of the European club game, and Wolfsburg will need more of that if they are to overhaul either Juve or the Blues. Off the pitch she's studying for a PhD in psychology.

Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)

An Arsenal trainee, in 2017 the centre-back opted to join the University of North Carolina's famed set-up, tasting success with the Tar Heels but leaving early in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. She returned to the Gunners having fallen off the radar in her home country somewhat, and yet by the start of 2021 Wubben-Moy had broken into the Arsenal starting line-up and claimed an England squad place, travelling with Great Britain to the Olympics. The 22-year-old has stepped up even further this season under Jonas Eidevall at Arsenal, her ball-playing ability to the fore alongside her mature defensive nous.