UEFA Women's Champions League: Players to watch on Matchday 1
Thursday, October 3, 2024
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We highlight four key talents as the group stage kicks off.
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The UEFA Women's Champions League group stage kicks off on Tuesday and Wednesday with some familiar clubs tipped for success, but some unfamiliar names in their squads.
We highlight three big-name players who moved between the competition's leading clubs in the summer. Our other pick made her switch a year earlier but is now looking for a full group campaign after injury disrupted her maiden season with her new team.
Lucy Bronze (Chelsea)
Arsenal's UEFA Women's Cup victory in 2006/07 remains England's only victory in the competition, with Chelsea in 2021/22 the only other finalists. In contrast England right-back Bronze has five winner's medals in her collection, three from as many seasons at Lyon and two more from the last two campaigns at Barcelona.
Familiar with new Chelsea management team Sonia Bompastor and assistant Camille Abily, who were both involved during Bronze's time at Lyon (not to mention defeating the pair's OL team in the 2024 final), the former UEFA Women's Player of the Year has made a typically assured start at Chelsea, not least her stylish finish away to Crystal Palace that opened her goal account for the Blues. Tuesday's visitors Real Madrid are not unfamiliar to Bronze; with Barcelona she faced them five times and the Blaugrana won every time with a goal aggregate of 17-1.
Tabitha Chawinga (Lyon)
Bompastor's Lyon beat Paris Saint-Germain to make the 2024 final but the capital club nearly turned it around in the second leg when Chawinga got her sixth goal of their European campaign. The first Malawian to play in the competition was on loan from China's Wuhan Jianghan University and finished as French league top scorer, but when she made a permanent move to Europe in the summer, it was to join OL.
Chawinga has been quickly in the goals for Lyon, now coached by Joe Montemurro, adding even more firepower to a stellar attack already boasting Melchie Dumornay, Kadidatou Diani, Lindsey Horan, Eugénie Le Sommer, Vicki Becho and all-time competition top scorer Ada Hegerberg, despite the departure of Delphine Cascarino. Lyon made an 11th final last season and were not far short of adding to their eight titles, and Chawinga's power, pace and finishing may yet take them back to the European summit, starting with the visit of Galatasaray on Tuesday.
Ewa Pajor (Barcelona)
Barcelona, though, have not rested on their laurels ahead of a season where they aim to become only the second club after Lyon to win three titles in a row or reach five straight finals. They not only agreed new contracts with Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas, and added Benfica's Kika Nazareth, but they made the statement signing of Wolfsburg's Ewa Pajor. The Poland striker was competition top scorer in 2022/23 as Wolfsburg reached the final, only to lose to Barcelona despite a Pajor goal, and in her nine seasons in Germany won 14 trophies and scored 136 goals despite ill luck with injuries.
The only thing missing was a Champions League crown despite playing in three finals and being part of a run to another. But Pajor has shown her Barcelona ambition early with two goals on her Liga F debut at Deportivo La Coruña and a hat-trick against Granada, when she linked up with Caroline Graham Hansen as brilliantly as they did when both were at Wolfsburg. The kind of form Barcelona need them in as they begin at Manchester City on Wednesday.
Pernille Harder (Bayern)
Bayern also brought in a star name from Wolfsburg in the shape of Lena Oberdorf, but an ACL injury on international duty in July has delayed the midfielder's debut for her new club. Last summer, however, Bayern signed another former Wolfsburg hero in Pernille Harder, but the first months after her arrival from Chelsea were disrupted by injury and although she returned for the second half of their Champions League group campaign, she did not find the net as they ended up missing out on the knockout phase.
Harder got back in the goals as Bayern retained the German championship – her ninth domestic title in as many seasons across four clubs – and has started 2024/25 in similar style, hitting a hat-trick against Hoffenheim. Neither Harder nor Bayern have a Champions League title to their name. The attempt to put that right starts at home to Harder's former domestic rivals Arsenal on Wednesday.