Showpiece games in women’s football are a joy but they hinder Champions League teams
In the women’s game, there is an additional pressure. With this weekend’s domestic games taking place between the Champions League quarter-finals and also during the men’s international break, many leagues use it as an opportunity to schedule ‘showpiece’ fixtures in bigger stadiums.
There were plenty of incredible examples of the success of this over the weekend. Newcastle United hosted Sunderland at St James’ Park in the Tyne-Wear derby in front of 38,502 people, a Women’s Championship record and more than were at the Emirates to watch Arsenal thrash Liverpool 4-0 in the Women’s Super League on Saturday (35,628).
In Germany, rather than league games, they hosted the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal, with Hamburger SV selling out their 57,000-seater Volksparkstadion for their match against Werder Bremen. It was a record attendance for a women’s club game in Germany and was sold out two weeks before kick-off.
For teams with an eye on Europe, having a huge match plonked in the middle of a two-legged tie is hardly ideal. Nowhere was that more true than at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, where Manchester City and Chelsea played out their third game in a four-match epic.
With City 2-0 up from the first leg of the two sides’ Champions League quarter-final, it felt like Chelsea needed to show that they could respond if they were to have a chance at overturning the deficit at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night. The irony, though, was that City were far more reliant on a good result in this fixture than in any of the other three matches they are playing, given their struggles to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Chelsea are no strangers to the scourge of Manchester City away, a fixture they have enjoyed limited success in. Two years ago, Chelsea were preparing to defend a one-goal lead over Sonia Bompastor’s Lyon when they headed up north. With her team 2-0 down after 30 minutes, Emma Hayes hauled off some of her side at 36 minutes, effectively throwing the match with the next Champions League fixture in mind.
Their first-half performance on Sunday looked like it could lead to a similar situation, although Bompastor, now Chelsea manager, made six changes from the side that had started on Wednesday night, which reflected where the game stood in Chelsea’s priority list.
However, a rocky first-half start where Kerolin Nicoli continued her torment of Chelsea’s back line — she opened the scoring in 32nd minute — threatened to make Thursday’s European match even more ominous. Chelsea’s second-half performance, however, which saw them take 23 shots and create seven big chances, changed the mood completely. It might have taken until the 91st minute for Erin Cuthbert to seal a 2-1 win for the west Londoners but it was their best half of football for months, potentially even ever under Bompastor. It will give the Chelsea dressing room the faith they can turn things around on Thursday.
Arsenal will have been similarly heartened by their own performance against Liverpool at the Emirates. Like Chelsea, Renee Slegers’s team will have to overturn a two-goal deficit against Real Madrid in order to make the semi-finals. The four goals scored against a Liverpool side who had knocked them out of the FA Cup two weeks ago, on a much better playing surface, will surely help them believe that they can flip the script on Wednesday night.
The issue is that Real Madrid had an even bigger confidence boost of their own. The showpiece fixture in Spain over the weekend was a Clasico at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, the former Olympic stadium where Barcelona’s men are playing while the Camp Nou is renovated. Real Madrid had never beaten Barcelona in 18 previous meetings and when Alba Redondo put them 1-0 up at half-time, it was the first time they had ever led at that stage of a Clasico. After Caroline Graham Hansen equalised for Barcelona, Madrid were handed some good fortune by the referee when what appeared to be a perfect legitimate goal from Jana Fernandez was ruled offside. Then Caroline Weir scored two late goals to give them an historic 3-1 win.
Given Barcelona’s substantial three-goal cushion against Wolfsburg in the Champions League, they had less to worry about next week than most, but the mental strain of playing these big games back-to-back does not disappear, particularly given the strength of feeling in this rivalry.
In France, it is a different situation, where the league actively works with French Champions League sides to help their schedule go as smoothly as possible. Lyon, who are 2-0 up over Bayern Munich after their first leg, made nine changes to beat ninth-placed Saint-Etienne 5-0.
It is a stark contrast as to how the rest of Europe approaches fixture scheduling and maybe goes some way to explain Lyon’s incredible success at the top of the women’s game over the past 15 years.
The desire to use the men’s international break to draw greater attention to women’s football is an understandable one from a marketing perspective but the impact it can have on teams’ seasons can do more harm than good. There are genuine questions of fairness about altering the schedule in favour of Champions League teams — particularly in England where there are four sides competing for three top positions — but actively making things harder is something that should be moved away from.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
UK Women's Football
2025 The Athletic Media Company
-
Champions League knockouts: Find out the path to the final in Munich
As the new-look Champions League enters the round of 16, here's how the knockout rounds map out.ESPN - Mar. 11 -
Squares is back! Play BBC Sport's new Champions League game
Welcome to Uefa Champions League Squares - the new BBC Sport game which you can play alongside the live match action.BBC News - Mar. 12 -
City v Chelsea: Barclays Women’s Super League match preview
All the information you need ahead of our Barclays Women’s Super League clash with Chelsea.When and WhereCity go head-to-head with Sonia Bompastor’s side following our UEFA Champions league meetin...Yahoo Sports - 5d -
Champions League round of 16 scenarios: What Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barca, Arsenal, PSG need to advance
Second-leg matches will take place on March 11 and 12CBS Sports - Mar. 9 -
Barcelona blitz Wolfsburg in Women's Champions League quarter-final win
Barcelona Femení have placed one foot in the door to the Women's Champions League semi-finals after a resounding 4-1 win against Frauen-Bundesliga giant Wolfsburg. Scorers: Minge 79'; Dijkstra (ow...Yahoo Sports - 6d -
Nottingham Forest have a Champions League place within their grasp
The last time the club played in Europe’s premier club competition, in 1980, they were the defending champions. By WhoScored . Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 win over Manchester City on Saturday was a ...The Guardian - Mar. 12 -
The 120-year-old league where every game is at home
BBC Radio Bristol visits the amateur football league which has 41 teams, more than 1,500 players, and over 400 matches a season, but no away games.Yahoo Sports - 3d -
Barça to honor team doctor at Benfica UCL match
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has said his team want to honour the memory of Carles Miñarro in the Champions League against Benfica on Tuesday after the team doctor unexpectedly passed away over the ...ESPN - Mar. 10 -
Five of the best games between Italy and Germany
Italy and Germany meet in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals tonight in an epic encounter between two footballing heavyweights.The two teams have often collided in crunch clashes and we’ve ...Yahoo Sports - 5d
More from Yahoo Sports
-
Sterling's Madison Austin named All-State second team by Illinois Media
Mar. 25—The Illinois Media All-State girls basketball teams were released Tuesday, with a trio of Sauk Valley area players earning spots. In Class 3A, Sterling senior Madison Austin was voted to ...Yahoo Sports - 19m -
2025 NFL free agency: Best players available list headlined by Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen
There are still several big names left on the market. Will they end up with your team?Yahoo Sports - 25m -
Lauren Macuga is skiing fast and having a blast doing it
Lauren Macuga from Park City, Utah, finished the World Cup season fourth in downhill rankings. She's a medal contender for the 2026 Olympics.Yahoo Sports - 2h -
Swiatek gets extra security after harassment
World number two Iga Swiatek is receiving additional security at the Miami Open after she was harassed by a spectator during her practice.Media reports said that Swiatek was verbally harassed by a ...Yahoo Sports - 4h -
Raiders sign former Panthers veteran starting TE
Tuesday the Raiders added some depth to the tight end room with the addition of longtime Panthers TE Ian Thomas.Yahoo Sports - 7h
More in Sports
-
Jimmy's back in Miami: Follow live as the Warriors visit the Heat
The Golden State Warriors take on the Miami Heat with Jimmy Butler returning to face the team that traded him in January.ESPN - 11m -
Follow live: Rivals Brazil, Argentina meet in World Cup qualifier
nullESPN - 12m -
Ronaldo: Penalty miss? Knew Portugal would win
Cristiano Ronaldo had no doubt that Portugal would progress to the UEFA Nations League semifinals even after missing a penalty on Sunday.ESPN - 16m -
Blatter, Platini cleared in FIFA corruption case
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and France great Michel Platini were both cleared of corruption charges by a Swiss court on Tuesday.ESPN - 16m -
Güler, Szoboszlai continue feud: 'This guy a joke'
Real Madrid star Arda Güler called Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai "a joke" on Monday after the pair clashed in the UEFA Nations League game between Turkey and Hungary.ESPN - 16m