Unanswered questions for English teams as Women's Champions League returns
Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City start bids for European glory in unconvincing fashion.
As the Women's Champions League kicked off this week, English clubs Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City found themselves brimming with ambitious hopes for winning the competition. At first glance, their campaigns appeared to start on solid footing. Arsenal and Chelsea secured three points each from narrow home victories, while Manchester City managed a creditable draw against Bayern Munich, after trailing 2-0 at halftime.
However, a closer examination of the week uncovered an unconvincing series of performances, especially considering that last season's finalists Barcelona and Lyon both embarked on their campaigns with commanding victories.
The Women's Super League clubs are now left to ponder whether they possess the necessary prowess to challenge this season. What concerns still remain? And who stands the best chance of lifting the trophy in Warsaw next May?
Last season, Manchester City capitalized on their absence from European competition to dominate the Women's Super League title. Upon their return to the elite tier this season, their squad will undoubtedly face greater challenges. Indeed, this was evident when Bayern Munich, the 2025-26 semi-finalists, stormed ahead with a two-goal lead.
However, Andree Jeglertz's team demonstrated they belonged at this level by recovering to secure a 2-2 draw, thanks to summer signings Beth Mead and Carlotta Wamser, who scored their first goals for the club. This turn of events proved vital, as Khadija Shaw, typically a prolific goalscorer, missed a penalty.
With only two goals and five points from three matches, Arsenal's start to the season has been somewhat lackluster. Despite their bullish intentions, they were unable to convert their dominant possession into more goals. The team's performance against Danish side HB Koge was marked by glitches in the 95th minute, when Renee Slegers introduced a host of changes, including resting Alessia Russo.
Despite these alterations, Arsenal's eight forwards struggled to breach the visitors' defensive line, resulting in a 1.93 expected goals tally that failed to reflect their strong play. The Gunners will undoubtedly need to find a solution to overcome these early struggles.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Sport Football's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
