Women's Champions League title holder Barcelona reunited with Benfica, Rosengard in group draw

Fri, Oct 20, 2023
Soccer News (AP)

NYON, Switzerland (AP) - Defending champion Barcelona will face Benfica, Rosengard and Eintracht Frankfurt in the group stage of the Women's Champions League.

Barcelona beat both Benfica and Rosengard in the group stage last year.

The 16-team draw, which was made Friday, also reunited Chelsea and Real Madrid in a group for the second straight year. They will be joined by Paris and Hacken.

Paris advanced through two qualifying rounds to reach the group stage. The unheralded French team beat Wolfsburg, which lost to Barcelona in last year's final, and Arsenal, which reached the semifinals last season.

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Also, Paris Saint-Germain was grouped with Bayern Munich, Roma and Ajax, and eight-time champion Lyon will play Slavia Prague, Brann and St. Polten.

Lyon forward Ada Hegerberg, the first ever women's Ballon d'Or winner in 2018, could face her sister Andrine, who plays for Brann.

The group stage is scheduled to start on Nov. 14 and finish on Jan. 31. Two teams advance from each group to the quarterfinals.

The final is scheduled for May 25 in Bilbao, Spain.

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