Chelsea cruised to a 6-0 win over Austrian side St Polten on matchday three of the Women's Champions League league phase on Tuesday night, which included a landmark 150th goal scored by the club in European competition. Sonia Bompastor's Blues move up to second in the standings, at least for the next 24 hours, with Sam Kerr working hard and rewarded for her efforts.
Chelsea have been handed an injury blow ahead of their Women's Champions League clash against St Polten as first-choice goalkeeper Hannah Hampton has been ruled out of the match due to injury. Swiss international Livia Peng is set to take Hampton's place in the starting XI for the match in Austria as Sonia Bompastor's side aim to maintain their unbeaten start to the league phase.
It's been impossible to escape the storm surrounding the release of Mary Earps' new book this past week, with the former England No.1 making headlines aplenty for her comments on Sarina Wiegman and Hannah Hampton in particular - and not in a good way. Earps has since said she "never intentionally" meant to "hurt" anyone, but it's hard to imagine that Hampton has not been negatively impacted by everything that has unfolded over the course of the last seven days.
After winning an unprecedented Champions League title back in May, expectations were high for this Arsenal side coming into the 2025-26 season. Could the Gunners use their European success as a springboard and really challenge for the Women's Super League title this time around? Could they finally end Chelsea's incredible dominance which has now seen them claim each of the last six league crowns, as well as 13 of the last 18 domestic honours?
Alessia Russo is one of 11 Lionesses on the list of nominees for this year's FIFPRO Women's World 11 which also includes seven players from the Spain side England beat in the European Championship final - but not Mariona Caldentey, who put La Roja ahead in that game and finished as runner-up to Aitana Bonmati at the Ballon d'Or.
Bayern Munich and Germany have been dealt a huge blow with the news that Lena Oberdorf has torn the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee for the second time in little more than a year. The 23-year-old only returned from the first of those setbacks this past summer but is now facing another lengthy spell on the sidelines and another arduous recovery, having described the previous one as "hell".
Arsenal have been dealt a devastating blow after goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during training. The 29-year-old Austrian shot-stopper sustained the injury just a day before the Gunners’ 2–0 Champions League victory over Benfica on Thursday. Although she had lost her starting place, she now faces a very long spell on the sidelines.
Arsenal star Beth Mead admits that she is "not the biggest fan" of the new Women's Champions League format. Changes have been made to elite European competition that mirror those made in the men's game. Rather than a group stage playing out, all 18 teams are now placed into one league table - with the Gunners hoping to successfully navigate that en route to defending their continental crown.
Arsenal will be relieved to have hit the international break after their sluggish form continued on Thursday, albeit in a 2-0 victory at Benfica that got their Champions League title defence up and running. The Gunners have found things tough as of late, winning just one of their last five games coming into this fixture, and those struggles continued in a rather toothless performance in Portugal despite goals from Beth Mead and Alessia Russo.
It's unlikely that Maya Le Tissier didn't see the discourse around her going into Manchester United's Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid. After Sarina Wiegman said she saw the Red Devils' captain as more of a right-back, rather than a centre-back, the conversation was unavoidable, with everyone from Ian Wright to the Man Utd social media admin getting involved to wonder just why the England boss doesn't see Le Tissier as a serious contender for a starting role in the heart of the Lionesses defence. Perhaps it even served as fuel for the player herself, because she was outstanding in the 1-0 win in Spain that maintained United's perfect start to their first ever UWCL campaign.
England's Lionesses have yet another injury concern on their hands when it comes to their October fixtures after Jess Park was ruled out of Manchester United's final game before the international break. The winger has been in fine form since joining from Manchester City on deadline day but is now a doubt for her country's first game since Sarina Wiegman guided them to another European Championship triumph.
Barcelona Femeni captain Alexia Putellas created Women's Champions League history on Wednesday as her goal against Roma saw her leapfrog former striker Jenni Hermoso and three-time Ballon d'Or holder Aitana Bonmati. Putellas will now be eyeing further history with the dominant Catalan outfit just a month after he she received a mouth-watering offer from Paris Saint-Germain Feminines.
USWNT midfielder Lily Yohannes announced her arrival on the Champions League stage with an extraordinary long-range strike for OL Lyonnes, scoring from 57 yards in a commanding 3-0 victory over Austrian side St. Pölten on Wednesday. The 18-year-old scored her first Champions League goal just hours after being named to Emma Hayes' USWNT roster.
With two open-play goals in their last three games, a lot of the talk coming into Chelsea's Women's Champions League clash with Paris FC on Wednesday night was about the dominant force in English football, and one of the front-runners for this trophy, not being quite themselves in front of goal. But Sonia Bompastor's Blues were able to quieten those doubters in their final game before the international break, with a 4-0 victory over the Parisians at Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal are hopeful of having Leah Williamson back from injury before Christmas, according to head coach Renee Slegers. The Lionesses captain has been on the sidelines since sustaining a knee injury during England's Euro 2025 triumph that required surgery shortly after the tournament concluded. But she is "progressing well" in her recovery, which hit an important milestone on Tuesday when she did her first training session on the pitch since that procedure.
When Chelsea signed Ellie Carpenter in the summer transfer window, one of the first thoughts for many was: What does this mean for Lucy Bronze? Eight years younger than the Lionesses star, Carpenter firmly established herself as a world-class right-back during a trophy-laden five-year stint with Lyon. Was she now moving to London to usurp one of England's biggest names?
As Sarina Wiegman prepared to announce her first England squad since the Lionesses triumphed at the European Championship back in July, one of the biggest questions surrounded Millie Bright. After missing that triumph, citing physical and mental fatigue as she withdrew from selection, would the Chelsea captain be available again? Three months on, we have our answer.
When Manchester City and Manchester United completed a stunning deadline day deal that saw Jess Park and Grace Clinton swap clubs, there were big questions to be asked of things on the red side of the city. Given United were in need of much greater depth in their squad, it didn't make total sense for them to engage in a one-in, one-out deal, particularly as it saw them bid farewell to one of their biggest stars.
It was by no means a classic but Manchester United will certainly never forget the events of Wednesday night, as the Red Devils beat Valerenga 1-0 to secure their first-ever win in the Women's Champions League proper. While their formal European journey might not have started with the sort of glamour fixture many would associate the competition with, it was one that felt important to emerge from with all three points given some of the challenges ahead and United did exactly that, thanks to a first-half penalty from captain Maya Le Tissier.
Chelsea made a surprisingly sloppy start to their Women's Champions League campaign on Wednesday night, dropping two points away to a Twente side that featured just one senior international in its starting line-up. The Blues are expected to be one of the main contenders for the trophy this season but they didn't look like it here, as Sonia Bompastor's much-changed team was made to work, and work hard, for a 1-1 draw in the Netherlands.
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