NEW YORK, Switzerland (AP) – Title holders Arsenal must win a quick rematch with O Reuven to earn the right to face city rivals Chelsea in the Women’s Champions League quarterfinals drawn on Thursday.
Arsenal beat Leuven 3-0 in Belgium on wednesday Finished 5th in the first race 18 team standings format, sending the defending champion to the knockout playoff round.
Arsenal return to Leuven for the play-off first leg on February 11 or 12, with the winner of the two games hosting English champions Chelsea in the quarter-final first leg on March 24 or 25.
The Spanish quarter-finals will be drawn with three-time champions Barcelona set to face the winner of a two-leg play-off between Real Madrid and Paris FC.
OL Lyonne, a record eight-time European champion, awaits the winner of the play-off between Wolfsburg and Juventus in the quarter-finals.
Manchester United will face Atletico Madrid in the play-offs for the prize, which will see them face Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.
The new Women’s Champions League format will be modeled after the Men’s Champions League, which started last year, with the league’s opening match played over six rounds instead of eight.
The top four teams in the standings (Barcelona, OL Lyon, Chelsea and Bayern) advanced directly to the quarter-finals. Teams ranked 5th through 12th advanced to the playoff round, while teams ranked 13th through 18th were eliminated.
The final will be held on May 23rd in Oslo, Norway.
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