Women's Champions League quarter-final first leg: Wolfsburg vs OL Lyonnes facts
Thursday, March 19, 2026
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Long-time European rivals Wolfsburg and OL Lyonnes face off once again in the UEFA Women's Champions League as the former champions firstly meet in Germany for the first leg of their quarter-final tie.
Wolfsburg, who finished ninth in the league phase on nine points (W3 L3), defeated Juventus 4-2 on aggregate in the knockout phase play-offs (2-2 h, 2-0 a).
OL qualified directly for the last eight having finished second on 16 points in their unbeaten league phase campaign (W5 D1).
Last match
The two sides also met in this season’s league phase, OL winning 3-1 in France on Matchday 3. Ada Hegerberg's double (25, 30) put the hosts in the ascendency before Wendie Renard (72pen) added a third in the second half, Lineth Beerensteyn (80) supplying a consolation for the visitors.
OL have won eight of the 11 meetings between the sides, including the last seven. They also recorded victories in Germany (2-0) and France (1-0) in last season's group stage.
Both previous two-legged ties between Wolfsburg and OL came in the quarter-finals. OL advanced 2-1 on aggregate in 2016/17 (2-0 a, 0-1 h) and 6-3 in 2018/19 (2-1 h, 4-2 a).
The teams' three previous contests in Germany have all resulted in an OL victory.
The teams have contested four Women's Champions League finals. Wolfsburg won the first in 2013 (1-0), but Lyon prevailed in the subsequent three in 2016 (1-1 aet, 4-3 pens), 2018 (4-1 aet) and 2020 (3-1).
Wolfsburg were 4-0 winners at home to Paris Saint-Germain on Matchday 1 this season, their only victory in their last seven encounters with French teams (D2 L4).
OL have won 11 of their last 12 games against German clubs (L1) and four of their last five in Germany.
Two-time winners Wolfsburg won back-to-back European titles courtesy of that final victory against Lyon in 2013 and Tyresö 12 months later (4-3). They have reached the final on four further occasions, most recently in 2023 when they lost 2-3 to Barcelona in Eindhoven having led 2-0 at half-time.
The German side have now reached the quarter-finals 13 – more than any other German club – with all their last-eight appearances in the last 14 seasons.
Last season they lost in the last eight to runners-up Barcelona (1-4 h, 1-6 a). They had finished second behind OL in Group A, ahead of Roma (0-1 a, 6-1 h) and Galatasaray (5-0 a, 5-0 h).
OL have been crowned champions of Europe on eight occasions from 11 finals – both competition records. Their last success came when they defeated Barcelona 3-1 in the 2022 final in Turin.
OL are appearing in the quarter-finals for the 17th time – a joint record with Arsenal.
The French outfit finished with a 100% record in last season's group stage ahead of Wolfsburg, Roma and Galatasaray. They eased past Bayern in the quarter-finals (2-0 a, 4-1 h) before a semi-final elimination at the hands of eventual winners Arsenal (2-1 a, 1-4 h).
Key stats
This 12th meeting between the sides equals OL Lyonnes against Paris Saint Germain as the most played fixture in UEFA women's club history.
Wolfsburg have won eight of their previous 12 quarter-final ties.
The German side have lost only five of their last 25 home Women's Champions League matches (W16 D4).
Wolfsburg have scored in added time in five of their eight fixtures in this season's competition.
Alexandra Popp has made 25 Women's Champions League quarter-final appearances, behind only Wendie Renard's 26.
OL have won all three quarter-finals against German opposition and 14 of their 16 ties at this stage overall.
The French club have lost only two of their last 28 Women's Champions League matches (W23 D3).
OL are unbeaten in their last 18 away European games (W15 D3), since a 2-1 loss against Juventus in the 2021/22 quarter-final first leg.
Ada Hegerberg is a goal away from becoming the first player to reach 70 in UEFA women's club competition.