Women's Champions League semi-finals lowdown
Thursday, April 23, 2026
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The UEFA Women's Champions League semi-finals are approaching and only two of Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern München and OL Lyonnes will progress to the showpiece in May.
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Just four teams remain in the race to be crowned 2025/26 UEFA Women's Champions League winners in Oslo in May.
In the latest episode of Plugged In, presented by Euronics, we take a look at the two match-ups that will decide who contests the final.
The ties
Bayern München vs Barcelona
Barcelona are aiming to reach a sixth consecutive Women's Champions League final, while Bayern are chasing a first-ever appearance in the competition's showpiece. The sides already met at the start of the 2025/26 campaign, when Barcelona recorded a dominant 7-1 victory over the German team.
This will not be their first semi-final encounter, having previously faced off in 2018/19 when Barcelona advanced with a 2–0 aggregate success. Despite the Catalan side's strong head-to-head record, Bayern have previously upset the Spanish champions by winning 3-1 in the 2022/23 group stage in front of a record crowd in Munich.
Arsenal vs OL Lyonnes
If last season's meeting at the same stage of the competition is anything to go by, we can expect swinging momentum, spectacular goals and plenty of drama. The French club will be keen to make amends for their semi-final exit to Arsenal a year ago and have already got the better of the defending champions this term, winning 2-1 away in their opening league phase fixture.
The history between these sides runs even deeper, with a previous tussle in the 2010/11 semi-finals when OL Lyonnes came out on top. Wendie Renard and Kim Little both featured in that encounter and, 15 years on, the two captains are set to lead their teams in the latest knockout contest.
The players
Former Wolfsburg team-mates Pernille Harder and Ewa Pajor are on seven goals apiece and are likely to line up on opposite sides when Harder's Bayern take on Pajor's Barcelona.
In the other semi-final, Arsenal's Alessia Russo is the competition's leading scorer on eight goals, while it was Melchie Dumornay's double that secured a comeback victory for OL Lyonnes at Meadow Park on Matchday 1.
Could the Gunners' Oslo-born Frida Maanum be poised to compete in a European final on home soil, or will it be her international team-mate Ada Hegerberg who reaches the showpiece with eight-time winners OL Lyonnes instead?
The final
The two teams that progress from the semi-finals will meet in Oslo on Saturday 23 May. Ullevaal Stadion is the host venue and, as well as lifting the trophy, the champions will gain a place in the league phase of the 2026/27 Women's Champions League.
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