UEFA Women's Champions League Highlights: Barcelona Win 7-1 Vs Bayern; Lyon Seal 2-1 Reversal Against Arsenal

A very warm welcome to all the football fans tuning in to the start of our live blog on the UEFA Women’s Champions League 2025-26 fixtures. We have three big matches tonight, so stay tuned for pre-match updates and lineups as they are released.

Juventus Starting XI: Paule Peyraud-Magnin (gk); Mathilde Harviken, Cecilia Salvai, Martina Lenzini; Estela Carbonell, Emma Stolen Godo, Lia Walti, Barbara Bonansea; Cristiana Girelli, Tatiana Pinto, Amalie Vangsgaard

Juventus Bench: Alessia Capelletti (gk), Danielle de Jong (gk), Emma Kullberg, Martina Rosucci, Viola Calligaris, Abi Brighton, Eva Schatzer, Lindsey Thomas, Paulina Krumbiegel, Chiara Beccari, Ginevra Moretti, Michela Cambiaghi

Benfica Starting XI: Lena Pauels (gk); Marit Lund, Diana Gomes, Carole Costa, Catarina Amado; Chandra Davidson, Anna Gasper, Beatriz Cameirao, Lucia Alves; Caroline Moller Hansen, Nyclone Raysla

Benfica Bench: Rute Costa (gk), Thais Lima (gk), Christy Ucheibe, Carissa Boeckmann, Carolina Tristao, Leticia Almeida, Pauleta, Cristina Martin-Priesto, Diana Silva, Lara Martins, Rakel Engesvik, Salome Prat

All the UEFA Women's Champions League 2025-26 matches, including Juventus vs Benfica, will be live-streamed in India on the FanCode app and website. There will be no television broadcasts of the tournament in India. You can also follow the live scores on Outlook India for free.

The referee blows her whistle, and Benfica get tonight's match underway. There's a bit of history involved, as this is the first-ever league-phase match in the UEFA Women's Champions League. Stay tuned for live updates.

A wonderful build-up from Benfica results in a well-deserved goal for the Eagles, capping off an extraordinary start for the hosts. Raysla recevies the ball on the left and cuts it back, and the incoming Lucia Alves finishes it past Peyraud-Magnin.

What a response it has been from Juventus. Ever since they went behind, the Bianconeri have pushed hard, and finally have their equaliser. Carbonell floated in a good ball in the box, and it was headed towards the middle of the box by Bonansea. Centre-back Salvai, making her 150th appearance tonight, heads it towards the far corner.

This was a goal that was coming for a long time, and Juventus have turned the match around on its head. A ball is floated into the box, and full credit to the Italian side for keeping the change alive. After a couple of headers, it falls from Girelli to Bonansea in the middle of the box, whose scrappy finish goes past the goalkeeper.

Drama in Turin! There's a long VAR check for possible offside while Girelli released the ball for Bonansea. The referee ultimately blows her whistle, and the goal is overruled! The match is level again. Replays show the most marginal of offside calls against the Italian forward.

The referee blows her whistle for half time, and manager Massimiliano Canzi will be very disappointed that his side are not going into the break with a lead, despite being utterly dominant for most of the match. Benfica, meanwhile, will look to regroup after a fiery start to the match.

Both sets of players are out on the pitch, and the referee blows her whistle to get the second half underway. Juventus get the ball rolling for the next 45 minutes, but which team will come out on top in this year's first Women's Champions League match? One change for Benfica, with Davidson coming off for Christy Ucheibe.

Juventus will feel like that have done everything but score the second goal. Barbara Bonansea has yet another terrific shot at goal that brought out a superb instinctive save from Pauels. 11 shots from the home side, but still just the one goal.

The game has gotten much more stretched in the last twenty minutes or so, with Benfica finding nback their footing in the game. However, with both sides tiring, they are committing a large number of players forward in an almost frantic search for an equaliser.

Meanwhile, Krumbiegel and Cambiaghi are coming on for Juventus, replacing Tatiana Pinto and Girelli.

Just as the match was looking destined for a stalement, defender Salvai comes up with another well-taken goal out of nowhere. Cambiaghi did well to win her side a corner, which is floated into the box and headed towards the middle. Salvai showed supreme awareness to poke a foot and finish it past Pauels to give her side the lead.

After five enthralling minutes of stoppage time, the referee finally blows her whistle for the half time. It has been a stunning performance from the hosts, who dominated Benfica ever since going down early. However, they had to wait till the final stages of the game to get a well-deserved winner to get off to a winning start in this historic UEFA Women's Champions League season.

Barcelona Starting XI: Catalina Coll (gk); Esnee Vrygts, Mapi Leon, Irene Paredes, Ona Batlle; Alexia Putellas, Patricia Guijarro, Aitana Bonmati; Salma Paralluelo, Ewa Pajor, Caroline Graham Hansen

Barcelona Bench: Gemma Font (gk), Maritxell Font (gk), Laia Aleixandri, Marta Torrejon, AIcha Camara, Clara Serrajordi Diaz, Francisca Nazareth, Vicky Lopez, ALba Cano, Sydney Schertenleib, Claudia Pina

Bayern Munich Starting XI: Ena Mahmutovic (gk); Carolin Simon, Magdalena Eriksson, Stine Ballisager, Franziska Kett; Georgia Stanway, Arianna Caruso; Klara Buhl, Pernille Harder, Momoko Tanikawa; Lea Schuller

Bayern Munich Bench: Anna Klink (gk), Maria Luisa Grohs (gk), Glodis Perla Viggosdottir, Tuva Hansen, Guilia Gwinn, Katharina Naschenweng, Lena Oberdorf, Lina Dallmann, Alara Sehitler, Natalia Padilla

Arsenal Starting XI: Daphne van Domselaar (gk); Taylor Hinds, Stephanie Catley, Katie Reid, Emily Fox; Mariona Caldentey, Kim Little; Bethany Mead, Frida Maanum, Chloe Kelly; Alessia Russo

Arsenal Bench: Manuela ZInsberger (gk), Anneke Borbe (gk), Lotte Wubben-Moy, Laia Codina, Katie McCabe, Jenna Nighswonger, Caitlin Foord, Victoria Pelova, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Sophie Harwood, Olivia Smith, Stina Blackstenius

Lyon Starting XI: Christiane Endler (gk); Selma Bacha, Ingrid Syrstad Engen, Wendie Renard, Tarciane; Lindsey Heaps, Korbin Shrader; Tabitha Chawinga, Melchie Dumornay, Kadidiatou Diani; Marie-Antoinette Katoto

Lyon Bench: Teagan Micah (gk), Elma Junttila-Nelhage, Ashley Lawrence, Alice Sombath, Sofie Svava, Damaris BErta Egurrola, Lily Yohannes, Jule Brand, Vicki Becho, Ada Hegerberg, Ines Benyahia, Liana Joseph

The whisles are blown, and both of the big matches are underway in London and Barcelona. Eight time champions Olympique Lyon will face the challenge of last year's winners Arsenal, while five-time winners Barcelona will look to regain their glory against German giants Bayern Munich. Stay tuned!

What a start for Barcelona! The Bayern defenders fail to clear the ball and it falls to Putellas outside the box. She takes a touch and then has a curling effort towards the far corner. The ball takes a massive swing and finds the back of the net past a diving Mahmutovic.

Another quick start in the other match as Arsenal take an early lead through Alessia Russo. Beth Mead did exceedingly well to dribble her way past a horde of defenders, and her pass took a deflection to find Russo on the left edge of the box, and the forward finishes first time with his left foot to find the back of the net.

Barcelona double their lead from a set piece routine. A corner finds Paredes, whose header crashes against the top bar and falls to Pajor. The striker throws up a scissor kick to send the ball into the back of the net past two defenders.

Lyon are back in the game, just 11 minutes after coneding the goal. It's Melchie Dumornay with the goal, moments after her shot from inside the box was saved by van Domselaar. The Haitian striker makes no mistake with the rebound, finding the back of the net and levelling the scores.

Lyon have turned the game around on its head, and its Dumornay once again with the goal. After Maanum's shot was saved on the other end, Lyon came forward with intent, and the striker found the back of the net with a solid strike towards the near post from just outside the box.

The first half is going from bad to worse for Bayern Munich, as Esmee Brugts increases Barcelona's lead to three. It was a terrific buildup by the Catalans, with Bonmati finding Putellas in the box, who opted to lay it on for Brugts to find the back of the net.

The goalscoring frenzy continues, with FOUR in the opening half-an-hour. This time, it's Bayern's turn to pull one back through Klara Buhl. A terrific cross-field ball from Caruso found full-back Kett, who whips it into the box, with Buhl in the right place at the right time to give the German side some hope.

Barcelona's three-goal lead is restored, as Salma Paralluelo scores with a calm finish from inside the box right before the break. A terrific display of the famed tiki-taka football. Bonmati played it to Brugts on the left edge of the box, and she found Paralluelo in the centre of the penalty area to slot it past Mahmutovic.

The referee blows her whistle, and it's half time at Meadow Park. Arsenal had a stunning start, taking the lead in the seventh minute through Russo, but Dumornay scored twice in five minutes to give the French side a slender lead as they go into the break.

It's half time at Estadi Johan Cruyff, and Barcelona - one of the favourites to win this year's UEFA Women's Champions League - have a massive lead against Bayern Munich. Putellas, Pajor, and Brugts gave the Catalans a three-goal lead within half-an-hour. Despite Buhl pulling one back, Paralluelo's injury-time goal restored the hosts' dominance in the match.

Both matches have resumed for the second half. Arsenal need to kick up their game a notch to find back against a rejuvenated Lyon side. Bayern, meanwhile, have a much tougher mountain to climb facing what looks like an unstoppable Barca Femeni team.

Bayern thought that they had ha'ved the deficit just four minutes into the second half, but the goal is soon overrulled after Schuller was adjudged to be offside during the build-up after a VAR intervention. Slight respite for Barcelona.

Barcelona's dominance in their opening match continues, and Pajor nets her second goal of the game with a good finish to find the back of the net. After a mistake in the back by Bayern, Brugts played the ball to Putellas, who laid it off to Pajor to find the near corner with an easy tap-in.

Even though it's Arsenal who are chasing the game, Lyon are the ones looking more likely to score the third goal of the game. Both Diani and Katoto had good chances from near the penalty area that went just wide of the post, and Shrader is the latest to bring out a save from van Domselaar.

Barcelona thought they had gotten their sixth goal of the night through Irene Paredes, with the centre-back poking the ball into the back of the net from close range after a cutback from Bonmati. However, after a quick VAR check, the ball is adjudged to have gone out of play during the buildup.

Barcelona finally get their sixth goal of the night, and it comes from the second-half substitute Claudia Pina. It was a lethal counter attacking move from the Catalans, resulting in Vicky Lopez playing it for Pina to find the back of the net.

Someone please blow the whistle and put Bayern Munich out of their misery. Pina gets her second of the night, and Barcelona's SEVENTH of the game with a good finish from inside the box. Again, terrific buildup in front of the box, with Brugts cutting it back to Pina to register her second assist tonight.

It's full time in Barcelona, and the hosts have run away with a massive 7-1 win over Bayern. It has been a statement win from a side considered by many to be one of the favourites to win this year's tournament, and this win - aided by braces from Pina and Pajor - will be strengthen that tag further.

It's all over in both of the matches. Arsenal have failed to fight back after going 2-1 down in the second half, with Lyon dictating the attacking play. This is not the start that manager Renee Slegers would have wanted for the Gunners in their title defence.

Meanwhile, in the third match, OH Leuven have fought back from going 2-0 down in the first half to tie the scores 2-2.