Women's Champions League: Chelsea draw Real Madrid, BK Hacken and Paris FC in group stage
Chelsea were semi-finalists in last season's Champions League, losing to eventual winners Barcelona; fellow semi-finalists Arsenal and debutants Man Utd failed to make it through qualifying; group stage begins on November 14-15
Friday 20 October 2023 17:09, UK
Chelsea have drawn Real Madrid in Group D of the Women's Champions League along with BK Hacken and Paris FC.
It is the second year in a row that Chelsea have been drawn against Real Madrid in the group stage. Last season Emma Hayes' side won their home match 2-0, before drawing 1-1 away in Spain.
Speaking about the draw, Hayes said: "To get to the group stage, everybody is a good team. We respect all the opponents we might face.
"We know Real Madrid is a top team, Hacken are a top team performing really well, and Paris FC deservedly progressed into the group stage.
- Man Utd boss Marc Skinner criticises 'crazy' WCL qualification rules
- Women's Champions League fixtures | Tables
"We've been in the Champions League a long time to know that this is a really tough competition and we've got a lot to prepare for."
Real Madrid were knocked out in the group stages while Chelsea progressed along with Paris Saint-Germain. The Blues went on to reach the semi-finals last season, but were beaten by eventual champions Barcelona.
Paris FC have reached the group stage in its current form for the first time, while BK Hacken have reached this stage once previously.
The French team went through two qualifying rounds, knocking out last season's semi-finalists Arsenal in the first round, before dismissing the Gunners' rivals in that last-four tie, Wolfsburg, last week.
Fellow WSL side and Champions League debutants Manchester United also lost to Paris Saint-Germain in the second qualifying round.
Current Champions League holders Barcelona were drawn in Group A, along with Rosengard, Benfica and Eintracht Frankfurt. The German side are featuring in their first Champions League group stage.
Champions League group draw in full
Group A
Barcelona
Rosengard
Benfica
Eintracht Frankfurt
Group B
Lyon
Slavia Prague
St Polten
SK Brann
Group C
Bayern Munich
PSG
Roma
Ajax
Group D
Chelsea
Real Madrid
BK Hacken
Paris FC
Skinner clarifies WCL qualifying comments
Manchester United manager Marc Skinner has clarified his comments around the Champions League qualifying format.
Skinner criticised the qualification rules after losing to PSG in their qualifier on Wednesday, suggesting it was "crazy" United played the French side in a qualifying round.
However, he moved to clear up his comments on Friday, suggesting that the competition could be expanded.
Skinner explained: "My comment was much more about the breadth and quality, I believe there is a need for more teams to be in this competition, and then you'll see who is average and who isn't.
"Who knows, we might have been average in a group stage, you don't know that. If there was any offence taken then I'm sorry for that, but that's not what I meant.
"What I meant, and I'll be clear on it, was I think there should be a broader scope of teams and there should be more teams in this competition so that we can actually then see where the elite level lies within Europe.
"I still think that's a bit cloudy because the reality is, if we were playing a team that are from what people might believe to be a league that doesn't have the experience, then we don't know until we've played those, we only ever play those teams in friendlies.
"If you really want the real quality from all of the European leagues to rise, then you've got to play them against each other, which I think now other teams are ready for.
"If you enter that stage and are getting through, then congratulations. We're not there so we can talk about what that looks like, but they are there so congratulations to everyone who's gone through."
Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall also believes that English teams need to improve, adding: "We're number four in Europe [in UEFA's coefficient rankings]. We can't say that's anyone else's problem except our own. We need to improve, English teams have not done well enough in Europe.
"The Conti Cup group that Manchester United are in now might be tougher than some Women's Champions League groups. But [UEFA] needs to grow all of women's football in Europe - that's really important. They can't only take [WSL] opinions into account."
Chelsea manager Hayes agrees that the format should be looked at, but stressed that there should be no "sense of entitlement" in the competition.
"We have to respect the format. It's been in place and it has evolved. We had to earn our place in the Champions League," she said.
"Do we need to look at the format in light of the growth of the women's game? Absolutely.
"There is a lot more investment across many leagues so perhaps we need to look at a format which is similar to the men's competition, where there are larger groups from the off.
"We have to look at the smaller nations who deserve the right to be in it as much as any English team does.
"I have a history of losing in the early parts of Europe and you have to gain that experience and momentum, which takes time.
"What I don't want to happen is that there is a sense of entitlement. It's about time UEFA changes that [format], but we should not disrespect the format as it is because it takes away from teams like Paris FC, who have worked for a number of years to get in."
Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor feels the Champions League qualifying process is seeing teams who "probably should be in the group stage" miss out and life made "easier" for sides automatically through.
He said on Thursday: "You've heard it from me before - probably people weren't listening then, and now it repeats itself this season.
"I think it's so difficult. It's a shame because you lose teams of good standing who probably should be in the group stage. I probably think it makes it easier for the ones who are already there, the likes of Bayern, Lyon, Chelsea, Barcelona. It becomes a much easier qualifying process for them, when they are playing teams that are a lesser level, there's no doubt about that.
"It is really tough, you work so hard all season to guarantee a European spot and then within a game or two games you're done. And I don't think just with us in the WSL, I think it's all around. There's other teams that have fallen foul.
"It's obviously an inclusion thing, where everybody has the opportunity, but I think what it does is we do tend to lose probably the better teams at an earlier stage than probably needs be."
Champions League 2023/24 dates
Group stage
Matchday 1: 14/15 November
Matchday 2: 22/23 November
Matchday 3: 13/14 December
Matchday 4: 20/21 December
Matchday 5: 24/25 January
Matchday 6: 30/31 January
Quarter-final and semi-final draw
6 February
Quarter-finals
First leg: 19/20 March
Second leg: 27/28 March
Semi-finals
First leg: 20/21 April
Second leg: 27/28 April
Final - San Mames Stadium, Bilbao
25 May
