Paris FC is getting used to long European epics. After a 2023-2024 season marked by victories against Arsenal and Wolfsburg in the qualifying phase of the Women’s Champions League, Sandrine Soubeyrand’s players are starting to know the path to qualification for the group stage of the C1.
After thrashing First Vienna 9-0 in the semi-final of the League Path mini-tournament, the Parisians won 2-0 against Sparta Prague in Linköping (Sweden) this Saturday and keep their hopes of a European top 16 intact. Third in the championship last year, PFC lived up to their status as favorites in this match. Despite a big scare at the start of the game with a shot on the Czechs’ bar, Gaëtane Thiney’s teammates found the opening at the end of the first half with a superb strike from Clara Matéo into Polozen’s top corner, before Kaja Korosec secured the victory with a header in the last ten minutes. The Parisians are now just two games away from a second consecutive qualification for the group stage of the C1.
A new formula from next season
Sure to play in the Champions League play-offs, Paris FC joins Paris Saint-Germain at this stage of the competition. The two French clubs will know their opponent this Monday for a double confrontation that will take place in the coming weeks (first leg on September 18-19, return on September 25-26). At stake, a ticket to qualify for the group stage of the C1 and thus join OL, FC Barcelona, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, the four teams directly qualified.
After introducing a group stage in the 2021-22 season, UEFA has once again opted for a change of format from next year. Like the men’s competition, which is undergoing a makeover this season, the women’s Champions League will see the introduction of an 18-team league stage, as well as the creation of a second club competition.
- RMC Sport