Teams rise and fall rapidly in the fast-developing world of European women’s football.
Debutants Manchester United exited the Champions League in the second round this season, losing 4-2 to Paris Saint-Germain on aggregate in October. Arsenal dropped out earlier than that, knocked out on penalties by Paris FC after a 3-3 draw at the start of September.
But new girls on the block Ajax — having qualified for the group stage for the first time this year — are soaring.
The Dutch side have taken the competition by storm but, after beating Dinamo Minsk (3-0 in a one-off first-round tie) and FC Zurich (8-0 on aggregate), the path to European success got harder.
GO DEEPER
The questions Arsenal face after their shock UEFA Women’s Champions League exit
Ajax were drawn in the tournament’s ‘group of death’ (Group C), with sides who all either won or were runners-up in their domestic leagues last season: Bundesliga and Serie A champions Bayern Munich and Roma, and PSG, who finished second in the Division 1 Feminine. All three also made last year’s Champions League quarter-finals.
Yet with four of the six matches played, Ajax top the group.
Having beaten PSG 2-0 and Bayern 1-0 in Amsterdam, a win in Paris today (Wednesday) would see them through to the quarter-finals. They could…
