FC Bayern Women to face Barcelona in Champions League semi-finals

After beating Manchester United in the quarter-finals, FC Bayern Women will now face Barcelona in the semi-finals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. The Catalans produced a 12-2 aggregate win in their quarter-final tie against domestic rivals Real Madrid. The first leg in Munich will be on 25/26 April, with the return fixture in Barcelona on 2/3 May.

The ticket portal will open on Friday. Details on exact dates and times, plus the venues, will be announced shortly.

Here’s all you need to know about Barcelona…

Huge from the start

Barcelona’s first-ever game in 1970 was played out in front of a crowd of over 60,000 at the Camp Nou. | © FC Barcelona

Today’s Barcelona Femení emerged from the courageous initiative of 18-year-old Immaculada ‘Imma’ Cabecerán, who in 1970 – despite the ban on women’s football in Spain at the time – convinced the then Barça president, Agustí Montal, to establish a women’s team. In response to Cabecerán’s newspaper appeal, 17 players came forward, trained by former player Antoni Ramallets. And on 25 December 1970 they played their first match as Peña Femenina Barcelonista at the Camp Nou in front of a crowd of over 60,000 – still without official club colours, but already closely linked to Barça.

In the decades that followed, the club became a founding member of the Liga Nacional, was fully integrated into the club’s structure in 2002, and was renamed Futbol Club Barcelona Femení. Following relegation from the Superliga in the 2006/07 season, which threatened the very existence of the women’s section, the team was immediately promoted back to the top flight. This marked the start of a new era of success, culminating in the club’s first league title and qualification for the Champions League in the 2011/12 season, and marking the definitive breakthrough at national level in 2012/13 with the defence of their title and the first domestic double in the club’s history.

Barcelona won their first silverware of 2026 by beating Real Madrid in the domestic super cup. | © Imago

Barcelona are the dominant force in Spanish women’s football. Ten league titles, including an impressive run of six consecutive wins between 2019/20 and 2024/25, are a testament to the team’s domestic dominance. Added to this are 11 triumphs in the Copa de la Reina, 11 Catalan Cup victories and six Spanish Super Cup wins.

Barça have also impressively demonstrated their ambition on the European stage in recent years. They won the Champions League in 2021, 2023 and 2024, cementing their status as one of the leading forces in international women’s football.

Numerous top players

Barcelona duo Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas have been big players in women’s football in recent years. | © Imago

There are few teams in women’s football today with a squad as strong as Barcelona’s. For the past five years, the Ballon d’Or has consistently gone to players from the Catalan side. Aitana Bonmatí, who has won the award three years in a row (2023–2025), and Alexia Putellas, winner in 2021 and 2022, have repeatedly raised the game to new heights.

This core squad is bolstered by up-and-coming players such as Vicky López and top international signings. A prime example is Ewa Pajor. Having moved to Barcelona after nine successful years at Wolfsburg, she scored 25 goals in 28 league appearances in her first season for the Blaugrana.

Free-scoring form

Ewa Pajor and Claudia Pina are the two top scorers in Spain’s domestic league. | © Imago

The Blaugrana are the team to beat once again this season, both domestically and in Europe. In their domestic league, the Catalans sit comfortably at the top of the table with 69 points from 24 games (23 wins, one defeat) and a 13-point lead over Real Madrid. Their attacking record is particularly impressive. In 24 matches, the attack led by top scorers Ewa Pajor and Claudia Pina has netted a whopping 106 goals, whilst the Spanish side have conceded just six in return.

Their only defeat so far came in November last year, beaten 1-0 by Real Sociedad. And it was Bayern’s new signing Edna Imade who sealed Barcelona’s only slip-up of the season so far by converting her penalty.

Bayern’s Barcelona record

The two teams last met on the opening matchday of this season’s league phase. | © FC Bayern / Sofieke van Bilsen

Clashes with Barcelona have repeatedly shown the Munich side just how good the best in Europe are. In the 2018/19 season, they were narrowly beaten 1-0 in both legs in the Champions League semi-finals. In 2022/23, a 3-0 defeat at the Camp Nou was followed by an impressive 3–1 victory at the Allianz Arena. The 7-1 hammering at the start of this season’s league phase was extremely painful but instructive. The Munich side intend to use the upcoming semi-final to once again give the three-time champions a run for their money.

Our round-up of the quarter-final against Manchester United: