OH Leuven become first Belgian women's team to reach Champions League play-offs
Oud-Heverlee Leuven’s women qualified for the play-offs of the knockout phase of the Champions League on Wednesday night, despite a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal. They are the first Belgian women’s team to survive the league phase of the tournament.
Wednesday's loss was largely expected, with Arsenal the defending champions. Nevertheless, OHL secured qualification because their closest challengers, Vålerenga, lost 3-0 to Bayern Munich. The Belgian champions finished 12th in the league phase with six points, which was just enough to advance.
"Arsenal won the Champions League last season, there’s no denying that," defender Saar Janssen said. "But we gave it our all and made the most of it. We can still be proud of our performance, even though we lost. We adjusted well in the second half and things went better."
"We gave it our all and made the most of it. We can still be proud of our performance, even though we lost"
OHL’s qualification is historic not only because it marks the first time a Belgian women’s team has reached the Champions League knockout stage, but also because it comes in the club’s debut season at this level. The match also set a Belgian attendance record for women’s football, with 9,285 tickets sold.
Rematch in February
Under the new format introduced this season, 18 teams complete in a single league, with each team playing six opponents. The top four teams in the league progress directly to the quarter-finals, while the teams finishing between fifth and 12th must first contest a play-off round. The draw, held on Thursday at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland, paired OHL once again with Arsenal, who finished fifth.
The Belgians will host the first leg on 11 or 12 February, before travelling to London for the return match a week later. The winner will face Chelsea in the quarter-finals, scheduled for late March and early April.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO JILL DELSAUX
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