Women's Champions League Reaches Midpoint of League Phase With Matchday 3

The 2026-27 UEFA Women's Champions League reaches the halfway point of its league phase this week, with Matchday 3 beginning on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The action arrives just days after the Ballon d'Or ceremony in London, where Harry Kane and Alexia Putellas were named the best players of the year.

The standings are far from settled. Only one team currently sits on maximum points, some clubs are content with split results, and others are desperate to keep their campaigns alive. Four rounds of league play remain before the knockout playoffs in February, so this round gives teams a chance to either shake up the table or build some separation.

Wednesday's schedule features Chelsea against Roma and Bayern Munich against Real Madrid, both at 1:45 p.m. Eastern. Servette host OH Leuven at the same time. In the afternoon window at 4 p.m., Arsenal face Benfica and OL Lyonnes meet Inter.

Thursday, Oct. 29, brings another set of matches. Austria Wien play Juventus and Paris FC meet Hacken at 1:45 p.m. Eastern. At 4 p.m., HB Koge take on Barcelona and Manchester City face Paris Saint-Germain.

Barcelona enter the round as the reigning title holders and arrive with plenty of recent honors. At Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony, the club was named best club, manager Pere Romeu won women's coach of the year, Vicky Lopez took best young talent and Cata Coll was named best goalkeeper.

Putellas, who now plays for London City Lionesses, won the women's Ballon d'Or. According to CBS Sports writer Sandra Herrera, the award was largely for her accomplishments during her final season with FC Barcelona, since the voting period ran from August 2025 to July 2026.

On the pitch, Barcelona have started the league phase strongly. They beat Paris FC 5-2 on Matchday 1 and followed with a 6-0 win over Roma on Matchday 2. Herrera noted that they are cruising, helped by an attack featuring standouts such as Lopez, Claudia Pina, Kerolin and Ewa Pajor.

Elsewhere in European football this week, Serie A has matches on Wednesday, including AC Milan against Bologna and Venezia against Inter, both at 1:30 p.m. Eastern. An EFL Cup tie between Manchester City and Brighton is set for 3:30 p.m. Eastern the same day.