The most successful team in the UEFA Women's Champions League, Olympique De Lyonnais, will travel to Germany to face Bayern Munich Women on 18th November. Their previous meet ended in the favor of the French side as they edged past Bayern Munich women by a 2-1 scoreline. However, Bayern Munich will try to reduce the 5 point gap on the table by clinching a win in their upcoming fixture.
Bayern Munich vs Olympique De Lyonnais: Group DUCL Match Details
The women's team of Bayern is not having a great run, winning nine of their 11 competitive games this term. However, the German team's UEFA Women's Champions League opener ended as a goalless draw away to Benfica. Bayern Munich responded with a 4-0 victory over Hacken. But their 2-1 defeat against Lyon made all their efforts look blant. Bayern Munich's recent league game also ended in a close call as Wolfsburg just scraped past them with only a goal lead. However, they will be looking to get a win of their upcoming fixture against Lyon and improve their position on the group table.
Bayern Munich Women recent form in all competitions: L L W W L
No other team has won more Champions League than Lyon. They won 7 UCL Trophies and the French side is looking to add to their trophy cabinet this season. After starting the group with a 3-0 away win against Hacken, the French side thrashed Benfica 5-0 on matchday two and followed by a 2-1 win over Bayern. In their recent league matches, Lyon destroyed PSG by a 6-1 scorecard. Olympique De Lyonnais will be looking to carry on this winning streak in their upcoming fixture.
Bayern Munich vs Olympique De Lyonnais recent form in all competitions: W W W W W
Bayern Munich vs Olympique De Lyonnais Head-to-head:
Indian Women's League 2024-25 Fixtures, Teams and Everything you need to know
AIFF has announced the tentative fixtures of the Indian Women's League 2024-25, set to kick-off on 10th January 2025. Here is everything you need to know about the Indian Women's League.
The All India Football Federation has released the tentative schedule for the 2024-25 edition of Indian Women's League. Scheduled to be kicked off on 10 January 2025, IWL 2024-25 is going to be the eighth edition of the premier division of women's football league in India.
8 teams are set to participate in the IWL 2024-25, 6 teams from last season, and two teams that achieved their promotion to the IWL from the IWL 2.
From Complete fixtures to the participating teams, here is everything you need to know about the upcoming edition of the Indian Women's League for the 2024-25 season.
Teams to participate in the IWL 2024-25
6 out of the 7 participating teams from last season will feature in this edition, as Sports Odisha withdrew themselves from the tournament. The two promoted teams from the IWL 2, Sreebhumi Football Club and Nita Football Academy are the new inclusions this season.
Odisha FC Women
Gokulam Kerala FC
Kickstart FC
Sethu FC
HOPS FC
East Bengal FC
Sreebhumi Football Club
Nita Football Academy
Teams to watch this season
1. Odisha FC Women
Odisha FC Women have already created history as they became the first-ever Indian Club to play in a Champions League group game. They started their AFC WCL preliminary stage campaign against Singapore's Lion City Sailors with a 4-1 victory over them. Coach Crispin Chhetri and his team etched themselves in history by being the first-ever Indian team to qualify for the Champions League group stage with a 2-1 victory against Jordan's top-flight Champions, Etihad Club.
However, the journey for Odisha FC Women in the AFC Women's Champions League 2024-25 ended up in quite a nightmare as they got knocked out from the group stage after losing all three group games and conceding 24 goals in total! Odisha FC Women faced the worst defeat in their history in the very first game of the WCL as the defending Asian Champions, Urawa Reds Ladies crushed Odisha by 17-0.
But it will be a different story in the IWL because Odisha FC Women will take the field as the defending champions. They finished at the top of the IWL 2023-24 table, winning 10 games out of 12 and collecting 31 points to be crowned Champions.
Odisha FC Women scored a total of 31 goals in the tournament while conceding only 4. The Indian Champions will be one of the teams to watch as they will give their all to resist every calamity to defend and retain their title.
Gokulam Kerala FC is the most successful Women's football club in Indian football with 3 IWL titles won in 2019-20, 2021-22, and 2022-23. They were also the runner-up last season with 29 points in 12 matches. Gokulam Women won 9 out of the 12 games and scored a staggering 33 goals in total.
Gokulam missed out on the Championship by just two points and they will bounce back stronger this season. Gokulam's Forward Fazila Ikwaput became the highest goalscorer of the IWL 2024-25 with 13 goals, and this Ugandan international will again be donning Gokulam's shirt.
Hemam Shilky Devi will again lead Gokulam's defence who was officially named the Best Defender of last season. Soumya Guguloth and Sandhiya Ranganathan who scored 7 and 6 goals last season respectively will again play for the title this season.
AFC WCL 2024-25 | Odisha FC Women crushed 17-0 by Urawa Reds Ladies
Odisha FC Women faced a heartbreaking 0-17 defeat against Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies in the 2024-25 AFC Women's Champions League Group Stage at theย Thong Nhat Stadium in Vietnam on 6th October 2024.ย
After creating history by winning two out of two games in the preliminary round to qualify for the group stage, Odisha FC Women faced a humiliating 0-17 thrashing in their AFC Women's Champions League Group stage debut against Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies at the Thong Nhat Stadium in Vietnam on 6th October 2024.
A horrifying start for Odisha FC Women
Urawa Reds Ladies completely outplayed the Indian Club right from the beginning of the game to the very last minute. Yu Endo started the goals galore for Urawa in the 5th minute of the game, and Yuzuho Shiokoshi produced a first-half hat-trick that led the Japanese Side to have an 8-0 lead at half-time.
Odisha FC had no answer against the 2023 AFC Women's Club Championship winners as Miki Ito scored 4 goals in the second half. The horror ended for Odisha FC with a scoreline of 17-0 against them when the final whistle was blown.
Urawa Reds Ladies registered a total of 56 shots throughout the game and 29 of them were on target, whereas Odisha FC Women had only 1 shot but it was on target. Odisha FC could complete 196 passes only, with a 47% pass accuracy. Urawa Reds also dominated the game with 77% ball possession to create history in the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League 2024.
Odisha FC missed their key striker Pyari Xaxa for the game who suffered a minor accident prior to their flight to Vietnam. Another striker, Grace Haunhar was also absent from the squad for a 5-match-ban handed by AFC for a red card in Odisha's match against Etihad Club in the preliminary stage.
Odisha FC Women qualified for the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League 2024 preliminary stage as they were the champions of the Indian Women's League 2023-24.
๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐! The girls have done it. They have done it. ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ณ#OFCW qualifies for the Group Stage of the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League. ๐#odishAFC#OFCWomen | #AWCL#IndianFootballpic.twitter.com/xqBR5k3xpv
Odisha FC Women will resume their group stage journey in the tournament on 9th October 2024 by taking on the Vietnamese side Ho Chi Minh City Women's Football Club.
Later, they will face the Taiwanese outfit Taichung Blue Whale FC in their final game of the group stage scheduled on 12th October 2024.
Odisha FC have secured their place in the group stage of the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League 2024/25 with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Etihad Club of Jordan in their final Group B match. Jennifer Kankam Yeboah scored a stunning brace for the Indian club in the match on Saturday.
It was a must-win match for Odisha FC Women to become the first Indian club to qualify for the AFC Women's Champions League 2024/25.
The match was a thrilling encounter from the start, with both teams creating early chances. Odisha's Jennifer Kankam Yeboah opened the scoring in the 27th minute after a defensive error by Etihad.
Just before halftime, both teams were reduced to 10 players following an altercation between Albtoush and Grace.
In the second half, Etihad fought back and equalized through Maysa Jbarah in the 57th minute. However, Odisha responded quickly, with Yeboah scoring her second goal of the match in the 71st minute to seal the victory for her side.
๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐! The girls have done it. They have done it. ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ณ#OFCW qualifies for the Group Stage of the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League. ๐#odishAFC#OFCWomen | #AWCL#IndianFootballpic.twitter.com/xqBR5k3xpv
With the win, Odisha FC finishes top of Group B with a perfect six points and will now compete in Group C against Urawa Red Diamond Ladies, Ho Chi Minh City FC, and Taichung Blue Whale Women's Football.
AFC Women's Champions League Groups
Group A:Wuhan Jiangda Women's FC (CHN), Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women's FC (KOR), Abu Dhabi Country Club (UAE), Sabah FA (MAS)
Group B:Melbourne City (AUS), Kaya FCโIloilo (PHI), College of Asian Scholars (THA), Bam Khatoon FC (IRN)
Group C:Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies (JPN), Ho Chi Minh City Women's FC (VIE), Taichung Blue Whale Women's Football (TPE), Odisha FC (IND)
The group stage will start from 6 to 12 October 2024.
Odisha FC set for crucial AFC Women's Champions League Prelims clash against Etihad Club
The winner between the Etihad Club and Odisha FC Women will move to the group stage of the AFC Women's Champions League 2024-25 scheduled from 6 to 12 October 2024.
After a thrilling 4-1 win against Singapore's Lion City Sailors in the AFC Women's Champions League 2024-25 preliminary stage opener, the Odisha FC Women are gearing up for their final match of the preliminary stage against Jordan's Etihad Club on 31st August 2024, at 9:30 PM IST.
With an impressive win in the first match, the Odisha FC Women team showed remarkable resilience, particularly in the second half, where they scored three goals. Lynda Kom stood out with a brace, supported by strong performances from Pyari Xaxa, Grace and newly recruited defender Ibrahim Maryam.
On the other hand, Etihad Club has strong momentum, having secured a dominant 5-0 victory over Lion City Sailors. Maysa Jbarah was the star of the show, netting four goals to lead her team to a comprehensive win. Etihad Club will be a formidable opponent with the advantage of playing on home ground and in front of their local supporters.
The stakes are high, as the winner of this match will advance to the group stage of the AFC Women's Champions League. Head Coach, Crispin Chettriโs team will be eager to secure their spot and continue their journey in the prestigious tournament.
Most Iconic Rivalries in European Football Leagues: History & Stats
From Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona's El-Clasico and Milan Derby of AC Milan vs Inter Milan to the United vs Liverpool rivalry in England, here are the most iconic rivalries in European Football Leagues.
Football, as a sport, has always brought more than tactics, games, wins, defeats and glories. It has been like a cultural fest between two types of thoughts, cultures, beliefs and history. In every corner of the world whenever two rival football teams face each other, there is always something more than the game which is on the line. It is about honour, pride and passion at the end of the day. European football has had quite a few famous and infamous rivalries over the years and today, in this article, we will talk about a few most iconic rivalries in the European Football Leagues.
El-Clasico | Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona
If you talk about football rivalries, you will have to start with Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona's El-Clasico in Spanish football. Both clubs have rich history and heritage and the passion of the fans makes it like a battlefield whenever there is an El-Clasico fixture in La Liga, Copa Del Rey, UEFA Champions League or in any other tournaments.
The world keeps an eye on every El-Clasico fixture as most of the iconic footballing stars also want to be part of the game and the fixture has produced some of the most iconic matches in the history of world football.
If we talk about a brief history of the rivalry, we will have to go back to 1899 when FC Barcelona was established and three years later, Real Madrid was formed. In the beginning, both clubs played friendlies but soon their rivalry grew after the establishment of La Liga.
From disputes over players' signatures to bringing the best players to their clubs, the El-Clasico has seen everything from its early days. Over the years, some of the best football players intensified the rivalry like Ladislao Kubala and Luis Suรกrez playing for Barca and Ferenc Puskas and Di Stefano for Real Madrid.
In the most recent times, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo brought the best out of both teams and the fans around the world were treated with some intense yet beautiful football via El-Clasico.
Unlike most of the football rivalries, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are not from the same city. FC Barcelona is based out of Catalonia, who are currently fighting for their independence from Spain which makes the El-Clasico more than a football game now. It is now become a battle for roots and independence.
El-Clasico Results till now
Matches
FC Barcelona
Draws
Real Madrid
300
125
64
111
The stat is accurate as of 29th August 2024 and includes all the official and friendlies between the two clubs.
FC Barcelona have dominated Real Madrid in Women's Clasico since Real Madrid are a very new team and were founded in 2022 whereas the Barca Femeni team have been in existence for the last 22 years. So far, Barcelona Femeni have won all of their 14 matches against Real Madrid Femenino.
The UWCL Quarter-final match in 2022 between these two teams at Camp Nou saw a then-record attendance from women's football match of 91,553 spectators.
The Milan Derby: Inter vs. AC Milan
Derby della Madonnina or Derby di Milano is famously known as the Milan Derby in the football world and it is played between two of the greatest clubs in Italian football; Inter Milan and AC Milan. Both clubs are based out of Milan and are one of the most successful teams in club football history.
Just like El-Clasico, the Milan derby is also a football match where players of both clubs fight for bragging rights and the heritage of their clubs.
Brief history of the Milan Derby
In 1899, Herbert Kilpin, a British businessman and others founded the Milan Football and Cricket Club. The club had a cricket and a football team running under Edward Berra and David Allison. A few years later, in 1908, the Italian Football Federation introduced the Federal Championship and Italian Championship. The Federal Championship allowed foreign players to participate whereas only Italian players could play in the Italian Championship.
This started internal chaos within the club as there was a distinct dissent among the club members about whether to have foreign players or not. One year later, Kiplin, who wanted to have foreign players in the club, along with other members parted ways from the club and formed Football Club Internazionale which is now known as Inter Milan.
The Inter fans are known as Nerazzurri while the AC Milan fans are known as Rossoneri. Both clubs share the same stadium during their games. The San Siro Stadium in Milan is the home for both teams.
First-ever Milan Derby
Although there are many disagreements about when the first-ever Milan Derby was played, it is said that it was in 1908 when the first-ever Milan Derby was played in the Chiasso Cup final which AC Milan won by 2-1. The first-ever official Milan Derby was played in the inaugural 1926โ27 season of the Divisione Nazionale, the first Italian National League. AC Milan won the match by 3-2.
The Abandoned Match and the Iocnic photo
On 12 April 2005, the Milan Derby was abandoned after Inter fans started throwing objects on the field in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League 2005 Quatrer-finals. AC Milan were leading by 2-0 in the first leg, and took a 1-0 lead in the second leg, 3-0 on aggregate. The match was abandoned after 73 minutes and Milan were handed a 3-0 victory at the end.
Milan Derby: Head-to-head stats
Matches
Inter Milan
Draws
AC Milan
239
91
69
79
The data is accurate as of 29 August 2024 and includes all the competitions.
Most Goals in Milan Derby
Andriy Shevchenko - 14 Goals
Giuseppe Meazza - 13 Goals
Gunnar Nordahl - 11 Goals
Istvan Nyers - 11 Goals
The North West Derby: Manchester United vs. Liverpool
The North West Derby between Manchester United and Liverpool Football Club is one of the most storied rivalries in European football history. Despite being just 35 miles away from each other, both clubs have different roots, histories and ideologies.
It all began when in 1894 Manchester merchants created the Manchester Ship Canal to avoid Liverpoolโs steep port taxes. This created economic and industrial competition between the cities and that ignited the rivalry that we saw on the pitch today.
In fact, right before the establishment of the Manchester Ship Canal, Newton Heath (United's old name) had faced Liverpool in a play-off match which saw Newton Heath getting relegated to the second division.
The United-Liverpool derby is greater than their own city derbies against Manchester City and Everton respectively. The rivalry is so intense that no players since 1964 have been directly transferred between the clubs.
Even in Women's football, both clubs have the same amount of passion and rivalry among each other whenever they play. Manchester United's women's team were founded in 2018 while Liverpool F.C. Women were founded in 1989 and since then, these two teams have faced each other 8 times.
Der Klassiker: Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund
This is one of the newest rivalries among the European Football Leagues and the most exciting football tussle in the Bundesliga currently. The word "Der Klassiker" in German means the "German Classic". However, due to the low number of matches between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, many German fans and pundits do not consider this fixture as the German Classic.
Everything remained sorted between two of the most successful clubs in German football until the 1990s when Dortmund won the Bundesliga successive times in the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons and challenged Bayern's dominance in the league.
In 1996, then Bayern captain Lothar Matthaus mocked Andreas Moller, his German national team teammate by wiping imaginary tears from his eyes during a game. Moller gave the response by slapping Matthaus on the face. Later, in that season, Dortmund won the 1997 UEFA Champions League final against Juventus in Munich, the home of Bayern Munich.
The rivalry intensified when Bayern hired Dortmund's successful coach Ottmar Hitzfeld as their head coach in the 1997-98 season. In the second meeting between the clubs in the 1998-99 season, Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn first launched a Kung-Fu-style kick on Stephane Chapuisat and then nearly bit Borussia Dortmund's Heiko Herrlich's ear.
However, the rivalry remained a tad silenced in the mid-2000s before a coach named Jurgen Klopp took charge of Borussia Dortmund and took them to back-to-back Bundesliga success in 2011 and 2012 with players like Robert Lewandowski, Mats Hummels, Mario Gรถtze and Shinji Kagawa. In the next season, Bayern took revenge by beating Dortmund in the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League final at Wembley.
Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund - Head-to-head stats
Competition
Played
Bayern Wins
Draws
Dortmund Wins
Bayern Goals
Dortmund Goals
Bundesliga
110
54
30
26
223
135
DFB-Pokal
11
6
3
2
20
13
DFB-Ligapokal
2
2
0
0
3
0
DFB/DFL-Supercup
9
4
1
4
17
18
UEFA Champions League
3
1
1
1
2
2
Totals
135
67
35
33
265
168
Most goals by a player in Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund matches
The Old Firm Derby between two of the most successful clubs in Scotland, Celtic and Rangers FC is one of the oldest rivalries in football history. Started as a friend, both clubs became rivals at the start of the 19th century and since then have formed a rivalry which is enriched by political, religious, cultural and social differences in the country.
Celtic fans are historically Irish-Scots and Catholic whereas Rangers fans are native Scots and come from the Protestant community. In the early days, Rangers had an unwritten rule of not signing any player from a Catholic ethnicity until Graeme Souness signed Mo Johnston, an ex-Celtic forward in 1989.
Rangers FC was formed in 1872 while Celtic was formed 15 years later in 1887. In their early days, Rangers FC was termed as the "friends of Celtic" until 1902 when Rangers' wooden stadium collapsed during the Scotland vs England match, resulting in the death of 25 fans and injuring many. Post that, the Rangers had to rebuild their Ibrox stadium and it was financed by selling off their best players to Celtic. Celtic took advantage of the situation and won the Scottish League title six times between 1905 and 1910.
Since then, the rivalry has become so intense that incidents of deaths and killings have been noticed during past derbies. Although both clubs have taken up a project to tackle bigotry and sectarianism in sports, the fans never changed. In fact, as per an activist group in Glasgow, violent attacks and domestic abuses increase by nine times during Old Firm weekends.
In fact, things get so much out of control that ยฃ550,000 was spent by Celtic, Rangers, the SFA and the SPFL just for the policing inside the stadium alone during nine derby games between April 2016 and December 2017
How did the name Old Firm come?
The Old Firm name came when in the Scottish Cup final in 1904, a large number of people attended the match giving considerable financial benefit to both the clubs meaning an old firm that produces business or money.
Did you know?
At the start of the 21st century, both Celtic and Rangers together trademarked the name "Old Firm" and as of 2021, it is still being renewed.
Celtic vs. Rangers: Head-to-head stats
Competition
First match
Played
Celtic
Rangers
Draw
Scottish League
1891
335
117
127
91
Scottish Cup
1890
55
27
18
10
League Cup
1947
51
25
24
2
Totals
441
169
169
103
The stat is accurate as of 29 August 2024.
Most goals by a player in Old Firm derby
Rank
Player
Club
Goals
Games
1
Ally McCoist
Rangers
27
55
2
R.C. Hamilton
Rangers
24
46
3
Jimmy McGrory
Celtic
22
35
4
Sandy McMahon
Celtic
22
43
5
Jimmy Quinn
Celtic
18
37
The stat is accurate as of 29 August 2024.
The Battle of Britain: Arsenal vs. Tottenham Hotspur
The North London derby betweenArsenal FC and Tottenham Hotspuris called "The Battle of Britain." Started in 1887, the rivalry grew in 1913 when Arsenal moved their home ground from Manor Ground in Plumstead to Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, just 6.5kms apart from Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane Stadium.
The move was opposed by the Spurs' fans as they used to call Highbury their territory and they did not like Arsenal being there with them.
The rivalry surged when in 1919, right after World War I, the first division was supposed to be expanded by two teams by votes and Arsenal pipped over Suprs to get into the first division league after an endorsement by John McKenna, the then Chairman of Liverpool FC and the League president.
However, Tottenham won the 1919-20 second-division league to be promoted to the first-division league and the first-ever North London derby (after Arsenal's move to a new stadium) took place in the following season which resulted in a 2-1 victory for the Spurs.
Since Tottenham were placed in the second division from 1928 to 1933 and from 1935 to 1950 both of these clubs could face each other 195 times in competitive first-class matches. Many times during these matches the result of the league depended on the North London derby and even as per fans, they would not mind losing against an opponent rather than helping their North London rival excel in the league.
Most of the North-East part of London supports Tottenham whereas the North-West part supports Arsenal and they never miss any chance to go at each other even though they find themselves working together.
Arsenal Women's are the most successful team in English women's football. They won the English Football Championship a record 15 times while winning the Women's FA Cup a record 14 times.
Till now they have faced Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women's team 16 times and won in 12 of them while losing once and drawing thrice.
Matches
Arsenal FC Women
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women
Draws
16
12
1
3
More football rivalries in European leagues
Other than the above-mentioned six football rivalries, here are a few other iconic football rivalries in European football leagues.
The Lisbon Derby: Benfica vs. Sporting CP in Portugal
The Istanbul Derby: Galatasaray vs. Fenerbahce in Turkey
The Eternal Derby: Red Star Belgrade vs. Partizan Belgrade in Serbia
Le Classique: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Olympique de Marseille in France