For the third season in a row, it looks like Manchester City’s journey in the Women’s Champions League will reach its end at the hands of Spanish opposition. But after being beaten by Atlético Madrid the last two editions, this time it was Barcelona’s turn to put the hurt on City, winning 3-0 in their quarterfinal fist leg at the U-Power Stadium in Monza, Italy on Wednesday afternoon.
As much as we at The18 love women’s soccer, it’s a sad fact that the men’s game receives far more attention, whether it’s from FIFA, other media companies, potential sponsors or the fans themselves. (We could spend hours debating why this is the case, but that’s for another story.) Despite this, there are still a large number of women’s footballers who are far more famous than their partners, who are themselves professional soccer players.
The USWNT just completed an expected-but-still-impressive showing at the 2021 SheBelieves Cup, winning all three matches to claim the tournament title for a fourth time in six years. While the exhibition is a good barometer of some of the world’s top national teams, it’s also one of the best chances to evaluate talent ahead of a big summer competition. With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics postponed to 2021, the question is: Who will make the USWNT Olympic roster this summer?
Manchester United has arguably been the biggest surprise in women’s football this season. Casey Stoney’s side, with new signings Tobin Heath and Christen Press, surged to the top of the table in just its second season in the Women’s Super League. It looked like the Red Devils could actually challenge the established elites — Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal — for the league crown.
Those hopes were dashed on Friday as Man City humbled United 3-0 in a one-sided Manchester Derby, capped off by a stunning chip shot from Caroline Weir.