Chelsea drawn against Real Sociedad in Women's Champions League qualifying round
Chelsea will face Spanish side Real Sociedad in the Women's Champions League third qualifying round, with a place in the competition's league phase at stake (BBC Sport).
The draw, held at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland, took place at 11am UK time on Tuesday 11 August and was streamed live on UEFA.com (Chelsea FC). Chelsea were seeded for the draw, meaning they were paired with one of five unseeded teams in the League Path — the route into the Champions League for clubs who qualified through their domestic league position rather than by winning it (Chelsea FC).
The first leg will be at Chelsea's home ground on 26 August, with the return fixture in Spain on 2 September (BBC Sport). Both legs are knockout ties: each team plays the other once at home and once away, with the winner over the two matches advancing (UEFA).
Chelsea finished third in the Women's Super League last season and must beat Real Sociedad to reach the league phase — the new group-stage format that replaced the old round-robin groups (BBC Sport). WSL champions Manchester City and runners-up Arsenal had already qualified directly for that phase, along with defending Champions League holders Barcelona (BBC Sport).
Real Sociedad finished their Liga F campaign — Spain's top women's division — in third place, 21 points behind league winners Barcelona (BBC Sport). So while Chelsea will be favourites on paper, their opponents are no strangers to competing near the top of one of Europe's strongest leagues.
Chelsea secured their spot in this qualifying round with a victory over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium back in May, guaranteeing their place in next season's Champions League (Chelsea FC). The club reached the Champions League final in 2021, where they were beaten by Barcelona (BBC Sport).
The third qualifying round features several other heavyweight ties. Paris St-Germain take on Eintracht Frankfurt, Real Madrid play Ajax, Wolfsburg face Inter Milan, and Juventus were drawn against Austrian side St Polten (BBC Sport).
For Chelsea, the assignment is straightforward in description but anything but casual in execution: win over two legs against a side that finished third in Spain, or watch the Champions League from the outside. The first leg on 26 August will tell us how close they are to clearing that hurdle.
