Chelsea against Wolfsburg and the French derby between PSG and Lyon are both tantalizing match-ups in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Those two contests will probably get the bigger headlines due to Chelsea leading the table in the UK and Lyon’s dominance over women’s football for the last decade. Yet, player for player, there is a good argument that Barcelona Femení’s tie with Manchester City will feature the highest number of the world’s best players.
Naming even ten players for this list was difficult, because it meant leaving off Manchester City forward Ellen White, who is second on the WSL all-time scoring list. City teammate Steph Houghton is arguably the greatest captain in England’s history and is essential to her team’s ability to play the ball out of the back. Unfortunately for City though, Houghton is expected to miss at least the first leg. For Barcelona, both Mariona Caldentey and Patri Guijarro just missed the cut. As a reminder, Mariona did this earlier this year.
And that’s who missed the cut.
10. Abby Dahlkemper
The American defender made the move to Man City in January of this year and has been a starter since the day she arrived. Few players in the world can boast that they have won titles wherever they’ve gone, but the NCAA champion, 3-time NWSL champion, 3-time SheBelieves Cup winner, and World Cup champion is the perfect example of a success story. The 27-year-old fought off sepsis in 2016 to become one of the best defenders on either side of the pond.
9. Lieke Martens
After the Netherlands won the European Championship, it looked like Lieke Martens would dominate the global game for years to come. She did win FIFA’s The Best in 2017, but those standards have been a bit difficult to match in the injury-riddled seasons since. The 28-year-old Dutch attacker has never really had a fully healthy season, but when fit, few defenders can stop her. This season she has been both a starter and a rotation option for Lluis Cortes, and having Martens as a wild card could swing a tie.
8. Asisat Oshoala
On the field, Oshoala is one of the quickest and deadliest forwards that world football has to offer. She consistently pops up wherever she can get a goal and that’s whether she starts or comes off the bench. Even without being the regular starter, the four-time CAF Women’s Player of the Year, given to the best player from Africa, is averaging a goal per game since coming to the Johan Cruyff Stadium. Two seasons ago when the Femení made the Champions League final, Oshoala had to settle for a consolation goal in the loss to Lyon, but the 26-year-old Nigerian has scored important title-winning goals since and Man City could be the next victim.
7. Caroline Weir
While Patri is known to score the occasional goal herself, her main task against Man City may be to keep an eye on 25-year-old Scottish playmaker Caroline Weir. Weir has an impeccable ability to move between the lines and surprise the defense with a gorgeous goal. If they choose to cut off her shot, the attacking midfielder can play just as good of a pass. The trouble with Weir will be tracking her movement from the wings to the middle and everywhere in-between.
6. Alexia Putellas
If this was my list of favorite female players to watch, she’d be number one. When she scores goals, they are significant ones and almost always spectacular. In Barcelona’s first match at the Camp Nou in a competitive match, Alexia scored the first goal against Espanyol in what would be a memorable result. The 27-year-old is just entering her prime, yet she’s been a part of the first team since 2012. She is well-known in Spain of course, but the Catalan midfielder doesn’t have the biggest reputation on the world stage. Not yet at least. Being the best player against Manchester City would go a long way to helping her take the leap to being recognized as not only one of the best midfielders on the globe, but one of the best players. Period.
5. Rose Lavelle
If this was ranking the best players at the 2019 World Cup, Rose Lavelle would probably be number one. The 25-year-old midfielder does everything for club and country, scoring important goals for the U.S. to clinch both the World Cup and the SheBelieves Cup. Like Martens and her injuries, the two seasons since Lavelle was on top of the world have been underwhelming due to small ailments here and there. That hasn’t stopped her from still being one of the best midfielders in the world; it just means she’s been one among a few extraordinary do-everything players in the middle. Again like Martens, City manager Gareth Taylor doesn’t always start Lavelle, but she could be an ace up his sleeve in this fixture.
4. Jenni Hermoso
Speaking of injuries, Jenni Hermoso has been dealing with one recently, but was named to the squad list. Her goal-scoring stats do the talking for her as one of the top forwards in the game. 134 goals is good for top scorer all-time for Barcelona and the same goes for her 42 goals for Spain. This season the 30-year-old has scored 16 goals in 16 matches in the Primera Division. What makes her so dangerous is her ability and willingness to drop between the lines and become the playmaker for Oshoala, Martens, and Caroline Graham Hansen. For all the talented attackers for Barcelona, she could have elicited this response when Man City players heard about her team’s goalscoring this season.
3. Lucy Bronze
If Hermoso is fit to play, she’ll have to contend with Lucy Bronze. Whether it was for Lyon or for England, the 29-year-old defender is a winner through and through. She has had some injuries this season to contend with, but when healthy, Bronze has commanded her backline to suffocate opposition attacks with great effect. She is fit now, coming off a Player of the Month award for February, and has followed that up by leading her team to an 8-0 aggregate scoreline against Fiorentina last round.
2. Caroline Graham Hansen
Barcelona were good before Caroline Graham Hansen arrived last year from Wolfsburg, but with her, they have vaulted into the elite. The Norwegian winger has added not only width to the stacked Femení attack, but her ability to deliver some of the best crosses you’ll see in the game gives her forwards plenty of prime opportunities. There is a ruthlessness to her game, one that not only has her leading the team in assists but also scoring eight goals for herself. If Graham Hansen has a quiet day against Man City, it’s likely that Barcelona had a quiet day as well.
- Sam Mewis
28-year-old Sam Mewis moved to Europe in August of 2020 and has found new ways to elevate her game. She has three goals in the Champions League this season and three in the WSL, but it’s her timing that makes her special. I’m not referring solely to her game winner in the FA Cup in January, but also her ability to cover every blade of grass during 90 minutes. Whenever Alexia or Jenni touch the ball, expect Mewis to not be too far behind.
Dan Hilton is an American journalist, broadcaster, and current Editor-in-Chief of BarcaBlog. Extensive work as a play-by-play broadcaster, producer behind the scenes, and quite average player in his younger years has given him a well-rounded and informative perspective on the sport. Alongside BarcaBlog founder Francesc, Dan started The Barcelona Podcast in 2017
