# Chelsea Women to Begin Champions League Campaign at Real Madrid
The Women’s Super League champions, Chelsea, will begin their Champions League campaign at Real Madrid on 15 November. This is the second consecutive year that Emma Hayes’ side have been placed in a group with Real Madrid, having drawn away and won at home last season.
Uefa announced the dates for the group stage fixtures on Saturday after the draw was made on Friday – they will take place between 14 November and 31 January and the top two sides from each group will progress to the knockout stages.
Chelsea went on to reach the 2022-23 semi-finals after topping their group last season, while Real failed to make it out of the group after finishing third. The Blues are the only British representatives in this season’s group stages and will be looking to go one better this year and make it all the way to the final in May 2022.
## Chelsea’s Group Stage Fixtures
Chelsea play their first home game on 23 November against Paris FC, who beat Arsenal in the first qualifying round. They go on to play Swedish club BK Hacken at home (14 December) and away (20 December), before hosting Real Madrid on 24 January and then end their group campaign at Paris FC on 30 January.
The Blues will be hoping to make a strong start to their Champions League campaign and build on their impressive performance last season, which saw them reach the semi-finals for the first time in their history.
## Emma Hayes’ Reaction
Speaking after the draw was made, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said: “It’s a great draw for us and I’m really looking forward to getting started in the Champions League again this season.”
“We have some tough opponents in our group but I’m confident that we can make it out of the group stages and into the knockout rounds.”
## Chelsea’s Hopes for the 2022-23 Champions League
Chelsea have been one of the most successful teams in the Women’s Super League in recent years, winning the title in 2018 and 2020 and finishing as runners up in 2019 and 2021. They will be hoping to continue this success in Europe and make a deep run in this season’s Champions League competition.
The Blues have a talented squad of players, including England internationals Fran Kirby and Bethany England, as well as experienced players such as Sam Kerr and Guro Reiten, who have both been key players for Chelsea in recent years.
With a talented squad and a manager who knows how to get the best out of her players, Chelsea will be hoping to make a deep run in this season’s Champions League competition and prove that they are one of the best teams in Europe.