Greenwood: City 'ready' for Barcelona Champions League challenge | OneFootball

Alex Greenwood says City are 'ready' to embrace the challenge of competing with Barcelona at the Joie Stadium in tomorrow’s UEFA Women’s Champions’ League group opener.

City play host to the Catalan giants and reigning European champions at the Joie Stadium on Wednesday evening, kick-off 20.00pm (UK).

It’s a mouth-watering prospect with the match sold out and having generated global interest.

The assignment also couldn’t be a more demanding way to open our group stage campaign with Barcelona the reigning European champions, having won the trophy in three of the past four seasons, and acclaimed as one of the world's finest club sides

But for Greenwood, it’s the perfect way to kick-start City’s European group campaign with Gareth Taylor’s side having secured our place thanks to a decisive 8-0 aggregate win over Paris FC in last month’s second qualifying stage.

And the skipper believes the side are in an ideal position preparation wise for the task in hand.

“It’s so exciting and we’re all looking forward to tomorrow,” Greenwood said.

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“We’re in a competition we belong in. The last couple of years we’ve missed out and been frustrated by that but we’ve worked hard to be in this position and looking forward to it.

“There’s nothing worse than going home on Wednesday or Thursday and watching the games knowing we should be in the competition.

“It has been frustrating but good prep for us to be ready for this competition. I keep saying that word but the team’s ready to compete now. That starts tomorrow.

“Barcelona are champions for a reason, and we’ll respect them but for us it's the same as always - we respect them but want to bring our game to it and impose it on them.

“Playing Barcelona here at the Joie Stadium is a game most people would say they’re excited about, the same for me, the players, the staff, for everyone at the club.

“[Being back in the Champions League] it’s been a process that we’ve been working towards and I think we're in a good place as a squad.

“We’re looking forward to it. We’ve prepared as always and it’s going to be a great occasion.”

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City and Barca are no strangers with the sides having last met at the quarter-final stage back in 2021.

A City side including Greenwood beat Barca 2-1 at home in the second leg but went out 4-2 on aggregate.

But with Greenwood and Chloe Kelly the only members of the City side which started that second leg still at the Club, the captain believes the side and squad have developed and changed in numerous ways in the three subsequent years.

“I don’t remember it clearly, but I do remember the game, we played really well here and in the second half of the away leg,” Greenwood added.

“But our teams changed so much over the last three years. We look a bit different now and probably we’re a lot more prepared.

“We have a lot more experience. The manager has three years more experience with the team, from then to now we look different in loads of ways, even away from the pitch - it’s different in a really positive way.”