Man City and Bayern stay perfect in Women's Champions League. Barcelona and Arsenal win big

Manchester City and Bayern Munich stayed perfect in the Women’s Champions League halfway through the group stage on Tuesday, while two-time defending champion Barcelona and Arsenal recorded big wins.

City leads Group D with nine points after the English league leader beat Hammarby 2-0 at home. Barcelona is second, trailing by three points, followed by Hammarby on three and St. Pölten without a point.

Barcelona earlier thrashed St. Pölten 7-0. Claudia Pina led the demolition with two goals. It followed another massive win for Barcelona, 9-0 over Hammarby in the previous round.

Arsenal is recovering from a poor start to the season, scoring four goals in the second straight game in the competition as it won 4-0 at Juventus.

The Gunners are second in Group C with six points, three behind leader Bayern, which eased past pointless newcomer Vålerenga 3-0. Juventus has three points.

It took Barcelona 32 minutes to break the deadlock

Ona Batlle crossed from the left for Ewa Pajor to net the opener from close range. Then another four goals came within seven minutes as Barcelona was rewarded for its dominance.

Francisca Nazareth scored in the 38th minute, slotting home a loose ball. Aitana Bonmatí made it 3-0 on a rebound after Carina Schlüter parried a fierce drive by Vicky Lopez.

Keira Walsh’s clinical finish from outside the area and Pina’s volley for her first made it 5-0 at halftime.

Pina added her second from the spot after the interval before Caroline Graham Hansen finished it off.

Led by interim head coach Renée Slegers, Arsenal continues to recover from its 5-2 loss to Bayern in the opening round and earlier poor form in its domestic league.

Boosted by a 5-0 victory over Brighton in the Women’s Super League on Friday, the Gunners showed the same ruthlessness in Europe.

Frida Maanum put Arsenal ahead late in the first half against Juve, a team which dominates the Italian league. Late goals from two substitutes, Stina Blackstenius and Mariona Caldentey, put the result beyond doubt before Caitlin Foord finished off the emphatic win.

Pernille Harder found the back of the net again for Bayern. The Denmark veteran headed in the opener early in the game for her fifth goal of the campaign to remain the competition’s top scorer this season.

Many more goals looked inevitable but only two came despite numerous chances.

Giulia Gwinn doubled the advantage from the spot in the 17th minute, sending goalkeeper Tove Enblom the wrong way.

Sarah Zadrazil added the third with a looping shot in second-half stoppage time.

Without injured star signing Vivianne Miedema, City was held at bay by the visitors in the first half.

The 28-year-old Netherlands forward had another operation on her troublesome left knee last month, and it’s not clear when she might be able to return.

The first goal came soon after the interval from midfielder Laura Blindkilde Brown, who joined City from Aston Villa in January.

Forward Aoba Fujino made it 2-0 with a header 10 minutes from time.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Manchester City's Khadija Shaw, center, and Hammaby IF's Eva Nystrom, left, challenge for the ball during the women's Champions League soccer match between Manchester City FC and Hammarby IF in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Manchester City's Khadija Shaw, center, is fouled by Hammaby IF's Emilie Joramo, left. and Eva Nystrom, right, during the women's Champions League soccer match between Manchester City FC and Hammarby IF in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Bayern's Sarah Zadrazil, background right, smiles after scoring her side's third goal during the women's Champions League group C soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Valerenga at the FC Bayern Campus in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern's Julia Zigotti Olme jumps for the ball with Valerenga's Linn Vickius, background, during the women's Champions League group C soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Valerenga at the FC Bayern Campus in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern's Pernille Harder scores the opening goal past Valerenga goalkeeper Tove Enblom during the women's Champions League group C soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Valerenga at the FC Bayern Campus in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius, left, celebrates scoring her side's second goal during the women's Champions League soccer match between Juventus and Arsenal at the Vittorio Pozzo La Marmora Stadium in Biella, Italy, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius scores her side's second goal during the women's Champions League soccer match between Juventus and Arsenal at the Vittorio Pozzo La Marmora Stadium in Biella, Italy, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Arsenal's Frida Leonhardsen Maanum celebrates after scoring during the women's Champions League soccer match between Juventus and Arsenal at the Vittorio Pozzo La Marmora Stadium in Biella, Italy, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Arsenal's Frida Leonhardsen Maanum celebrates after scoring during the women's Champions League soccer match between Juventus and Arsenal at the Vittorio Pozzo La Marmora Stadium in Biella, Italy, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers sits on the bench ahead of the women's Champions League soccer match between Juventus and Arsenal at the Vittorio Pozzo La Marmora Stadium in Biella, Italy, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius scores her side's second goal during the women's Champions League soccer match between Juventus and Arsenal at the Vittorio Pozzo La Marmora Stadium in Biella, Italy, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Arsenal's Frida Leonhardsen Maanum, right, and Juventus' Eva Schatzer vie for the ball during the women's Champions League soccer match between Juventus and Arsenal at the Vittorio Pozzo La Marmora Stadium in Biella, Italy, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Bayern's Sarah Zadrazil, second left, is congratulated by teammate Glodis Viggosdottir after scoring her side's third goal during the women's Champions League group C soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Valerenga at the FC Bayern Campus in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Manchester City's Mary Fowler, right, and Hammaby IF's Stina Lennartsson, left, challenge for the ball during the women's Champions League soccer match between Manchester City FC and Hammarby IF in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius celebrates scoring her side's second goal during the women's Champions League soccer match between Juventus and Arsenal at the Vittorio Pozzo La Marmora Stadium in Biella, Italy, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Manchester City's Aoba Fujino, left, celebrates after scoring her side's second goal during the women's Champions League soccer match between Manchester City FC and Hammarby IF in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Manchester City's Laura Blindkilde, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the women's Champions League soccer match between Manchester City FC and Hammarby IF in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Bayern's Pernille Harder, right, scores the opening goall during the women's Champions League group C soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Valerenga at the FC Bayern Campus in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Manchester City's Aoba Fujino, right, scores her side's second goal during the women's Champions League soccer match between Manchester City FC and Hammarby IF in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Social media site Bluesky has gained 1 million new users in the week since the U.S. election, as some X users look for an alternative platform to post their thoughts and engage with others online.

Bluesky said Wednesday that its total users surged to 15 million, up from roughly 13 million at the end of October.

Championed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Bluesky was an invitation-only space until it opened to the public in February. That invite-only period gave the site time to build out moderation tools and other features. The platform resembles Elon Musk's X, with a “discover” feed as well a chronological feed for accounts that users follow. Users can send direct messages and pin posts, as well as find “starter packs” that provide a curated list of people and custom feeds to follow.

The post-election uptick in users isn’t the first time that Bluesky has benefitted from people leaving X. Bluesky gained 2.6 million users in the week after X was banned in Brazil in August — 85% of them from Brazil, the company said. About 500,000 new users signed up in the span of one day last month, when X signaled that blocked accounts would be able to see a user's public posts.

Despite Bluesky's growth, X posted last week that it had “dominated the global conversation on the U.S. election” and had set new records. The platform saw a 15.5% jump in new-user signups on Election Day, X said, with a record 942 million posts worldwide. Representatives for Bluesky and for X did not respond to requests for comment.

Bluesky has referenced its competitive relationship to X through tongue-in-cheeks comments, including an Election Day post on X referencing Musk watching voting results come in with President-elect Donald Trump.

“I can guarantee that no Bluesky team members will be sitting with a presidential candidate tonight and giving them direct access to control what you see online,” Bluesky said.

Across the platform, new users — among them journalists, left-leaning politicians and celebrities — have posted memes and shared that they were looking forward to using a space free from advertisements and hate speech. Some said it reminded them of the early days of X, when it was still Twitter.

On Wednesday, The Guardian said it would no longer post on X, citing “far right conspiracy theories and racism” on the site as a reason. At the same time, television journalist Don Lemon posted on X that he is leaving the platform but will continue to use other social media, including Bluesky.

Lemon said he felt X was no longer a place for “honest debate and discussion.” He noted changes to the site's terms of service set to go into effect Friday that state lawsuits against X must be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas rather than the Western District of Texas. Musk said in July that he was moving X's headquarters to Texas from San Francisco.

“As the Washington Post recently reported on X’s decision to change the terms, this 'ensures that such lawsuits will be heard in courthouses that are a hub for conservatives, which experts say could make it easier for X to shield itself from litigation and punish critics,’” Lemon wrote. “I think that speaks for itself.”

Last year, advertisers such as IBM, NBCUniversal and its parent company Comcast fled X over concerns about their ads showing up next to pro-Nazi content and hate speech on the site in general, with Musk inflaming tensions with his own posts endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.

FILE - The app for Bluesky is shown on a mobile phone, left, and on a laptop screen on June 2, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)