BILBAO, Spain — Reigning champions Barçelona overcame eight-time winners Lyon 2-0 on Saturday to defend their UEFA Girls’s Champions League title, in entrance of a file 50,827 followers.
Having misplaced to Lyon within the finals of 2019 and 2022, Barça banished their French demons as second-half objectives from Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas sealed the win in Bilbao in entrance of tens of 1000’s of their vociferous supporters.
Sophie Lawson and Emily Keogh have been at San Mames to interrupt down what that outcome means for either side.
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Barçelona reign supreme with quadruple success
Barçelona have, for a while, been the most effective girls’s group in Europe, but there was one aspect that lorded over them. That they had by no means crushed Lyon earlier than, having fallen brief in opposition to the eight-time champions within the 2019 and 2022 finals.
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However in defeating their best adversary in Bilbao, Barçelona ensured that no-one can query their place as the most effective group in Europe now. Again-to-back Champions League titles and three-time winners of the competitors, the Catalans reign supreme. For the primary time, Barçelona are additionally quadruple winners after additionally touchdown the Liga F, Copa del Reina and Spanish Tremendous Cup trophies.
The 2019 defeat to Lyon was a wake-up name; the 2022 failure, after the French aspect’s quick begin, ignited a fireplace in Barçelona. It was a aim for them to bid farewell to legendary supervisor Jonatan Giraldez — who’s departing the membership to turn out to be the top coach of NWSL group Washington Spirit — with 4 trophies. They usually can ship him to America with all the pieces they promised.
Barçelona needed to begin the sport quick, however Lyon’s management and assertiveness meant they needed to wait to take their probabilities. And after they did it was Barçelona’s two poster youngsters, Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí, who netted the objectives to settle the tie.
Bonmatí is inevitable, talismanic, and superior. In fact, it was going to be the world’s finest participant to open the scoring — the Ballon d’Or holder definitely made her case for a consecutive sweep of the crown with a stellar efficiency within the closing — and she or he deserved the luck that ship her deflected shot over Christiane Endler’s left glove within the 63rd minute.
Putellas additionally deserved her place within the highlight, having been out for thus lengthy by way of damage. Now again to one thing approaching her finest, the Spain midfielder scored three minutes after being substituted on to place the sport to mattress within the closing phases, celebrating wildly after changing into solely the fifth girls’s participant to have scored in three Champions League finals. Having solely signed a brand new contract final week, Putellas placed on a present for the ultimate jiffy — dazzling in entrance of the 1000’s of followers who adore her — and acquired an electrical reception on the finish.
Lyon are mentality monsters who seldom crumble beneath strain; Barçelona have been dominant in pulling them aside. In defending their title, the Catalans confirmed why they’re as soon as once more champions and simply how huge a job it is going to be for somebody to dethrone them. — Emily Keogh
Lyon cede management, however do not rule them out
For simply the third time of their historical past, Lyon are Champions League runners-up. However a loss in Bilbao was by no means going to undo their historical past in girls’s soccer and will not detract from their eight European crowns. As departing supervisor Sonia Bompastor stated the day earlier than the ultimate: “We’re the most effective group on this planet and can proceed to be it doesn’t matter what occurs tomorrow.”
Ever for the reason that 2020-21 match ended with a second assembly between Lyon and Barça in a Champions League closing, the dialog has been a couple of potential altering of the guard. That day it was a 3-1 win for a dominant Lyon; now issues have modified.
At half-time in Bilbao, the stats have been all in Barçelona’s favour. But it was Lyon who had struck the woodwork twice, it was Lyon who induced unrest in Cata Coll’s field every time they’d a nook, and it was Lyon who continued to create probabilities — one in all which ought to have given them the lead as veteran defender Wendie Renard headed over when unmarked.
The sport did not change for the French powerhouses after Bonmati had opened the scoring within the second half; nor did it when Renard missed once more, or when Bompastor threw on the Champions League’s all-time prime scorer, Ada Hegerberg, for the final 10 minutes. It wasn’t till Putellas had hammered house her stoppage-time aim that Lyon’s desires of a nineth title have been crushed. For this season at the least.
The rise of Barçelona has coincided with extra funding throughout girls’s soccer and extra fan curiosity … as evidenced by an unimaginable variety of supporters in Bilbao. It was solely a matter of time earlier than Lyon misplaced their place on the prime of the sport and the concept was one thing that pissed off and motivated them in equal measure to assert the title in 2021.
However although they managed to carve out 13 pictures to Barçelona’s 14, they may not do sufficient this time round. Simply as there isn’t a denying Lyon’s historical past, there’s additionally no denying Barçelona’s virtuosity with the ball. Over these 90 minute, it was lastly time for the Catalans to finest Lyon.
Les Fenottes are shedding their supervisor (more likely to Chelsea) and have a squad in want of a summer season overhaul. However solely a idiot would write them off. Lyon have made a behavior out of successful the finals they attain. They might not have performed so this time, however there’s nonetheless loads of room for optimism about what the long run could carry for Europe’s most profitable girls’s group. — Sophie Lawson.
