History! History of the most magical kind. Is there anything that can stop this simply amazing FC Barcelona team? A third UEFA Women's Champions League… and all in the space of just four years. And this one came against their nemesis. The same Lyon that has twice caused them heartbreak in the final. But not this time!
From the very first minute to the last, when Alexia Putellas whacked in the definitive second goal, there only ever looked like being one winner. Lyon did nothing wrong, but they were up against a team that is simply out of this world. Especially in the second half, absolutely everything clicked into place. It was a masterclass.
It took the current Ballon d’Or holder to turn a brilliant performance into a winning one. A superb piece of football from Aitana Bonmati finally got her team into a more than deserved lead.
And from there it was full speed ahead. But much as a second goal always looked like coming, it wasn’t until practically the last kick of the game that it came.
And so it was confirmed. Having already won the Spanish Super Cup, La Liga F and the Copa de la Reina, Barça have now bagged the biggest one of all to complete an unprecedented quadruple of all four major trophies. And that’s history!
On top
The last two times Barça faced Lyon in the final, the French side’s early goals meant both games were practically over after the first half hour.
Not so this time. Barça are more mature. Barça are better. And they quickly made it show.
They utterly dominated the possession and they utterly dominated the chances. Mariona Caldentey had the best of all but it was cleared off the line and Caroline Graham Hansen will feel disappointed with her finish after a tremendous solo run into a shooting position.
But Lyon were always going to be an opponent to reckon with and as the game progressed, so did their contributions. They defend well and are lethal on the counter attack, and Cata Coll needed to be at her most solid best on a number of occasions.
Aitana!
But with so much possession, Barça eventually started to grind Lyon down. Buoyed by such immense swathes of blaugrana-clad supporters that this was practically a home game, the Catalans always looked more in command, and in the second half they moved things into top gear.
One player we hadn’t seen too much of was Aitana, but the best player in the world was always going to make an appearance at some point. And when she did, a goal always looked like coming.
There was some fortune as her angled shot took a deflection off Vanessa Gilles to confound the Lyon keeper, but that was the goal Barça so much deserved… 1-0! Now it really was party-time in Bilbao!
Lyon looked shell-shocked. They couldn’t find an answer and Barça were out for more. Graham Hansen had the best of several chances to double the lead, but an impressive last-ditch tackle from Salma Bacha prevented what was otherwise a certain goal.
The French side had already won this trophy a record eight times. They still wanted a ninth. It was time for the Barça defence to show their worth as Lyon made their final charge.
Alexia… and it’s all over!
Now everything was happening in and around the Barça area. Things were getting very heated and physical out there. Blood was even shed.
The defence did brilliantly. Lyon couldn’t find the break they needed. Instead Barça found one of their own…
The sixth and final minute of extra time. Claudia Pina on the byeline hooked the ball back to the unmarked Alexia. And mere moments after coming on as a late substitute, the former Ballon d’Or slammed the perfect strike into the top of the net and a third Champions League trophy was on its way to Catalonia!